How to get fruit from citrus ASAP

[Gem State Tropics]

Hello! I just received a 5 foot Meyer Lemon tree and a 1 foot Owari Satsuma Mandarin Orange tree from fast growing trees. They arrived in very good condition today; however, the trees are very skinny and trimmed heavily for shipping. I would like to have them produce fruit as soon as possible. They are inside for the winter. I have repotted the Meyer Lemon today to give it the extra root room. Was looking for some information from anyone who has experience with potted citrus. What are some ways I can encourage these plants to grow out their branches quickly so they are more full and branched out by the end of the Winter? Also, how can I make sure they have the best fruit production within the next year or 2? I am new to growing citrus so I would like to do this the best way possible! Thank you!

[Silas_Sancona]

12 minutes ago, Gem State Tropics said:

Hello! I just received a 5 foot Meyer Lemon tree and a 1 foot Owari Satsuma Mandarin Orange tree from fast growing trees. They arrived in very good condition today; however, the trees are very skinny and trimmed heavily for shipping. I would like to have them produce fruit as soon as possible. They are inside for the winter. I have repotted the Meyer Lemon today to give it the extra root room. Was looking for some information from anyone who has experience with potted citrus. What are some ways I can encourage these plants to grow out their branches quickly so they are more full and branched out by the end of the Winter? Also, how can I make sure they have the best fruit production within the next year or 2? I am new to growing citrus so I would like to do this the best way possible! Thank you!

Without a doubt,  you've got -at least- another year ( more likely 2 )  of beefing up the structure on those things before they will be strong enough to hold onto developing fruit w/ out risking the health of the trees,  let alone snapping off the top of the trees entirely. 

Aside from Citrus like Kumquats, or Key Limes, have seen more than my fare share of Citrus that were in 7 and 15 gal pots where they weren't grown long enough / structure of the trees was skinny / weak and the weight of just a few fruit attached resulted a pallet or two of trees being sent back to the grower..

Using Grow lights / good, organic fertilizer will speed things up a little, ...and encourage a little growth over the next few months, though far less than what you'll see come spring/ summer when they are moved outside,  but don't anticipate fruit anytime soon.   Until the structure is strong enough, remove all flowers.

Of the two, the Satsuma may reach bearing size/ age sooner compared to the Lemon.

 

[aztropic]

You are fighting a losing battle expecting to get fruit off citrus in your location. Heat,and long daylight hours are required for good growth. Unless those are going into a heated greenhouse over the winter,they probably won't grow at all,and will be lucky to hold just a few leaves until spring arrives. If kept in the location in the pictures,they most likely will die outright. There is just not enough light intensity inside a house to keep a citrus tree happy - let alone bloom and bear fruit...

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[JLM]

Yeah, you still have quite a while. I highly doubt the these will ever get big enough to do this since it looks like they will probably stay in pots based on your location in your profile. As said above, these need lots of heat. My dancy tangerine blooms in March, and it takes until December for the fruit to ripen. Here is what it looks like as of less than 10 minutes ago at the time this post was sent:

This tree has been in the ground for about 4 years at this point, the reason why its so big now is because it gets long humid summers, which is something yall dont have up there.

You can try to put them in front of a window for sunlight, but it will still not look happy by winters end, which where your at im sure doesnt end until April.

[Bill H2DB]

  I agree with the statements above .

If you are serious , a LOT of light is imperative . You can regulate the length of the day that the plant experiences ,  in order to induce blooming . 

Fruit and vegetable production requires a full sun condition . Plants become more compact and sturdy in these conditions and the leaves can do the job that they are intended to do.

That plant is already too tall and spindly , and I would cut the main tall stem back to just above the lower branch leaves , crank up the light level , and let the plant produce a more compact shape . 

   Look at a few pictures of citrus groves on the internet .     A quick search on Google produced this result and there are Many more results .

https://extension.umn.edu/houseplants/growing-citrus-indoors

 

 

[amh]

What root stock is being used? Heat and light are necessary, but Poncirus trifoliata is the only root stock suitable for your use.

[D Palm]

Heat, sunshine, well draining, citrus fertilizer, citrus foilage spray. My Meyers lemon set fruit in March and should be ripening up in the next few weeks. Valencia Orange and red lime as well but are in ground.

3% hydrogen peroxide occasionally if trunk starts turning green.