Why does my lemon tree not have blossoms?

Question

My ‘lemonade’ lemon tree got blown over a couple of years ago. We cut it right back to the stump and thought that was the end of my poor 40 year old tree, which up till then always had bumper crops of huge juicy lemons. The root system settled back into the ground and my tree decided it was going to survive after all, and grew shoots out of the main (short) trunk. it’s now about 2 metres tall, lots of leaves and small branches and a lot of new shoots (odd as it’s the middle of winter here). Is something wrong with it? There isn’t a single blossom that’s appeared on the darned thing, and I would love to have our lemons back…or have I just got an ex-lemon tree now?

Answer 1

Lemon trees have a lifespan of, roughly, 50 years. This kind of damage will be detrimental to the old tree. It may never produce throughout the rest of the trees life, but there is a chance that you can still get a few blooms. It may take a year to two for recovery, but it is possible to see, at least, something from the tree.

The best thing to do from here will be to remove the old tree and stump in trade for a fresh tree, but keeping the old tree for the rest of its lifespan isn't a far-fetched idea.

This article will help you to grow a new tree if you decide to plant one: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/lemons/how-to-grow-a-lemon-tree.htm