- Why is a cut useful?
- Types of cuts and dates
- Educate a shapely crown
- receive crown shape
- Remove wild shoots promptly
- Rejuvenate an old lemon tree in stages
- Steep shoots do not flower or bear fruit
- frequently asked Questions
The lemon tree has a penchant for gesturing back and forth with its branches. With a well-planned topiary you bring the Mediterranean beauty into its raison d'être. Read all the instructions for the perfect cut care in this tutorial. How to properly prune a citrus tree
Even, shapely growth is stimulated by pruning
Table of Contents
Show all- Why cut
- Types of cuts and dates
- education cut
- maintenance cut
- taper cut
- frequently asked Questions
- The best time is mid to late February
- Appoint the strongest central shoot to the trunk and fasten or tie it to the vertical support rod
- Cut off all other ground shoots as possible competitors at the base
- Select three to four evenly spaced, strong side branches on the central shoot
- Cut back side branches so that their tips are in the juice scale
- In the second and third year scaffold drives around shorten by a third for strong branching
- Cut out dead branches first
- Cut off shoots that point towards the inside of the crown or are otherwise unfavorable at the base
- Cut back branches protruding from the crown shape to a leaf or a side shoot
- Of parallel or crossing branches, cut away the weaker one
- In February, cut back all thick branches to 10 to 15 cm short cones
- Smooth out cuts with a sharp knife
- wound surfaces not coat with tree wax (12.96€) or similar means
Why is a cut useful?
Evergreen foliage, picturesque blooms and bright yellow fruits raise doubts about pruning. Indeed, a lemon tree visibly benefits from an occasional topiary. By nature, citrus trees tend to have a sparse, misshapen growth. A harmonious crown is rare.
The main reason is a low level of peak funding. This describes the property of native woody plants to sprout more strongly on the top buds of their shoots than on buds positioned further down. The development of well-structured crowns of apple or plum trees is primarily based on this law of growth.
In contrast, a lemon tree rarely forms a single central vertical shoot. Rather, growth is characterized by several equal drives that compete with each other. Furthermore, young shoots that are much stronger than the main shoot often sprout from lateral buds. This tutorial gets to the heart of the types of pruning you can use to teach a disorganized lemon tree a lesson.
Types of cuts and dates
The best time to cut the lemon tree is in February. This applies equally to all types of cuts, from education to maintenance and rejuvenation. Although you can blend your lemon at any time of the year, an appointment in early spring offers the ideal framework. The time window for regeneration is primarily open long enough for the crown to be able to compensate for the loss of substance without any problems.
The following table provides an overview of all sensible types of cuts with information on recommended date options:
| cut type | goal/occasion | Appointment Option I | Appointment option II |
|---|---|---|---|
| education cut | harmonious crown structure | 1st to 3rd year mid-February | 1st to 3rd year in winter |
| maintenance cut | Thin out crown, promote fruit wood | from the 3rd or 4th year mid to late February | from the 3rd or 4th year after the harvest |
| taper cut | Revitalize stale lemons | late December to late February | none |
Educate a shapely crown
With a well-planned training cut, you steer the growth into a harmonious crown structure. If a cut is part of the care plan every spring for the first three years, the effort will be rewarded with a flowering lemon tree whose well-formed crown draws everyone's attention. On top of that, cutting care is reduced to an occasional shape and maintenance cut. How to cut correctly:
A skilful training pruning on the lemon tree brings a crown on the way with these components: vertical central shoot as a trunk, three to four evenly distributed main branches in the juice balance.
If more than four side shoots are considered, choose those with an angle of between 90° and 45° to the center shoot. Also, look out for one Scattering of the Leading Branches. The starting points of the scaffolding shoots should not be at the same height on the trunk.
Note the cut
A competent cut is decisive for a perfect result. Always cut branches of a lemon tree crown just before a bud or a leaf. If you cut too far away from the eye or leaf, a shoot stub will remain, which entails the risk of rot and pest infestation. The distance between the interface and the vegetation point should not be greater than 2 to 4 millimeters.
tips
The instructions in this pruning tutorial can be seamlessly transferred to the pruning care of comparable citrus trees such as tangerine, orange and lime trees. Furthermore, the differences between pruning oleander and olive trees are minimal.
receive crown shape
With a perfect crown structure, the care of the cut leads to an occasional shape and maintenance cut. As illustrated in the image below, you should trim the crown whenever it becomes too dense. A light-flooded structure guarantees that white flowers and bright yellow lemons also form inside. Another reason to reach for scissors is overly long branches protruding from the crown shape, as well as exhausted hanging fruit wood. How to cut correctly:
Finally, devote yourself to empty branches. To encourage the growth of young fruiting wood, cut back by half any branches that were last bearing lemons and are now exhausted. To ensure that the cut does not leave a gap at this point, you should remove the fruit wood in question. With this cutting technique, you place the scissors where a young side shoot branches off.
