I just purchased a frost damaged Meyer lemon, it was marked down from $30 to $15 and I couldn't resist, since citrus are hard to come by up here. I'm almost certain it's going to pull through; even though the top and first year growth is pretty badly damaged, the lower branches still have healthy leaves on them. The lemon is going to be a indoor winter plant from now on, so further frost isn't going to be a problem.

Anyway I'd like some advice on how to care for a frost damaged citrus. Should I trim the damaged branches? Also it's got fruit on it right now, should I remove it to give the tree more resources?

Photos would help.

Sorry I didn't think it'd be necessary for such a common problem. Anyway:

Front


Back

Best I could do with a crappy camera.

In treating citrus trees injured by cold, three courses are open: (1) Leave them alone, (2) cut them back to the ground, (3) cut them back part way. Everything considered, leaving them alone is by far the best plan. For some time following frost injury it is impossible to determine how much pruning should be undertaken. If cut back to the ground, more of the tops may be removed than necessary, and if cut back part way they may have to be pruned over again at a later date. There is NO NEED FOR HASTE. Nothing can save trees or parts of trees that have been frozen. It is ALWAYS the wise policy to wait until the exact extent of the injury can be determined. This cannot be decided until growth starts. When new shoots have grown far enough to make it reasonably certain that the branches will or will not die back, is soon enough to start the pruning. Some of the frozen leaves may dry and fall from the tree, but still new leaves could again repopulate the branches in the spring. - Millet

The photos don't show up, but it is very rare that frost would harm anything but new growth on Meyers.

I have a Meyers in-ground here & it has seen 17F quite a while back & had no damage at all.

From looking at the pictures of the tree, I can't tell how many fruit are presently hanging on the tree. If there are not many, I would just leave them. Remember each fruit draws it entire energy for growth and maturity from only the three closest leaves to the fruit. Therefore, depending on the number of fruit vs. the number of leaves, there could be plenty of leaves left over to take care of the tree's growth needs. - Millet

Photos help because it gives us an idea of the extent of damage, which then affects the advice we might give you . I concur with Millet. Be sure to fertilize monthly. Allow the frost damage to just sit. Any leaves that die will most likely be replaced with new flush. If you start to see some twig dieback, you can then prune back to healthy wood. Citrus are remarkably resilient. I'd say you got yourself a very nice little tree for a great deal. Meyer lemons are particularly resilient. Just continue to fertilize, try to drag it outside as much as possible so it gets as much sunshine and warmth as possible, bring it in during nights of course, if temps threaten to drop to freezing. Your Meyer lemon will spring right back, it's only got minimal damage. Well done!