Question

Meyer lemon tree fruit   I planted a meyer lemon tree in the ground about six months ago. The tree had 8-10 lemons on it at the time that it was planted and they are growing and ripening normally. Since planting the tree, however, multiple buds have appeared with small black lemons about the size of 1/2 a kidney bean.  I fertilized the tree well with citrus fertilizer about three months ago and water it daily for 8 minutes (on an irrigation system with my other plants). I live in the NV desert and we are entering summer with daily high temperatures right now in the mid-100's.  The tree is planted in a partially shady area of the yard but gets several hours of strong morning sun. Can  you tell me why the new, emerging fruit is turning black and how to treat it?

Answer
Tess,

At this point, I would encourage you to be patient.  Since there are many fruits on the tree that are ripening normally, I would wait and see what happens.  Citrus trees will often abort fruit if it already has a load to support.  It is also likely that the tree is still suffering a bit of transplant shock.  It can often take many months for trees to adapt to their new home.  Do not overfertilize with nitrogen because this will encourage leaf growth at the expense of fruit production.  

I suspect that once you harvest the fruit, the tree will put on new fertile blooms and fruits.

Good luck with your plants.
--Jen