Lemon trees but no fruit

[USINSPAIN]

I have 2 trees one 10 year old the other 4 year old but I only get an odd lemon every now and then what do I do to improve the amount of fruit on them

[ebbnflow]

Firstly they like water and plenty of it. If you do not have them irrigated think about doing so.

Secondly, do you prune them? All unnecessary branches, especially vertical ones should be removed. The best fruit comes from the more horizontal branches. The tree must also be kept "open", i.e. the sun gets through to all remaining branches and passes through. If the tree completely shadows the ground below it needs more opening up.

A basic prune should be done every year, with a harder one, encouraging new branch growth and removing much older ones, every two or three years, depending on the growth rate of your particular trees. Timing is important too, obviously don't prune when the tree has buds, flowers or fruit.

[Martin Page]

you need to give citrus plenty of iron in the soil ... try watering in some 'chelate de iro' chelated iron twice a year. This is especially essential if your on limey soil ...

[Gasman]

We have two lemon trees of different varieties ... one produces lemons in abundance (except for last year when I think there was a frost-followed-by-rain problem at flowing time). The other one very rarely produces fruit but when it does they are huge and excellent and sweet. I have been told that there is a bud-mite which attacks the fruit just after they have formed and they drop off because of the bud mite. Some varieties are apparently more susceptible than others ... If you manage to spray at just the right moment between flowing, setting, and bud-drop, you can keep the mites off - and the thing to spray with is a mix of olive oil, washing-up liquid with a bit of water - all mixed in the blender, and then diluted x 40 times - spray all over the plant so that the oil keeps the bugs off and the washing-up liquid makes the outside of the plant unpalatable too. Also keeps down scale bugs, white fly, leaf miners etc etc ....
So our second tree is flowering vigorously at present and I am squirting regularly - this mix does not affect the bees so polinisation should go ahead successfully.
Cheers

[Mariacristina]

The mixture that gasman has specified is very effective. I have found it is even more effective against garden nasties if the olive oil is infused with garlic. I keep a jam jar of oil with half a dozen cloves of garlic in it with my gardening gear so I always have some ready. It doesn't put the bees off and none of the local bee-keepers have reported any incidences of garlic flavoured honey.

[oliveview01]

Our neighbour has a lemon tree, one side has sour lemons the other side sweet lemons. A sweet lemon is strange
Thanks for the spraying tip

[USINSPAIN]

Just a message to tell you all thanks for advice as I sit here my lemon tree is full of fruit.
Vodka & coke tastes great

[katy]

Vodka with coke you Phillistine

[Buffy]

Tonic surely!

[Lyric]

Colonial, Coke with everything