When is the best time to prune lemon trees
How to prune a lemon tree
It’s important to know how to prune a lemon tree if you want a healthy plant abundant with zesty fruit.
Lemon trees are a popular addition to patios, and make delightful house plants in conservatories and sunny living rooms, and give a Mediterranean flavor to kitchen garden ideas.
A slow-growing fruit, lemons can take up to a year to go from bud to edible fruit. So patience is key – invest some time pruning your lemon tree now, and you will lay the foundation for a bountiful crop later on.
Whether you have grown lemon from seed or bought it from a garden center, it’s essential that you don’t neglect it and allow it to become overgrown and unproductive.
(Image credit: Future/Brent Darby)
How to prune a lemon tree – step by step guide
Lemon trees should be pruned from their second year onwards, otherwise they can become very leggy, overcrowded with branches, and out of shape.
First, make sure you have the right tools for the job. ‘The most important part of pruning a lemon tree is to use very sharp pruners that have been disinfected with rubbing alcohol beforehand,’ says Joseph Marini, principal of At Home with Joseph .
'Cuts that cause tears can introduce disease or stress, and pruners that have been previously used on diseased plants can cause cross contamination to your lemon tree.’
However, for branches you may need a more substantial tool. 'Typically your lemon tree will be better served with a clean, sharp hand-saw or pole-saw (for higher branches), which will make much more precise, and neat incisions,’ advises Andrew Gaumond horticulturist, botanist, and director of content at Petal Republic .
- ‘To start with, remove suckers or basal shoots at the base of the lemon tree,’ says Marini. Suckers are very fast growing and often their leaves look different from the grafted part of the tree. If you don’t remove them flush at the base, they will steal water and nutrients from the rest of the tree, so do this as soon as you notice them.
- Next, remove any dead, diseased or damaged branches. ‘Any growth that appears discolored, diseased or has been invaded by any pesky insects (such as scale or mealy bugs) should be removed immediately as and when they appear throughout the year,’ adds Marini.
- Thin out branch structures. ‘Over time lemon tree branches will often start to compete with one another for light and nutrient sources,’ says Gaumond. ‘Thin out overlapping branches, and the overall structure of the tree so it has sufficient aeration and access to light. More mature branches shouldn't be cut flush to the trunk or parent branch – instead, leave at least 5 inches of branch in place, which will better enable the tree to recover from the shock of pruning.’
- ‘Where there are double shoots that run almost parallel upwards, cut off the inside shoot,’ advises Sigrid Hansen-Catania, author of Success with Citrus Fruit .
- Hansen-Catania also recommends removing shoots that grow horizontally into the crown (cross shoots), making it denser, as well as any weak shoots that hang downwards – these should be cut off at the base.
- When pruning a lemon tree, it’s important to think about the shape. ‘A citrus plant is particularly attractive with a shaped crown, and the round crown is characteristic. ‘To do this, target the left side and cut off selected shoots,’ says Hansen-Catania. ‘Do not take any notice of flowers or fruits. The point where you cut should always lie above a leaf.’
- Finally, be careful not to cut off too much. ‘Never prune more than a third of a tree in one year,’ says Marini.
(Image credit: Raimond Klavins/Unsplash)
When should lemon trees be pruned?
Ideally prune lemon trees in late winter or early spring. ‘The trick with all citrus trees is to avoid pruning or cutting back during the flowering and fruit producing season in summer when the tree is at its most virile,’ says Gaumond.
‘Citrus trees will enter a natural period of dormancy post harvest – typically late fall through winter – which is the best time to consider pruning. Typically, I'll assess a lemon tree in the very early spring to assess what needs pruning before the growth cycle reboots for the season.
’
(Image credit: Future / Mark Bolton)
Pruning potted lemon trees
Potted lemon trees should be pruned in exactly the same way as other lemon trees, but you should be conscious of keeping them to a manageable size.
'Although you can prune the branches to achieve the needed size of the lemon tree, it’s not enough. Lemon trees can grow up to 20-25 feet, but you don’t want them to do that inside your house,’ says experienced botanist Ronnie Collins, who also founded Electro Garden Tools .
