Lemon Tree not fruiting

[taropatch]

About 6 feet tall,  7 years old and started from seed, it has not bore any fruit yet.   I toss it some 10-20-10 or triple 16 every 4 months or so.  I give it homemade compost.   Elevation is 500 feet -- not a problem as various types of lemon easily thrive around here.  Have never tried that citrus fertilizer.  Any suggestions to get it to fruit?

[kalianna]

While it's easy to grow a tree from a lemon seed, the tree will take a very long time to fruit and the fruit will not be the same as the fruit of the seed you planted. Most lemon trees are grafted. It's well worth it to spend a little money and get a good tree rather than fertilizing the one you have for many years with unknown results.

[eightfingers2.0]

I have a grafted lemon that seems to have gone on vacation this year.

[bgiles]

taropatch, I just finished reading "Our Native Bees" by Paige Embry. She began to write it after she discovered that tomato plants couldn't be pollinated by honey bees; they must be "buzz pollenated" by bumble bees. All our citrus are doing well with the bees we have but I have yet to ID any bees beyond honey bees and the carpenter bees. The latter because they leave .45 size holes in your house. Maybe it's a pollination thing...?

[terracore]

It sounds like you are over fertilizing it. Too much nitrogen and it gets stuck in the vegetative growth stage. We fertilize our citrus trees less than once per year. We have a tangerine tree we've never fertilized and it's full of tangerines right now.

Also, lemons like full sun. If it's shaded you'll want to get rid of the shade.

[taropatch]

All citrus need full sun, so I've got that covered. I have access to two Meyers trees and that "orange" skin variety so we have more lemons than we need. This particular variety in question has a small fruit, slightly bigger than a golf ball that my late dad planted. Before the tree died, I saved the seed so this is more of an experiment. Will see what it does and if it doesn't produce by perhaps year 12, will dispose of it.

[taropatch]

Lo and behold! About a dozen tiny green ones on several branches. Looks like I will hang on to this tree for now. The first crop will be small but hope they result in those great little lemons.

[kalianna]

Congratulations. I would say you had a Jumpin' Jehoshaphat moment. That phrase just came flying out of my mouth when my Brazilian Cherry surprised me with fruit, even though I'd never said it before. Now I say it each time a plant bears fruit or flowers for the first time. You only get to say it once per plant so make it good.