Lemon tree not producing fruit help

[Masokealzafa]

My lemon was started by seed 10 yrs ago it is now 10 feet tall and hasn't produced any flower/fruit. It is indoor get plenty of sunshine and water and fertilizer pls look at pic what am I doing wrong

[imafan26]

I think your tree wants to be outside more. Can it be taken outside for the warmer months. At ten years it should be producing even from seeds. There can be sterile trees from seeds, they will never produce fruit.

Citrus trees hate to be pruned. Your tree looks like branches have been taken off. They will not produce until they have enough canopy to support the fruit and they will not fruit if you keep cutting off the new growth. They like warmth and a lot of sunshine. They also need fertilizer right about now. For such an old tree, it is in a relatively small pot. I have citrus trees in pots, the pots dwarf the trees and I have them in 20 inch pots, anything smaller and they are no longer in the pot.

Your tree is very tall which makes me think it wants more light and you have it in a relatively small pot which should have kept the tree a lot shorter. It is also not the typical shape of a citrus tree which leads me to think you have been trimming off a lot of branches. Otherwise it does look very healthy.

My in ground mandarins are kept at about 8 ft with pruning. They are dwarf rootstock and over 20 years old. I prune mainy for height, I rarely prune the sides unless they get in the way, otherwise I prune off fruit. The citrus in pots range from 1-5 ft. Most of those are grafted. The one in the pot for about 18 years now has a small canopy less than 3 ft in diameter and is about 4-5 ft tall in a 20 inch pot. It does produce fruit, but kaffir limes are grown mainly for their leaves.

Some citrus trees do take longer than others to produce fruit. The kaffir lime took about 4-5 years. Meyer lemon was from a cutting so it fruited within two years, but has since escaped its 7 gallon pot. My key lime tries, but can't seem to be able to hang on to either the leaves or the fruit. Calamondin, is too vigorous.

[Masokealzafa]

My tree is taken outside in summer months it gets direct sunlight look at the windows behind it it ha 22 feet wide by 15 tall if sun everyday it gets hot in my house like 27 degrees celcius cause of the sun coming in. It has lots of fertilizer. The pot I agree but I can't find bigger anymore it is 2 feet wide I do not prune my tree. There is always a flush of new growth. That top branch grew in like one month the one by itself. The tree is 6 feet wide. It is a lisbon lemon tree the trait is to grow straight up like this. The thorns are huge I cut the tip for fear of my children being poked it hurts lol I have full winters here and the tree likes it better inside. I even mist it every morning. I have scales but I treat it often so it under control It drinks a lot of water 2 to 4 quarts a day depending how sunny it is. Like I said 22 feet of pure sun all day and the ceilin is 15 feet tall maybe it is a sterile one but I have a hard time believing it with all my research lemons are true to the seed. The lemon I bought at store was lisbon lemon. And it grows like it. Thanks for your reply

[applestar]

That's a magnificent tree ! How lucky for it that you have such a wonderful space for it.

My grown from grocery store lemon tree is very small -- I've had it for a while now but don't know exactly how long, and it bloomed a single flower for the first time this winter:


So I probably can't help much -- when do you have the tree brought inside? I wait to bring the lemons in until the outside temps are in the... I think under mid-40's.

...I had to go check my own notes...
Subject: Minimum Night Time Temperatures - bringing plants inside
Yep. 45°F or above. My understanding has always been that the citruses prefer to stay on the cool side during the winter months. But I recently learned that some greenhouses keep them at around mid-60's which is warmer than I was trying to manage and actually more do-able for me. My trees get supplemental light in what would be way too dark locations and stay in the first floor rooms where winter thermostat keeps the temps at around mid- to upper 60's.

[Masokealzafa]

Lucky you a flower I would be crying of joy. I bring mine in middle if September I live in the capital of Canada so it is cold. I have started a new one it is 3 months old and cute. It is warm in my house in the winter I am facing southwest hottest and brightest sun so my tree does not feel any cold what so ever! I love it and it takes me 2 hrs to treat it for scale every 3 weeks. Thanks for sharing!!!

[imafan26]

I did have a Lisbon lemon. It did produce one large lemon and not much side branches. That one was a couple of feet tall. I bought it ready to fruit and I don't remember if it was a graft or cutting. It was not the most productive of trees for me. I don't know if I still have it, I have not seen another fruit. It is much more thorny than most. I have Meyer, which is not a true lemon and calamondin a sour orange, and they have fewer thorns than most.

Lisbon is supposed to be a good producer so if it is ten years old and it has been fed and gets enough sun, I don't know why it has not flowered. Most of the citrus produce the most fruit in winter. Meyers and calamondin produce almost continuously. Bearrs lime produce one crop a year.

[Masokealzafa]

I know that is why it is mind boggling to me nice to know all the info you gave thank you

[Masokealzafa]

Update my lemon tree has flower buds I changed the pot and is outside for the summer so excited !

[Masokealzafa]

Here is a pic

[rainbowgardener]

Yay!!!

I wonder why now after all these years. You said it has been outside other summers. Anything you did differently this summer?

[Masokealzafa]

I think the pot new fresh dirt the pot is at least 40 gallons just so happy. I know buying a tree is easier but th joy I got from doing this is so rewarding I cried lol I am sap lol God makes wonderous greenery and I got to enjoy one from its birth to fruitation exhilarating

[imafan26]

Good for you. Don't count your lemons yet. It is normal for 90% of the flowers to fall off. Half of them will be male, some will not get pollinated.

[Masokealzafa]

I know just excited that it has happened. I expect no lemons actually since it is the first time blooming. After almost 11 years I enjoy knowing that it has flowered

[Masokealzafa]

Here it is it actually grew 3 feet from January 2015 before I changed the pot