‘Make sure to stop providing the plant with larger pots as soon as it reaches four feet tall. It’s an optimal size for fruiting in a pot. A pot of the right size will prevent the plant from growing larger.’
Hard pruning citrus trees
Occasionally lemon trees need a hard prune to rejuvenate them. ‘A radical cutting back is the last-ditch means of healing a citrus plant,' says Hansen-Catania.
'A lemon tree, for example, that has been overwintered in a room that was not sufficiently bright and too warm will react to these unfavourable conditions with increased loss of leaves.
Cutting back will then be the only way to renew the plant and help it to grow healthy shoots.
'Cut the plant back by about half and at the same time try to bring the crown into shape. The best time to do this is in the spring, before a new growth spurt begins.'
(Image credit: Future / Michelle Garrett)
Can you over prune a lemon tree?
It is possible to over prune a lemon tree, which will impact its fruit production, and potentially kill it. Don’t cut it back by more than a third unless you are attempting to renovate a failing plant, in which case you can cut it back by up to half its current size.
How do you prune a Meyer lemon tree?
A Meyer lemon tree is a hybrid variety from China that is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin. It produces smaller, smoother, sweeter fruit with a thinner skin. You can prune Meyer lemon trees in the same way as other varieties.
Should I cut the thorns off a lemon tree?
Many lemon varieties are bred not to have thorns, especially grafted varieties, so check to see whether the thorny branch is in fact a sucker.
This will be growing from the rootstock below the graft. If so, remove it.
If you have a thornier lemon tree variety, you can remove the odd inconveniently located thorn without risk of harming the plant. However, there is no benefit to removing all of them, and you may cause damage to the plant by doing so.
Can you top a lemon tree?
You should not cut the top off a lemon tree and expect it to survive. If the plant requires a hard prune to renovate it, you should cut the branches by no more than half.
How To Prune Your Citrus Trees
Israel Osuna Citrus Trees | My New Citrus Tree | Pruning Guide
February 2022 6 minute read
Pruning citrus trees is an important part of tree management.
Early tree shaping will give you the best start and pruning older trees is great for managing fruiting surface area. Continue reading to learn more on how to prune your citrus trees.
The ideal time for pruning citrus trees is in early spring or after your last frost which is just before the spring flush (new growth). You want to prune at this time is to allow flush to harden off before citrus leaf miner is present. Pruning in summer or fall will cause the tree to flush just during a time of maximum leaf miner pressure resulting in lots of damage. Pruning your citrus tree in winter can be problematic because the tender new growth has the potential to be damaged by freezing temperatures as it won't have time to harden off.
Before we begin pruning, we need to gather a few tools and sanitize. Common tools for pruning include your classic pruning shears for cuts smaller than an inch, Loppers for cuts up to two inches, and an optional pruning saw that can help when making larger cuts to established trees.
Safety equipment like gloves and safety glasses are also very important when working on thorny trees like citrus. Sterilize your tools with rubbing alcohol or 2% bleach solution (1 part bleach: 50 parts water). Bleach is quite corrosive, so rinsing your tools with water after treatment will help to prevent rusting. Repeat this cleaning step at the end of a day's work to maintain sterile tools and consider treating your tools with machine oil or WD-40 to further protect your tools from oxidation.
One thing to note before we dive into pruning is that pruning citrus (Lemons, Limes, Mandarins, Oranges, Kumquats, Grapefruits & Pomelos) trees is different in pruning deciduous fruit trees like pome & stone fruits. Citrus trees are subtropical evergreen trees with very different growing habits and prefer a more hedged pruning method over to the structured pruning methods used in deciduous fruit trees.
Now that our tools are cleaned up, let's start with a fresh tree from the nursery as our example. Most citrus trees fresh from the nursery are grown as whips some having a few branches to start with. When planting a juvenile tree, it is crucial that you implement an annual tree pruning habit to manage the tree growth over the years. It is recommended that you top your tree at the time of planting to encourage branching and get your tree to push lots of lateral growth in its first few seasons. This can be done with a simple heading cut. A heading cut will reduce a lengthy branch by about half and encourage side branching which will create a fuller and more bushy tree. For a new whip of a tree choose a location about a quarter of the way down from the top to cut your tree and encourage branching. Be careful during this step not to reduce your tree too low, since most fruit trees are grafted and cutting your tree below the graft line will result in a tree that is purely rootstock and will not have the desired fruiting variety.
