My Lemon is Thorny

A year ago, we bought a Dwarf Meyer Lemon Tree, in the first few months we got several lemons but it has not produced any fruit since last fall.  So a year later we were back at the nursery where we got the tree considering a lime tree and I asked one of the gardener's, why my lemon tree was growing thorns.  He looked at me completely confused and said no one has ever asked me that before, and then proceeded to change the subject.  Needless to say we did not buy the lime tree from him.

So why was our lemon tree growing thorns?  And why aren't we getting any blooms or fruit?

 

After doing some research it appears that thorns can be common to lemon trees.  These as I am sure you can guess are the plants defense against attacks (in our house this would be Guinness, who can't keep his paws to himself).  Nurseries have been successful with several species in removing the thorn characteristic from lemon trees.  So now that the mystery of the thorns is solved.  Why isn't my tree blooming?

After more research, I've found that perhaps my watering procedure was not optimal and I also might be able to change sunlight and fertilization going into the fall and winter to bring on blooming.  So, the new mission, get that tree to bloom again, because fresh lemons are way better than store bought.