Hi everyone! I'm new to this site. I've had my lemon tree for just over a year now and I've had a couple of continual problems.
The first is the yellow of the leaves. Here are some pictures of what I've experienced lately.



This is the backside of the same leaf in the previous picture.

The tree seemed to be doing really well (except for not holding the fruit), then in the past few days the leaves have yellowed and then turned brown. I live in Sacramento, CA and we've had some hot weather last couple of days.

The second problem is that the plant can't seem to hold onto the fruit. It will bloom and develop fruit, but then the fruit falls off. I've had the fruit grow to about the diameter of a dime, but that's it.

The plant is growing in about a 2 foot diameter pot and the soil is on the sandy side. I fertilize with 12-8-4 Citrus Food by Master Nursery. The directions say to fertilize monthly when the plant is in a container. I just fertilized yesterday and it had probably been about a month and a half since the last time. What am I doing wrong?


Thanks,
Corie

It looks like sunburn.

I agree with Sylvain about the leaf damage.

As for your lack of fruit, it is not uncommon for a tree to drop most of the fruit, it will only keep what it thinks it can support to maturity (I know trees don't think). That support it needs is nutrients and water--you can maxamize the fruit that the tree sets by maintaining a good nutrient supply and minimizing water stress--especially between bloom and June.
My guess is that with the heat you have had, the tree was stressed for water.

If the tree has not been repotted recently and is root-bound--it is difficult to maintain the correct amount of water. If you have a chunky fast-draining media with lots of air space, you can actually water every day without overwatering.

One other point about the sunburn--citrus do not need full sun--they tolerate it. They maximize photosynthesis at about 1/3 full sun. You can use a shade screen of filtered shade if it is available.

So the fading to light yellow is sunburn as well as the brown? I don't think the plant is root bound. It's in a fairly large pot and I've only had it about a year. What type of fertilizer and schedule do you recommend? Also, what recommendations can you offer on pruning the tree?
Thanks.

For container trees, I like a slow release fertilizer like osmocote or dynamite with minors (trace minerals)-- about 18-6-12, you can supplement that with some dilute water soluble fertilizer like miracle grow.

Pruning is not recommended for container plants except to keep it within a limited space.