If your tree already has decent branching at the desired height, you can skip this step and simply pinch off the terminal buds of each branch to encourage more branching. A terminal bud is a bud at the very end of a branch.
When pruning any kind of fruit tree you want to be mindful of your graft line. The graft line is the point at which the rootstock has healed with the fruiting variety. You can identify your graft line by a line of scar tissue that is typically about 4”-8” above the soil line. It is very important to remove any growth from below the graft line to prevent rootstock from taking over. You may ask yourself, “why is my tree grafted if the rootstock doesn’t produce good fruit?” Rootstocks are chosen primarily for their ability to create a smaller than standard size tree and also for their ability to resist pests and diseases. Any growth coming from the rootstock (aka: suckers) should be removed.
For your more established trees or larger nursery stock citrus trees, pruning should be done post-harvest in late winter or early spring as well.
The goal is to get comfortable with pruning your tree and not be afraid to make necessary cuts to achieve the desired shape. A good place to start is by removing all of your dead, damaged, or diseased branches. Thinning out these unproductive branches will improve airflow and light reach within the tree as well as redirect energy to fruiting branches. Inner canopy leafless branches can also be removed since the lack of light is likely why they defoliated in the first place. Once our unproductive wood is removed, we can head back lengthy branches to keep the canopy compact. In a commercial setting citrus trees are hedge pruned to regulate the shape and so that the canopy is one solid mass to maximize fruit production and enable allow for ripening.
If your main goal is fruit production on your tree, keeping a young tree compact and cutting back lengthy growth will keep the canopy to an optimal shape for easy maintenance, even light penetration, and make for easy harvesting. These steps of early shaping in young trees will greatly reduce the need for intensive pruning in the future.
Once you are happy with your final shape, look over your tree and identify areas where light is penetrating the canopy and directly hitting exposed branches and or trunk. Applying a layer of IV Organics Plant Guard tree paint to these exposed branches/trunk areas will help protect the tree from sunburn and winter scald until the canopy fills out. This step is crucial for growers in climates that get over 90°F in the summer.
Pruning a citrus tree is not difficult and if I can give any words of advice here, it would be: don’t be afraid to cut the tree back. The tree will always grow back and you can continue to reshape it as you practice from season to season.
Shop Citrus Trees
Protect your tree from sunburn, insects & rodents with PLANT GUARD tree paint & foliar spray.
Protect your roots from rodents with ROOT GUARD the original gopher wire basket.
Feed your fruit tree with Romeo Plant Food.
This water-soluble fertilizer is great for in-ground or in-container growing.
Author: Israel Osuna
rules, deadlines, recommendations in 2022 at GoodGrunt
Contents
- Why is pruning necessary?
- General rules
- Timing
- First pruning
- Subsequent pruning
- Pruning scheme
- Challenges
- Secrets
- Rejuvenation 9005
Lemon is a beautiful plant that can be grown at home. To make the tree look neat and well-groomed, you should properly prune the indoor lemon, which will help give its crown a decorative shape.Why trim?
There are several reasons why a plant should be pruned.
- It helps to keep the crown even and neat.
- The procedure helps to rejuvenate an old tree.
- If the plant is not pruned, it will grow up and not bear fruit.
- Pruning reduces the risk of tree diseases.
- A properly formed crown will increase the life of the plant and the duration of fruiting.
It is necessary to give the crown an even shape even if there is no goal of obtaining fruits, otherwise the tree will look untidy.
General Rules
In order for the pruning of a lemon tree not to harm it, the following rules must be observed.
- It must be done when the plant is dormant. This is the period from late autumn to early spring.
- If the plant is mature and already bearing fruit, all fruit should be removed from the plant.
