Flavorless Meyer lemons

Question

We have a large Meyer lemon tree in our backyard. It has produced A LOT of fruit every year but the fruit doesn’t have much flavor. We live in Las Vegas, and the tree is on a watering schedule. We fertilize twice a year. The leaves are healthy and we have pruned the tree several times. Are we waiting too long to harvest the fruit? Would the age of the tree affect the flavor of the lemons? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

How old is the tree? Given the yields of your tree, it is probably more than a few years old. Usually any lemons produced the first few years aren’t of the highest quality.

Lemons that are harvested too soon will be overly sour. Those that are harvested too late will be overripe with little taste. So, it sounds like perhaps you are waiting too late to harvest. The best way to know if your lemon tree is ripe is to do a taste test along the way at certain points in the growing season.

Below is a list of characteristics that define ripeness:

* color – look for a warm shade of yellow that is free from any green spots
* texture – smooth skin
* squeeze test – it should give somewhat to pressure when squeezed
* roundness – meyer lemons tend to get rounder when they are ripe
* weight – meyer lemons should feel heavy for their size

For more information on growing meyer lemons, please visit the following link:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/lemons/growing-meyer-lemons.htm