That food you got is good stuff.......i bought some of that when i was in nz and it was shipped over from the uk.......the summer formula is more high nitrogen to encourage leaves and fruit growth ....the winter formula is higher in potassium to help with ripening fruit........it worked well when i was in nz.......In fact a bought a citrus book(hardback /orange colour) from the same people and that was a good read with lots of pretty colour photos and infos about the different breeds of citrus @!

it needs a good feed now....i know the stuff you are using.......switch to the summer formula now and continue your feeding pattern and the tree should really go for it !.............when you have plenty of leaves......use them in your cooking.......very popular with Thai people in curries and soups......smell divine if the tree is healthy.

I agree with the potting up in stages....I killed a lot of citrus trees from putting in too big a pot....a large area of the mix on the outside of the pot remains wet and never dries out.......the roots starve of oxygen......leaf drop then twig die back follow,.....everytime.......a rule of thumb is .....2 to 4 inches all around(rootball)....That is why i always try to grow in terracotta pots......even though they dry out quicker than plastic...........In the summer the plastic is good because it holds water for longer but in winter when it rains a lot......the roots get wet feet and citrus hate wet feet !........terracotta wicks from the outside in....so that 2 to 4 inches where the roots have not been too yet....will get wicked by the action of the terracotta,.......therefore allowing the mix to breath and with it the roots.......I live in Perth where its gets to 35 to 40 C........It means they need a bit more diligence in the summer but they are great for the winter when it rains plenty.....you must avoid wet feet !........I have 20 citrus in pots 90% of them are in terracotta.......I drill 10mm holes in them with masonary bits..........I then use slow release organic ferts in my mix and they all look very healthy......i water once a week....Thats all.......in the summer.....once every two weeks in spring and autumn.............If you water a lot........slow release fert organic is the best for pots.......If you water once a week....soluble fert in your watering can will work well....something with a high Nitrogen in urea.....meyer lemon is a very nice lemon.I mulch in summer only with lucerne.
If you go Ca 's way.....I have found growing citrus in very sandy mix.....so it drains really well can work as well........although it makes the pot very heavy.......I have bought a few trees where people have just used sand eg papaya/citrus and they all look healthy and is really close to what it would be like if i put in my garden here as the soil is very sandy............I have 5 citrus in the ground that are going really well in this sandy soil .....so the pros are 1.Excellent Drainage 2...Excellent drainage and Excellent drainage........the cons are 1....Can dry out really quickly 2....doesnt hold onto nutrients at all..........so i then spread compost around the tree out beyond the drip line and mix my slow release ferts underneath that......and nthere you have the perfect scenario........compost and slow release fert gradually seeeping down into the sandy free draining sandy soil and each time you water they have a small amount of nutrients to help them grow............so basically growing in the ground is easier because their feeder roots can spread and are unlikely to get "wet feet".....so consider putting your lemon in the ground in the right spot one day........a spot that receives morning sun would be ideal.

Lory....cool thanks for that......mine is good then.....
Millet.....is it good to spray pre autumn flush?....plus my lemons are still growing.

Those links are cool millet.....the trees look stunning in those boxes.

well my berott reading is very different and i have no idea how to interpret it.....this is what it says = Mx beiret 7.8 grams biuret/kg N
      what does that mean please?

 

P.s Dont bother growing fruits on kaffir limes anyway.........the fruits are yuk ! .....these trees are not grown for their fruit......they are grown for their "heady" leaves which are traditionally used in Thai cooking........If you are feeding and watering correctly....the leaves have the most heavenly scent....use the leaves in curries etc......fruits are high in oils and are used for something but not for eating/juice  my friend.(they look like a 90 year olds testicles!  )

Have heaps of these ....young ones ...all over my tahitian lime....was thinking of spraying them with vinegar and soap......any other way I can kill them off without resorting to insecticides please?

Interesting thread...so do you suggest feeding with urea to all citrus Millet? ....I have been feeding my trees with something called B green...its a slow release organic feed high in carbon.......then compost on top of that in the garden....i just use the b green for the pots and mulch........I also water with worm juice every now and then...........u still suggest the 5-1-3 npk for pots millet?
            I was always confused whether ammonium or urea was better for citrus.....I am a bit concerned spraying urea based soluble fert when its so evil hot over here.........My eureka lemons never look happy here! ....have one big one in ground and one in pot and both have pale leaves and brown crinkle effect.........the big one in ground has never flowered.