- Shoots of the first level should be removed 25 cm, the second - no more than 10 cm. All subsequent branches - only 5 cm.
It is necessary to understand that the procedure is simple, but it must be approached responsibly, because incorrectly performed pruning will set the tree in the wrong direction of growth. You can correct mistakes after an unsuccessful procedure only by removing a large number of branches, which is why it is important to act clearly in accordance with the recommendations of experienced lemon tree owners.
Timing
Experts are divided on the best time to prune indoor lemons. Most believe that the most suitable time for this is the beginning of spring, before the formation of new shoots. However, in winter, you can slightly thin out the crown. To improve fruiting next year, pruning the tree should be in late autumn.
First cut
At home, the first pruning of the tree should be done in time; if it is carried out correctly, you can count on the fact that the houseplant will bear fruit. The procedure is carried out in the first year of the life of a lemon, the trunk is cut off at a height of about 20 cm, but it is very important that 3-4 developed buds remain, from which shoots will form - this will allow the side branches to develop. Pruning is done with a pruner.
Tip
It is best if the kidneys are placed at the same level, but on different sides of the trunk.
When pruning a young lemon, all vertically growing branches are removed.
The best time for the procedure is February. Plant height depends on where the lemon pot is placed. So, if the tree will grow on the windowsill, it should not be too high. This must be taken into account when forming the crown.
Post trimming
The first stage of crown formation is the most important, it determines whether the tree will bear fruit. In the second year of life, lateral branches form in the seedling (they are called branches of the first order), there should be 3-4 such shoots, which is why it was necessary to leave 3-4 buds during the first pruning. In order to form shoots of the third order, pruning is also carried out. Further, the tree itself will form a crown, and will begin to bear fruit after the appearance of branches of the fourth order.
Two removal methods are commonly used:
- partial - shortening of the fattening branches by 25 cm;
- complete - this is how most often dead or old branches of a tree are destroyed, which can cause disease.
Shoots are removed when they interfere with each other's development. At the same time, the strongest shoot is left, and the weak one is cut off.
Tip
If the shoot is strong, but growing vertically, it should be removed, leaving a weaker one, but growing horizontally. At the top of the plant, the shoot growing upwards is cut off first.
Cutting pattern
Tree pruning scheme is as follows.
- In the first year, only the trunk is trimmed, this will encourage the formation of side shoots. If this is not done, the lemon will begin to grow up and will be an unattractive "stick". Plant height should be 25-30 cm from the ground.
- In the second year, side branches are pruned. It is necessary to ensure that 3 new shoots begin to actively grow and develop. If only one grows, it should be completely removed to stimulate the growth of others. This process is called breaking out.
- Next, the branches of the third order are pruned.
- The formation of the crown is completed by pruning the branches of the fifth order, after which the tree can be allowed to bear fruit.
The main task is to give the crown a fan-like appearance.
Tip
If one of the young shoots grows vertically, you can not cut it, but give it the right direction by carefully wrapping it with wire and fixing it in the required position.
Difficulties
Some difficulties may arise when pruning lemons.
- Often only one shoot begins to actively form at the place of pruning, while it is necessary to achieve the development of three or four. In this case, it is completely removed (breaks out) under the base, sometimes this procedure has to be repeated several times.
- So-called tops may appear, growing vertically upwards and incapable of fruiting. Their growth rate is much higher than that of fruit branches. The easiest way to deal with them is to remove them.
Some experts use 25 cm pruning.
It should be remembered that the pruning of a lemon tree must be carried out carefully, it is very difficult to correct the result.
Secrets
In order for the formation of the homemade lemon crown to be successful, it is important to adhere to the following recommendations of experienced flower growers.
- After pruning, be sure to treat the sections with a garden pitch. However, if very thin branches were removed, then there is no need for such processing.
- Annual pruning of the tree will help to form a beautiful crown of a homemade lemon: all weak shoots are removed, as well as those that grow in a vertical direction.
- Worker shoots need to pinch off the top so that they begin to form fruits. This should be done after the appearance of 6-7 leaves.
Often there is a need to correct the crown of an already mature tree growing in a pot. In this case, pruning should be carried out in April or early May - at the time when shoot growth begins.
