A lot of people are wary of pruning
citrus trees because they think it will be difficult, or they might
damage the tree. Quite often, citrus trees are neglected and left
to grow into a wild state, in the mistaken belief that they will
look after themselves. This causes the quality of the fruit to deteriorate,
the quantity of fruit to decrease and allows certain diseases to
infiltrate the tree. Some regular pruning is therefore necessary.
Here are some easy to follow steps to guide you through that process.
We look at when to prune, the essential tools you will need, then
how and where to prune so that your citrus trees will stay healthy,
be less prone to certain disease, look great and most importantly
produce more good sized, well shaped and tasty fruit.
All citrus trees apart from lemons
only need pruning once every two years or so to keep them looking
good, healthy and within bounds. This can be carried out any time
between March and August, but is best done before flowering begins
early in the year. Lemons need to be pruned more frequently to keep
them within bounds and make fruit picking easier, as they grow more
quickly than other species of citrus. In any event, all citrus trees
should be inspected annually for any disease or infestation and
abnormal growth (see the note on suckers, below).
To simplify the task of pruning citrus
trees, these are the important tools you will need. Heavy duty gardening
gloves are essential to protect your hands as many varieties of
citrus tree have nasty thorns. A pair of good quality bypass secateurs
(hand pruning shears) is necessary for the accurate and clean pruning
of smaller branches and deadwood. Long handled loppers are necessary
to prune thicker branches while a pruning saw should be kept at
standby in case an extra thick branch needs to be removed.
Inspect the tree from all angles starting
from low down on the trunk. First of all, identify the graft joint.
In layman's terms this is the point where the growing shoot
of the tree species was joined with the rooted stem of a stock variety.
It is usually found on citrus trees between one and two feet (0.3
and 0.6 metres) from ground level and looks like a slightly swollen
lump, although it is not always obvious. Above the graft joint is
where the main branches of the tree are seen to branch out. If there
is strong new growth starting from low down on the main trunk below
the graft joint these are suckers that must be removed. Suckers
are new shoots produced by the donor rootstock and will not be true
to the variety of tree. They will often be extremely thorny and
will grow strongly but produce no edible fruit. They sap the strength
from the tree and will severely reduce fruit production, so it is
very important that they are removed as soon as they are noticed.
Use your hand pruning shears to cut them off as close to the trunk
as you can get with a clean vertical cut. If they are very thick,
use the long handled loppers to prune them. A vertical cut is essential
to allow moisture to run away to prevent rot setting in and to allow
the trunk to heal and absorb the wound quickly.
Once all the suckers are removed,
pruning of the main canopy can begin. It is important that the centre
of the tree is opened to allow sunlight and air to penetrate. As
you prune, walk around the tree several times if necessary to get
different viewing angles of your work. Prune out any branches that
cross in the centre and remove all thin, spindly twigs by cutting
hard to the main branch. Also cut out any dead wood to prevent infestation
by wood boring beetles. You can prune quite brutally when opening
out the centre of the tree's canopy, leaving as few as three
main branches to grow outwards evenly from the centre with smaller
fruit bearing branches growing outward from them. To keep the size
of the tree in check to ease fruit picking, prune tall branches
back to keep the height of the tree to below eight feet (2.5 metres).
All length shortening cuts should be made at an angle where possible.
These easy to follow steps will simplify
the process of pruning your citrus trees. You will see that it is
easier to prune than most people suppose and will protect the trees
from disease and infestation, liberate them from strength sapping
suckers, encourage new, fruit bearing growth to appear and will
ensure better quality fruit and result in healthy, good looking
trees.
For more in-depth info, get the "Pruning Made Easy" book. It's simply the best book on the subject:
1. I bring it in in winter and out in summer..it is 3 years old Is this good to do?
2. Do I need to get another lemon tree for it to bear fruit? a partner of sorts?
3. Will it ever bear fruit?
4. Any special fertilize >> Thanks..J
Also would like to move comquat tree if good time to do so.
We have tons of blossoms and super growth. Need to cut back.
every thing. what can i do ? Aaron8555@yahoo.com
Thank's Los Angeles
every thing. what can i do ? Aaron8555@yahoo.com
Thank's
the age of tress veries from 2 to 8 years
Thanks
Also the oranges are not sweet, what do I do to sweeten them?
What fertilizing formula would you recommend and how should they go about pruning, would it be ok to start little by little or shoud they do it in a more aggressive fashion?Mind you we are from Arentina. Thanks a million. Nilce
I am an excited owner of a brand new Meyer lemon tree. My tree appears to be about 2-3 years old. It has multiple flower buds and several very tiny green lemons. I was told by the garden guy that I should pinch off the lemons for the first two years to encourage more root growth. That way, the tree will grow faster. I feel kinda sad that I have to wait 2 years to see lemons but if that is what I should do, then I will do it. Is this correct?
I bought some citrus plant food and plan to use it according to the instructions. However, is that enough? Do I need to get that muracid ( I think that is how it is spelled) to use that along with the citrus fertilizer?
#2 - anthony colon - 12/06/2007 - 13:28
Is there any way I can see what the answer to this past was? liljujubee@verizon.net
Never had fruit yet .
I would like to prune and get more fruit.It had very little fruit on it this yr.
Also,what do I fertilize with and when.?
Thank you
yostashvo@aol.com
thanks
has a small lemon tree about 3 years old
in a wall trough - the leaves are all curled
up but the tree does not look too bad. Can
you tell me what you suggest I do to it I do
know that it has borne fruit
Brenda Moore