Prune a lemon tree into shape if necessary. Cut off dead wood and steep shoots at the base. Trim overly long shoots just above a leaf or favorable side shoot. If a branch has borne fruit, shorten it by a third or half using a deflection pruning.
digression
Remove wild shoots promptly
Premium varieties are often grafted onto bitter orange seedlings. This rootstock tends to sprout numerous wild shoots. Equipped with irrepressible growth, the cheeky wildlings strive to overgrow the noble crown and rob it of valuable nutrients. The uninvited guests can be identified by a different leaf shape. Ideally, you will discover a wild drive while it is still young and unwoody. Rip it off along with its astring. Has the wild shot of water cheated its way through and is it already lignified? Then cut the bark on the lemon tree horizontally below the point of attachment and break off the wild shoot downwards.Rejuvenate an old lemon tree in stages
Proud owners of an old lemon tree are sometimes confronted with an increasingly bare, lazy crown. With a strong cut you turn back the wheel of time and breathe new life into an old lemon. As with all trees and shrubs, a vigorous cut results in equally vigorous growth. In order for a rejuvenation cut to be perfect, you should stay on the ball after the first stage and control the budding.
First stage
The good-natured cutting tolerance of a lemon allows a courageous approach. One of the many talents of citrus limon is that the trees sprout fresh from sleeping eyes. How to complete the first stage of a rejuvenation with flying colors:
After cutting, repot the lemon tree in fresh substrate. So that the citrus tree can recover from the strain, a semi-shady location is recommended for the following three to four weeks. This year's flowering fails after the radical pruning measure. In return, a lively budding sets in.
Second stage
The second stage of a rejuvenation begins in the same year. Numerous new shoots sprout from the cones. Select one or two of the strongest specimens. Everyone else has to go. In order to promote branching on the young wood, the shoots are pinched off in summer. You can do this by grasping the tips of the shoots just above a bud between your thumb and forefinger and snapping them off. You can easily remove dried cone residues after one to two years.
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Steep shoots do not flower or bear fruit
With stiffly upright shoots, a lemon tree strives towards the sunlight as quickly as possible. The growth law of peak production rules here, in that reserve substances are primarily pumped into the leaf and shoot buds at the highest point. At this point, the citrus tree shows little interest in the exhausting formation of flowers and fruits. There are two options on how to deal with vertical shoots: cut off seamlessly or spread into a flattened position at an ideal 60° angle to the trunk or scaffolding branch.frequently asked Questions
Are lemon trees self-fertile?
With a few exceptions, all citrus species are self-fertile. One tree is enough for a harvest of juicy lemons. As with most fruit trees, combining two different cultivars is beneficial for flowering and yield.
Yesterday I bought an Amalfi lemon tree in a 3.5 liter pot. Should I transplant the sapling and subject it to a pruning?
A 3.5 liter pot is clearly too small for a lemon tree. Repot the tree in a timely manner into a container with a volume of 8 to 10 liters and fresh, loose, permeable citrus soil. On this occasion, you should initiate the upbringing of a beautiful crown. To do this, tie the center shoot to a vertical stick so it grows straight. Cut off competitive instincts to the future stem at the base. Choose four side branches as future main branches as a crown framework. Shorten these by a third to promote growth and stability.
Is a lemon tree hardy if it is grafted on a frost hardy rootstock?
If you buy a lemon tree in a specialist shop, you will receive a grafted tree. Here a scion was connected to a robust root base. The scion itself comes from an established lemon tree that has already borne fruit. This ensures that even small lemon trees can bloom and bear fruit in the bucket. The rootstock is usually the almost hardy bitter orange or three-leaf orange. However, the frost tolerance has no effect on the scion. A lemon tree north of the Alps is always dependent on a frost-free winter quarters.
Over the summer my lemon tree in the bucket has grown too big for the winter quarters. Can I shrink the crown before filing? What to look out for
You can trim a lemon tree at any time of the year. It is easily possible to reduce the crown before putting it away so that the tree fits into the winter quarters. Please make sure to cut overly long shoots just before a bud, a leaf or a short side shoot. If your lemon tree bears unripe fruit, you can let it hang until it is fully ripe.
When are lemons ripe?
You can recognize a ripe lemon by two criteria: the skin is shiny and gives way under slight pressure. Furthermore, a lemon is ready to be harvested when the fruit is fully grown. The correct size depends on the cultivated citrus variety. Incidentally, the color says nothing about whether a lemon is ripe or not. Green fruits can definitely be ripe for consumption. Lemons only get their yellow color under the influence of cool night temperatures. A lemon tree in the temperate winter garden with constant room temperatures gives you ripe lemons that don't sparkle like a sapphire.
Should lemons be picked or cut off at harvest?
Lemons are characterized by a firm connection with their supporting branch. Consequently, picking ripe fruit carries the risk of tearing off or damaging the branch as well. In practice, cutting off ripe lemons with scissors has proven to be a good idea. Start the harvest cut directly on the fruit. Alternatively, cut off a complete fruit shoot including several fruits and leaves.
The 3 most common cutting mistakes
If short or long stubs remain after the cut, rot and diseases are inevitable. Without an occasional maintenance cut, a crown of lemons degenerates into an impenetrable, flowerless tangle of branches. If you let wild shoots on the lemon tree do, you will struggle with an overgrown crown. This table summarizes the three most common cutting errors with tips for skilful prevention:
| cutting error | damage picture | prevention |
|---|---|---|
| cut on pegs | Spread of disease and rot | Always cut off shoots directly at the base |
| never cleared | dense branch network, bare, flowerless shoots | Thin out the crown every few years |
| Wild shoots not removed | overgrown crown | Tear off wild shoots without wood and promptly |
tips
With a picturesque crown and Mediterranean charm, a lemon tree makes you forget that its branches are armed with sharp thorns. When you attend to cutting care, please put on long-cuffed, thorn-resistant gloves. Even small scratches on the skin can lead to unpleasant infections if they are not noticed and treated.