How To Preserve Juicy Fruit When Pruning A Meyer Lemon Tree

Meyer lemons (Citrus x limon 'Meyer') are natives to China that were introduced into the United States in the early 20th century. They produce fruit year-round, and because they are a cross between a mandarin orange or tangerine and a lemon, they have a slightly sweeter flavor than common lemons. They're prized for their deep green leaves and fragrant flowers (even when they're not bearing fruit), and can be grown indoors in containers or as ornamental landscape trees. To maintain a healthy plant that continues to bear juicy fruit throughout the year, Meyer lemons should be pruned twice a year: in late spring and late summer. 

Healthy Meyer lemon trees, hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 8 to 11 and are self-pollinating. They grow best in acid to neutral sandy loam that stays moist but doesn't get soggy. Mature trees can be 10 feet tall with a spread of 8 feet and need full or partial sun to produce fruit. Even winter-hardy citrus trees  should be covered to protect them from the cold when temperatures drop below 20 degrees Fahrenheit at night. Fertilize them in March, around the same time you prune them, with a blend of equal amounts of nitrogen, phosphate, and potash. Look for the numbers 6-6-6, 8-8-8, or 10-10-10 on the fertilizer's packaging. 

Because they produce all year on old wood, it's difficult not to cut some fruit off when pruning. However, pruning can help open the whole plant up to sunlight. So instead of cutting the tips, prune branches from the center that are blocking light. 

In the spring, remove any dead, diseased, or damaged branches, as well as any branches that rub against another branch on your Meyer lemon tree. If there are branches that may droop to the ground when they're bearing the weight of fruit, remove them too. Fruit that touches the ground may develop fungus. Shoots that grow upwards from the center of the tree will bear fruit — only prune them if there are several growing from the same spot. In that case, cut back the weakest. Finally, take a look at the center of the tree and remove branches that are blocking the sunlight or preventing air circulation in the interior of the tree. Follow the same principles when you prune in the late summer.Never prune more than a third of the Meyer lemon tree at one time though.

All citrus trees bought at a nursery have been grafted, meaning that one variety of tree has been joined with a different variety of tree. You can identify the place where the trees were grafted by a change in the bark or the circumference of the two sections. The lower section is called the rootstock, and it typically produces a less desirable variety of fruit. The prickly downside of many lemon trees is a tendency to grow thorns, so careful of allowing the root stock to grow suckers. All sprouts or suckers on the rootstock should be pruned to discourage the growth of these unwanted fruit. Do this year-round as the sprouts appear.