My Meyer Lemon tree has become large enough I had to use a hand truck to get the container inside this winter. As it sits in my home office, there are dozens of blooms open and the aroma is amazing. There’s dozens more about to burst open.

We already discussed the best way to pollinate the blooms indoors. You can read about that here. The biggest issue most people have is fruit & leaves dropping from their tree. Here’ a few tips to care for your Meyer Lemon tree when growing it indoors for winter.

Why does your indoor Meyer Lemon tree drop fruit?

You bring your Meyer Lemon tree indoors for the winter. You keep it near a sunny window. You meticulously hand pollinate the blooms and you get rewarded with seeing a bunch of tiny green fruit set as the flower petals fall off.

But before many of the fruit begin to grow, they fall off. This is a common problem. My first winter with a Meyer Lemon tree I must have had 30 blooms pollinate & set fruit. All but 1 dropped off.

The lack of fruit setting can be caused by a variety of problems.  Here’s a few tips to encourage fruit to grow on a Meyer Lemon Tree:

1. The biggest issue for indoor fruit set of Meyer lemon trees is too much water. Make sure your container has enough drainage holes on the bottom and a tray underneath that you drain frequently. Do not allow your tree container to sit in water.

The easiest way to know if your tree needs water is to stick your index finger down into the soil. If you fell any moisture, do not water!

Are your leaves curling? Another sign that your Meyer Lemon tree has too much water is when the leaves start to curl.

2. If your tree is young (less than 5 years old) you could actually have an excess of fruit. Young trees will need a lot of energy to set and grow fruit. If you’re using a citrus tree fertilizer and your young tree explodes with blooms, expect more than half of the set fruit, to drop off.

3. Temperature control. It’s best to place your tree near a window that faces south so it has a chance to get the most sun. I have my trees in my home office next to a window that faces south. They get a lot of afternoon sun. What I didn’t think of is the temperature swings at night. Bedrooms are on a different floor and I turn the thermostat way down. Lemon tree fruiting occurs in warm temperatures.

Also keep in mind it is totally natural to experience some leaf drop as your tree adjusts to being indoors.  Some may turn yellow, others may just drop naturally.

Improved Dwarf Meyer Lemon Tree Picture Gallery