My lemon tree has been holding on to 3 lemons all winter. It looks like they are finally turning yellow, but the 2 smaller ones are turning yellow without growing to full size. That can’t be good. If anyone has any luck growing a Meyer Lemon in a pot, please leave me some comments with some helpful tips. Mine is actually doing pretty good this winter, I usually lose a lot of leaves. It does have some sort of bugs, so every couple weeks I put it in my shower and give it a good spray. That works for a while, but about a month later, I notice the sticky stuff on the leaves again. When I was in California last week, I noticed that the potted orange trees had blossoms, green oranages and orange oranges all at the same time. I’m lucky to get one or two lemons a year on my tree.
A View into My Garden and my Point of View 
When I worked in a nursery, we used to pick the citrus fruit when it became full sized and it ripened in a bowl on the table. You could give it a shot.
if you have owned the tree for less than two years take the fruit of in first stages of growth (heart breaking i no) but it is much healthier for the tree in the long run and makes fruit better. as to the bugs you mentioned i am not sure i would seek advice from a garden center. this is my first time growing lemons i am 15 but i have done lots and lots of research and am a keen gardener. sorry if i wasn’t much help.
I have been much more successful this year (01/09). I have 3 huge lemons starting to ripen. I gave it more fertilizer than I ever have before, that must be the secret. Watch for a new post for a new photo.
Mix a ratio of 1 to 40 dishwashing soap and water in a spray bottle, spray entire tree, leaves and soil, make sure you get under the tree. Wait 5 minutes, then spray try with water only to wash off the soap miture. Do this every week for 2 months, your shower thing only kills the bugs and new eggs keep hatching, thus new bugs, you need to get all the bugs once they hatch. Leaving the tree outside during a rainy season can help.
You might have citrus scale, it might be the answer to the sticky residue and bug problem, as well as the lemons not getting full size. The scale will suck the nectar and deprive your lemons. If you Google “citrus scale” you can see pictures and get advice on how to rid your lovely tree of the pest.
hi there…this is the first year i’ve had my meyer lemon tree. i had lots of fruit, but like you, only 3 have made and they are green and look to be turning yellow…at the same time there are new buds beginning. i am wondering if i need to prune my tree. i want it to gain height, it is in a sunroom with a high ceiling. i have it in a huge pot. do you know anything about this?
you’ll have to decide about pruning, if you want it to be tall, I’d hold off for a year or so, it depends on how bushy it is. I have read that you shouldn’t put them in too big a pot right away, I’m not sure why, if they were planted in the ground they’d have lots of room. I just bought a new one myself last summer, because I realized I had let the root stock take over, and the huge lemons hanging from my tree weren’t Meyer’s lemons at all. So keep an eye on that. I did notice years ago when I first had the tree that one branch had larger leaves and then a different color blossom from the rest. That was the root stock. The other branches died out and that one took over. If you see a different branch, cut it off! So I bought a new one to start again.