A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 meyers lemon

I purchased a Meyers lemon back in May of 2006.
I was told that it was hybrid for the Willamette Valley (Oregon) which is where I live.
It had fruit on it when I purchased it and now Dec 2, it has several (aprox 2 inch) green fruit on it. In the last week it has also grown new buds. Winter in Oregon is not the best place for citrus fruit. Any suggestions on how to get my plant through the winter with fruit and bud intact?
Thanks is advance...Alice

Hi Alice! (Welcome to the forum, neighbor!)

Winters have been unusually cold the past couple of years, even down here in Roseburg, where it's "supposed to be" pretty balmy! :rolleyes: I don't know anything about citrus trees, as I hail from Montana, so other than a Smudge Pot, I have no clue what a good answer to your question might be. (No, Smudge Pots aren't used in Montana, because there's no way in the world they'd do any good in -30* weather... I figure that's why people don't try to raise fruit trees there!)

Is your lemon tree in a pot ...or can you get it into one, so you can bring it indoors? (Got pictures?)

It's so nice to see someone else from Oregon here! (There are a few of us, but not nearly enough!) I just love to stop in at Indoor Garden (on W 11th) when I travel up to Eugene every couple months, to see my Dr. (Did you, by chance, buy your lemon tree there? It might be a real good place to ask about how to winter it over, as the folks there are pretty knowledgeable.)

You'll find that we're a bunch of friendly people here, all willing to help each other with gardening issues (as well as sharing our hobbies, pets, kids, recipes... the list goes on.) Many of us have developed good friendships on the forum, & we're just like one big family!

Please stop in at the New Member forum & introduce yourself. I'm looking forward to getting to know you & hearing about what you have in your gardens... and about your hobbies, pets, kids, recipes, etc. (Oh, and we LOVE pictures here!)

It's actually best for citrus if you remove the fruit for the first year at least. Preferably two years. This allows the tree to put its energy into the root system and end result is a more robust tree. So my advice is to do so. (Yes i know, it's heartbreaking) Up to you really but long term it will benefit the tree. Imagine your tree as an adolescent. It has all the right bits but not the maturity to reproduce and bear fruit successfully. Given a year or two it will produce more, healthy fruit .
I'm assuming the tree is planted in ground, so it needs to be protected from cold winds and frosts as much as possible. Even to the point of building a cover over it if necessary. If it does get frost burn , leave the affected leaves on it. They'll help protect the rest of the tree. There is actually a spray you can apply to plants to keep frosts from burning them but i don't know anything about it.
Once the plant stops growing and thru the coldest months, don't water it. It will go into a dormancy and will require very little water. Wait until you see new spring growth before you do apply water and fertilisers. You should, however, have a good, thick, organic mulch over the root zone. This will protect the soil, keep the moisture levels constant and help to build humus which citrus require in order to thrive. A heavy mulching with alfalfa would supply this.