Q. We have a two-foot
tall, two-year old Meyer’s lemon with 40-50 young blossoms. Shouldn’t some clusters be thinned and if so
how?
tall, two-year old Meyer’s lemon with 40-50 young blossoms. Shouldn’t some clusters be thinned and if so
how?
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| Lemon tree planted with mulch. Keep the mulch away from the trunk for the first couple of years. |
A. Don’t thin them. In
most cases citrus does not need to be thinned. The plant will drop the fruit it
cannot support.
most cases citrus does not need to be thinned. The plant will drop the fruit it
cannot support.
It
is not like a peach, apple, plum where small fruit must be removed to make way
for larger fruit. Just let it be and see how well is sets this year. My guess
is that it will drop most of the blossoms or fruit that it cannot support. It
may drop all of them if the tree is too young to support fruit growth and
branch growth at the same time.
is not like a peach, apple, plum where small fruit must be removed to make way
for larger fruit. Just let it be and see how well is sets this year. My guess
is that it will drop most of the blossoms or fruit that it cannot support. It
may drop all of them if the tree is too young to support fruit growth and
branch growth at the same time.
 |
| Lemon with a good fruit set |
That being said, sometimes citrus does have too much fruit
on a limb. Leaving too much fruit on a limb can break the limb. If the fruit is closer than the diameter of a large fruit, start
removing some when they are the size of a quarter.
on a limb. Leaving too much fruit on a limb can break the limb. If the fruit is closer than the diameter of a large fruit, start
removing some when they are the size of a quarter.