Meyer Lemon Tree With One Live Branch

Question

My Meyer lemon tree suffered from scale for several winters. This spring I unpotted it, rinsed it all down (including the roots), cleaned the pot and put in fresh soil, then repotted it with a drench for scale. Well, it died. My daughter continued to water it thinking there was some hope…and months later we have two branches with new leaves on them? ? Can this tree be saved? Should I prune anything back to help it along? What are the best next steps? We live in Sandy, Utah.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, your photo did not come through. If this was bought as a live tree, then it is likely a graft. When a grafted tree dies it will send up new shoots from the root, which are a completely different tree than the top graft.

Likely, it is not the same tree, and will not produce an edible fruit. Still, care will be similar for any citrus in container.

This article will help:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/lemons/growing-lemon-trees-containers.htm

Here is an article that will help you to understand graft failure, and what to expect from the rootstock:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/tgen/can-grafted-trees-revert-to-their-root-stock.htm