The formation of the crown of an adult plant is done primarily for aesthetic purposes, to make it attractive. It is also very important to remove dead and diseased branches. Tip
It is necessary to cut tops as they appear, throughout the year.
If your house tree is many years old, regular pruning will help rejuvenate it. After shortening the old branches, new shoots will begin to develop more actively.
Flower removal
If the purpose of growing indoor lemon is to produce fruits, then removing excess flowers will allow you to control the process. With the help of this procedure, it is possible to ensure that the forces of the tree will be directed to the full development of the ovaries from the remaining flowers.
The number of buds to be left depends on the age of the young tree.
- If the lemon is three years old, remove half of the buds, then leave 2-3 fruits.
- For a 4–5 year old tree, the number of fruits is increased to 7.
- When the lemon has reached 6-7 years, you can leave up to 10 fruits.
Remove the weakest flowers. If the whole branch does not bloom well, you can cut it completely.
Tip
The more empty flowers and weak flowers are cut off, the more ovaries will remain on the branches and, accordingly, the harvest will be richer.
Rejuvenation
When a lemon tree is 15-20 years old, pruning can rejuvenate it. This will not only improve the appearance of the plant, but also increase fruiting.
Pruning is carried out in the spring, all branches are cut up to the 4th or 5th order, this stimulates the growth of dormant buds and the subsequent emergence of young shoots. After this procedure, the plant must be transplanted into a new pot, carefully shortening the root system by about 30%. It is very important not to touch the roots inside the earthy coma.
The crown formation process of a young tree is quite lengthy and can take up to 4 years.
However, having completed it once, in subsequent years it will be enough to slightly cut the shoots so that the lemon does not lose its attractive appearance. Lemon pruning at home - for fruiting and crown formation, when it is correct to prune indoor lemon
- Do I need to cut a lemon at home
- When can you trim a homemade lemon?
- First pruning of a lemon tree
- How to properly cut indoor lemon
- To form a crown
- For profuse flowering
- For fruiting
- For propagation by cuttings
- Anti-aging pruning
- What is the difference between pinching and pruning
- How to pinch a lemon
- Lemon care at home after pruning
- How to form a crown by pinching
- Lemon Tree Care Tips
Lemon is a popular indoor fruiting plant.
Caring for it is not difficult, but certain rules for growing this tree must be observed. Pruning is an essential part of indoor lemon care. It allows you to give the tree a decorative look and ensure long-term fruiting. Do I need to prune lemons at home
When growing lemons indoors, pruning is mandatory. Lemon is a large plant. In the open air, its height reaches 8 m. In a room, the height of a lemon should not exceed 2 m. This procedure is carried out for a number of reasons. Here are the most basic ones:
- The tree is given a decorative look, and its crown is given a certain shape;
- Pruning promotes the growth of new side shoots and prevents the growth of the tree, which promotes fruiting;
- A well-formed crown ensures a long tree life and regular fruiting;
- Pruning can be used to rejuvenate an old specimen.
When to prune a homemade lemon
There is no consensus among experts on when and best to prune a lemon at home.
Some recommend pruning lemons in early spring. There is also an opinion that if you cut indoor lemon in autumn or winter, this will provide a greater yield. And some believe that the lemon tree can be pruned all year round. The most common formative pruning of a lemon is carried out in early spring.
Its purpose is to give the crown of the tree the desired shape and to ensure the branching of shoots and the growth of fruit branches. Such pruning is not carried out every year, but as needed. You can not cut the lemon too much and often, as this depletes the tree and can even lead to its death.
Old trees are also pruned in early spring.
This is a heavy pruning, in which old branches are removed so that the tree grows as many young ones as possible. Sanitary pruning is carried out in the fall after all the fruits are removed from the tree.
This removes all dry and damaged branches. Weak and "fatting" shoots are also removed. Fattening shoots or tops can be cut out completely or shortened by ¾, since in the future such a shoot may develop into a fruit branch.
