Thinning ‘Myer’ Lemon Tree – Xtremehorticulture

Q. My Meyer lemon tree this year has hundreds of buds and flowers. Many on same branch or twig. Should I remove some of them, so I have fewer but larger lemons?

This is peach but the idea of thinning is the same. The reason for thinning is so that the remaining fruit gets larger. Start thinning fruit AFTER flowering but before the size of the fruit is the size of your thumbnail. *How many fruit should be left after thinning?*

A. No thinning of the flowers. The first thinning is done when fruit is about the size of your thumbnail. The second fruit removal is done about four weeks. Aim for about 30 to 40% fruit removal for mature citrus. In about 4 to 8 weeks, you should know where the leaves will be. That’s important for removing sun burned fruit.

*Every fruit, and their varieties are different. Some varieties need lots of thinning. Some not so much or none at all. This is ‘Bartlett’ European pear.* *It is thinned lots while another European pear, ‘Kieffer’ needs almost no thinning to produce marketable fruit.*

Remove misshaped, deformed, damaged, doubles or the smallest fruit during the first wave of thinning. On the second wave remove possible sunburned fruit and leave fruit that is or will be. shaded by some leaves. Fruit sunburning on exposed sides (usually west and south sides) and the tips is common in the desert. There is usually no sunburning on the east and north sides. There is a maximum size (determined by genetics) the fruit will reach but it is possible to maximize size in a higher percentage of fruit.

*‘Kieffer’ European pear with no thinning.*

Pinch the fruit between two fingers and gently twist it off. Pay close attention to the bottom of trees as a higher percentage of small fruit is located there. Young trees have fewer leaves to photosynthesize and will be better off in the long-term if they’re allowed to focus on their growth. You can leave a few fruit if you want a taste.

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