My two cents worth....a citrus tree grown from seed will not produce a clone of the original tree........in fact you can get a right mongrel !
  It will at the very least create something interesting. ......only grafting a scion onto the rootstock will you be guaranteed the  true fruit.....but i could be full of dung. ...feed it some potash two weeks before the start of spring and it should flower big time.
     I had a friend who was complaining his lime had never produced fruit....he did that.......came back 4 weeks later and his tree was covered in flowers.......no other food given.

iam still trying to get the perfect wet/try conditions for this new soil. i started using the peat/bark mix this year so for now iam trying to find out how often to water the trees, it was especially hard during the heatwaves this summer. meanwhile in the winter i let them dry out almost completely until the first leaf starts to dry out and then i water again, this worked very good for me so far, because the trees take no visual damage... i have also killed to many trees during winter, it hurts :>

i had one lemon in a terracota pot with the new soil and i had to water it every day and it still wasnt enough, so i repotted it into plastc... its crazy with all this over-\underwatering....today i watered my plants and soaked them deep, hope they are doing better with this method.

putting the pots on feet is great. with all the extra air getting to the soil from underneath its just perfect. i have also built myself an extra bench where all the excessive water can flow into buckets below it, because all i have is a balcony and i dont want to flood my neighbours more than necessary

I feel your pain....its a tough call because in the winter you want your mix to stay on the dry side of moist and then in the summer it gets really hot ...so you need to retain moisture........so its a catch twenty situation.....Pot size is important......no more than twice the size of the rootball...is what i go by......in the summer its good to mulch and in the winter take the mulch off ....so the soil can get heated up by the winter sun and remain dryer......Its harder growing in pots........there is far less to worry about in the ground.........plenty of mixes have these water retention crystals in them over here.....i hate them......the mix does not drain as well.....the mix must start drying out within 24 hours or the roots start to suffer......perlite might help you....stay away from water storage crystals..........are you putting any stuff at the base of the pot to help drainage?....eg scoria /stones/pot pieces/bark ? .....DONT .....its a myth it improves drainage,,,,all it does is raise the perched water table and means your roots stay wet........drill plenty of holes and line the pot with mesh or a circle of onion sack(cut to size)......this stops mix washing out.........then make your mix uniform and chuck it in.....then your PWT will form lower.......you want the top half of pot to dry out some......so the roots can breathe..........My plants are all going well now and we get the extremes you get ...except for freezing and snow.....it still goes down to 5C in winter and up to 40C + in summer........getting them through winter is the hardest as it rains a hell of a lot in july and august.......so i keep them under the eaves(out of the rain).....if your pots are drying out really quick......they are probably rootbound.....its a sure sign........slip it out and have a check......mulch with lucerne or lupin if you have that there....it helps cool the feeder roots which are just under the surface and hopefully you wont need to water as much......I am a big fan of a :Moisture meter" ...some are not but the pot lift method is good as well.......if its light.....it needs water !

This tree nearly snuffed it last year but its putting out lots of new growth now but it doesnt want to grow anything on one side of the tree....looks very strange......is there anything i can do to encourage it to put out growth on that side of the trunk? i have had it in the sun  all the time in the hope it will put out growth there to help cover its trunk.
All my other trees are going for it....when i get chance i will take pics of all of my fruits and post on here= lots of citrus in ground and pots..pommegranite......papaya.....chillis.....blueberries......cape gooseberry.....strawberries....mangos in pots and in ground....grapes (new vine)......figs....avocado....Loquat.....one of my citrus is in  a 90 litre pot...another 70 litre and another 50 litre...plus a whole load in terracotta......my backyard is a jungle !

Thats eaxactly what i thought(same as millet).......the curling inward leaves indicate pottassium defiency and the pale leaves look like wet feet.......I have killed many trees via "wet feet"........
Take it out ......clear away a lot of the mix......get some fresh free draining Good quality potting mix suitable for trees(this is your reason for failure) and put it in a terracotta pot.......Dont over water ! .....let the mix dry out a bit between waterings.......the terracotta will dry the mix from the outside in and the roots can breathe..........My summer temps get to 40 plus C  and i dont have any probs with terracotta......get a moisture meter or.........once you have transplanted your tree into the new pot with new mix.......lift the pot up and feel the weight........then water it in and lift the pot up then......that is the difference....water when the pot feels light again......and not before.....I always drill extra drainage holes with masonary bits......4mm then 6mm then 10mm in stages ...so you dont crack pot......then line bottom of pot with a piece of onion bag cut to the size(circle)......that will stop mix washing out of pot and keep insects out to a certain degree.....do not put gravel/stones or broken crock on the bottom of pot to improve drainage because it DOESNT improve drainage......it makes it worse......water tree in with seaweed/water and keep in shade for a week or two..........Dont feed at all.......until you see new top growth.......You need to get the roots going.....when they are happy......the top will show you their appreciation ! Then feed with liquid feed at half the rate every two weeks ....Needs to be high in nitrogen with an NPK close to 5 to 1 to 3 as citrus absorb nutrienst in this ratio(i learnt that of millet !) ...Good luck.