First pruning of a lemon tree
The first pruning of a lemon tree is carried out in February during 1 year of the plant's life. At this time, the young plant does not yet have side shoots, but only a straight trunk. The first pruning of a lemon forms a trunk and provides a few side shoots.
To do this, you need to examine the trunk of a young tree and find dormant buds on it, from which the branches of the plant will appear. It is best if there are 3 or 4 kidneys and they are located in a circle at the same height.
Then an incision is made 1-1.5 cm above them and the upper part of the trunk is removed. The lower part remains for the trunk and the future crown. The trunk is cut 20-25 cm above the soil level. Work is carried out with a sharp garden pruner. Sections after the operation are poured with garden pitch.
How to properly prune indoor lemons
There is a generally accepted scheme for trimming indoor lemons, which is most effective when forming a crown and growing fruit branches.
In order for a lemon to be pruned correctly, you need to know such a concept as the order of branching of a tree. Thus, the shoot of the 0th order is the tree trunk. Several main branches depart from it - shoots of the 1st order. In turn, shoots of the 2nd order are formed on them, and so on. The tree grows fruit branches, starting with shoots of the 4th order and higher.
For crown formation
Beginning of crown formation - the initial pruning of the level 0 shoot, which is described above. Further, how to properly cut a lemon at home, the diagram clearly demonstrates:
- If during the initial pruning of the length of the stem or shoot of the 0th order was 20 cm, then when the shoots of the 1st order are grown, they are shortened so that their length is 25 cm ;
- Pruning of shoots 2 order is carried out when they have grown to a length of 20 cm or more. Their length after trimming should be 20 cm;
- Shoots of each successive branching order must be 5 cm shorter;
- Formation ends on shoots of the 5th order, the length of which will be 5 cm.
The formation of the crown of a lemon tree must be completed before it begins to bear fruit. Otherwise, fruit flower buds will be removed and the tree will not bear fruit all season.
For profuse flowering
The correct formation of the crown of the lemon tree contributes to its profuse flowering. After the end of the formation of the crown in early March, you should not wait for flowering immediately. The skeleton of the crown is quite branched, but there are no fruit twigs on it, on which flowers and fruits are formed.
Lemon will bloom early next spring. Until this time, he should grow many small fruit twigs. This will happen during the growing season after pruning. The next year, you can not prune in early spring.
Yearly fruit branches can be damaged and removed during this procedure. Abundant flowering will not work. Therefore, when pruning, you need to remember that after it the flowering of the tree does not occur.
The lemon tree will only bloom the next year after the pruning is done. Trimming a lemon in a pot at home, see this video: For fruiting
The well-formed crown of the lemon tree will ensure its abundant flowering. But you need to remember that if there are a lot of flowers, the plant can drop the ovary. Also, a lot of small and low-quality fruits can form on it, which will lead to a lack of flowering and fruiting next year.
Blooming lemon is carefully examined, excess flowers are removed.
Ideally, each branch of the 5th order should have no more than 3-4 ovaries. Therefore, the largest and strongest flowers are left, and the rest are cut or plucked. If there are a lot of flowers, you can completely remove the fruit branch with flowers and buds.
By removing extra flowers and buds, you can not be afraid of falling ovaries. Such pruning of a lemon for fruiting at home, during flowering, will provide a good harvest of large and high-quality fruits.
Propagation by cuttings
Usually, when pruning a large overgrown tree with a large crown , many cut branches are formed, from which cuttings are cut for rooting. On purpose, no one cuts a lemon so that it grows quickly.
However, if the plant gives a weak growth, then its crown slowly increases in size , and, therefore, after pruning there is little material left for rooting. There is a way to make lemon tree shoots grow faster.
Lemon twigs start to grow faster if fruit twigs are removed from them.
This is what they do if there are too many of them. If you remove these branches, growth buds wake up on the shoot in spring. The branch begins to grow intensively and branch. Thus, by removing the fruit growth, it is possible to increase the crown in a short time, and then cut it off, having received many cuttings for rooting.
Rejuvenating pruning
You can prune an old lemon when the tree is growing a little.
