I have a lemon tree that grows 12 inch lemons that stay green and do not turn yellow?

Question

Hi...I made a mistake when I asked this the first time. It is a meyer lemon tree that 10 years ago had small yellow lemons on it. It didn't grow fruit for 8 years until I used miracle grow fruit tree stakes and now it grows 12 inch lemons that stay green and never turn yellow.....any ideas on how to get them to turn yellow. It is not a pomelo...thanks for the idea.

Answer 1

I've raised citrus for over 30 years and I've never had this exact problem. However, here's what we know:
1) it once produced "small yellow lemons" - citrus do not become another type of citrus, so this lemon tree once did what it was supposed to do.
2) the only variable that you mention here (I wasn't in on the first question you asked) is fertilizer, so one would conclude that the Miracle Grow fruit tree stakes may have something to do with your problem.

So, some facts and a little deductive reasoning. Meyer lemon trees today are usually "improved Meyer" and it is likely that this is what you have. One variety of improved Meyer is the "Ponderosa", a novelty hybrid, which bears huge, rough, thick rinded fruit, that can exceed 2 lbs. Fruit is generally produced in winter, but can be available year round. Leaves are large and widely spaced. It can reach 8-10 ft high or 4-6 ft in containters. Flavor is milder than other types of Meyers. Do you have a Ponderosa?

If you are over fertilizing the tree - any tree, for that matter - it thinks that there is no particular reason to procreate. It puts off rushing fruit to maturity allowing it get quite large but not ripe. It might also produce fewer or no fruit and put on a lot of folliage instead of fruit. Why have "children" if you are going to live forever?, thinks the tree Maybe, therefore, you are spoiling your tree. Try cutting back feedings by at least one half. Tree stakes tend to disolve slowly and unless it's in a container, it doesn't need very much food.

I don't feed my established in-the-ground citrus except once per year. I use citrus/avocado food in organic form. This has a lower nitrogen content than comercial chemically based fertilizers like Miracle Grow. I have clay soil, so I don't water more than twice or three times a year in the hottest season. I never water during fall, winter, or spring.

Container citrus do benefit from regular feedings, but avoid high nitrogen fertilizers. My guess is that the Miracle Grow fruit tree stakes may have too much nitrogen for citrus.

Lemons can do better in cooler climates that many orange trees can, but they do need sun. The lemon trees that I have that are shaded by other trees or folliage don't produce nearly as much fruit, and it tends to ripen very slowly - staying green for almost a year before turning yellow.

Understand that any change in diet, light, or feeding is not going to have an immediate effect on your lemon tree. I have a pet lemon tree project in my back yard and it has taken 8 years to get an established non-bearing lemon tree to produce fruit again. I don't think your project will take that long, but be patient and your lemon tree will reward you with year-round, fragrant, delicious fruit.

Answer 2

I too have a meyer lemon that is now five years old and about 7 feet tall. Have seen three lemons on it the first year then nothing since. I am in Tallahassee so it gets a lot of sun and a lot of rain and a very mild winter. This year I have decided to try and convert it from a bush to an actual tree. While pruning, I found three LEMONS??? in the middle of the plant about 6 feet up they were the size of softballs and very bumpy and still green. They have a thick rind unlike my neighbours Meyer. They look diseased but the plant is as healthy as can be. I have not fertilized as it is in soil where 6 large oaks had recently been cut down. I believe the decaying oak roots are fertilizing this thing as it grows a foot to two feet per year. I have cut it back every year to keep it under 8 feet high. HELP!!!! What must I do to tame this thing and get some useable lemons???

Answer 3

I am going to feel a little stupid because I forgot the name of the type of lemon you have. I want to say Madagascar lemon, but I think I am wrong.
Point is I know what you are talking about. I work in a garden shop that sells alot of tropical fruit trees and this type of lemon NEVER turns yellow! I even picked fruit , brought it home and waited for weeks! NOTHING! But I know it was ripe, I took the seeds and planted them, almost three months later they germinated. The seeds would not have germinated if the fruit was not ripe. That much I know. My lemon trees are about 10 inches tall now 3 years later!

Answer 4

A "Ponderosa Lemon" is very large fruited and the fruit tends to stay green for a much longer time than most citrus. Pick one and see if the juice is good for lemon pie making. Sometimes you can burn a small pile of leaves where the smoke will bathe the tree and the Ethylene (C2H4) in the smoke will cause the fruit to get ripe at an excellerated rate.

Answer 5

Put it in a sunny spot. Since you know it does actually produce lemons, it definitely needs sunlight. It is also probably not time for them to turn yellow yet. Just be patient. Use some of that Miracle Grow potting soil instead of the stakes. That might help. It might just need some vitamins.

Good luck to you.

Answer 6

What country do you live in? I have never seen or heard of a lemon that size and apparently not many others have



KO: Huge lemons are an unexpected boon for a couple of fruit farmers in Cyprus. They can't figure out how the head sized lemons came to be, but they are happy they did.

STORY: Lemon trees in a village in Cyprus are bearing mammoth fruit the size of a child's head. Large lemons as heavy as two kilograms are growing on lemon trees in various orchards in the village. The owners can't figure it out. They say that the lemons were grown naturally.


The owner of one of the giant lemon producing trees, Androula Charalambous, said her neighbor, Andreas Damianou, gave her a branch from a lemon tree to graft. Since then fruit grown from the grafted lemon tree produce fruit of exceptionally large size.

Answer 7

Ponderosa Lemon

Answer 8

Does the weather go cold suddenly after the Summer where you live? And do the lemons rot or drop prior to turning yellow? If so, it could be just that here isn't a long enough sunny season. Try cutting one open to see if it looks ok on the inside. If it just looks under ripe, cut them off when they are big enough and ripen them indoors.

Answer 9

I have never heard of or seen 12 inch lemons! I suggest you use citrus fertilizer. The lemons should turn yellow on the tree, give them time to ripen on it.

Answer 10

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