These are usually very old lemon trees. They can be rejuvenated and prolong their intensive flowering and fruiting for several years. Rejuvenating pruning of an old lemon affects only branches of the 3rd order and above.
The main branches of the crown skeleton, if they are alive, should not be touched. All branches of the 5th order and above are completely removed. When rejuvenating pruning, it is necessary to completely remove old, dry and weakened branches.
All shoots growing inside the crown are also cut out. Usually, anti-aging pruning results in the loss of a large number of branches. But after that, the growth of the tree increases significantly, it quickly restores the crown.
After the anti-aging pruning, it is necessary to feed the lemon with organic fertilizers. You can also use special fertilizers for lemons with a lot of nitrogen, so that the tree grows green faster.
What is the difference between pinching and pruning
Pinching and pruning lemons are different methods of tree crown formation.
They are almost identical, but there is a fundamental difference between them. Pinching a room lemon is the same pruning, but its purpose is only to destroy the growth point. Pinching is carried out with nail scissors if the branches are not thick, and with sharp secateurs if the branches are thick.
Pruning a lemon means not only destroying the growth point of the shoot, but also shortening it. You can cut any shoot to any length. The rest of the shoot should start up side branches and bloom after a while.
Pinching differs from pruning only by the level at which the shoot can be cut. If you need to shorten it by 2/3, 1/3 is a trim. Pinching allows you to get by with only a slight decrease in green mass.
How to pinch a lemon
Pinching a lemon is easy. It is slightly different from pruning. For this procedure, you will need scissors or a small pruner, as well as garden pitch. To pinch a shoot means to shorten it by 1-2 cm along with the growth point.
Then, over time, numerous side shoots will appear on it. Before work, the inventory must be carefully prepared. Scissors and secateurs - disinfect in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
Scissors cut off the most tender part of the shoot - the growing point with 1-2 leaves. But there are times when scissors don't take a hard escape. In this case, you can use a garden pruner. After removing part of the shoot with a growth point, you need to process the cut so that the infection does not get into it. To do this, the sections are covered with a small amount of garden pitch.
Lemon care at home after pruning
After pruning a homemade lemon, all cuts must be treated. To do this, use a garden var. If this is not done, pathogenic bacteria and fungi can get into the wounds. A pruned lemon tree is best planted in partial shade.
In bright light, a damaged plant may shed its remaining leaves.
Lemons should remain in partial shade for at least 2 weeks, preferably before growth begins.
After pruning, you need to water the plant as usual. The temperature of the lemon must be at least 20ºС. Humidity in the apartment is not increased, because the damaged plant will rot in humid air.
It is very important to feed the plant after pruning. Lemon responds very well to feeding with a weak solution of mullein. You can also use liquid specialized fertilizers for citrus fruits with a high nitrogen content.
How to form a crown by pinching
You can form a lemon crown not only by pruning, but also by pinching. You need to pinch the shoot when it has reached the desired length, but not later. Therefore, it is necessary to form a lemon crown by pinching gradually throughout the year.
The first pruning is also replaced by pinching when the trunk of a young tree reaches a height of 20-25 cm. Further, when shoots of the 1st level appear on the trunk, they are also pinched, and just when their length becomes 1-2 cm more than the generally accepted norm, namely, the length is 25 cm.
pinch. This is how the crown of a lemon tree is formed without pruning. For a tree, this is better, since pinching takes place gradually over 1-2 shoots, so the damage to the plant is negligible.
Recommendations for the care of a lemon tree
Lemon can be grown indoors from a seed or from a cutting. The first option is much more expensive than the second. In addition, the specimen from the stone, most likely, does not inherit the characteristics of a varietal plant.
It can grow very large and will need to be heavily trimmed to grow indoors.
If you are growing a lemon from a cutting, the cutting must be cut from the cultivar. Then a real indoor compact lemon will grow in the apartment, which will not need to be grafted for fruiting. Caring for indoor lemon is not difficult:
- It does not tolerate waterlogging of the soil and drying out of the earthen clod;
- Watering it should be regular;
- The temperature and humidity in a city apartment are completely suitable for growing lemons;
- As the plant grows, it is necessary to form the crown of the plant.
