There’s a lemon tree that’s been on my property since day one and I’ve been here about 17 years. I irregularly water it and its given me fruit every year, which is nice. Recently I’ve decided its about time I actually give it some attention, and I think it’s time to prune. I think.
It’s wildly overgrown and has sorta been doing it’s own thing this whole time, and I searched up a guide on how/what to prune and did some basic stuff like removing branches touching the ground, but I feel that I’m in over my head. I’m afraid I might over-do it and damage the tree. Any advice would be appreciated!
The tree in question:
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I find citrus trees handle heavy pruning pretty well, at long as your goal is to control the size or shape (and not trying to thin the canopy). This is especially true if you’re using drop-crotch pruning. Are you trying to narrow the tree or reduce its height?
Just be aware that you may lose a season of fruit after heavy pruning.
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Trying to narrow it. I cant mow underneath at all (not that I have to mow often with my lack of lawn), It’s hard to access the hose without getting thorned, and reaching higher up fruit is difficult without wading through the lower branches.
I’m not using any particular pruning style, I have just been cutting, then realizing maybe I should think about asking others before I do anything permanent 
Narrowing it is easier than shortening it. Take off max 30% total along the sides, using drop crotch technique. Avoid thinning the canopy (don’t prune in the center/middle).
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Martin, my experience with citrus is next to nil, so I’m going to ask you for a clarification about not thinning the canopy. I would have thought that it would be good for the tree to open up the middle. But as I said, I don’t know anything about citrus pruning, so I’m open to education.
Thanks!
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It’s a debatable topic but most agricultural academics argue that citrus does better without thinning. My citrus trees produce more and have less trunk scorching when I don’t thin (in zone 10). The goal is to not be able to see through the canopy at all, unlike stone fruit trees.
Thanks- as soon as you said “less trunk scorching” I started to understand. I don’t see much, if any, scorching here; don’t know if that’s a function of our USDA zone 5B (2012 map) or species specific or what.
The major citrus orchards in my area (CA) never thin their canopy. I can probably get away using a hedge trimmer on my citrus trees. My neighbors do for their citrus privacy hedges and they’re loaded with fruit. I can’t really speak about pruning citrus in zone 5 though.
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I don’t think anybody can!
:-)M
I am in zone 8b on California’s Central Coast and slightly inland’. We rarely get temps over 90 degrees, but sun scald or scorch has damaged many of my trees (apples and stone fruits) but with one exception it has not affected my citrus trees. When I bought this house 25 years ago, I inherited 4 citrus trees planted by the previous owner about 30 years ago. One turned out to be Clementine Mandarin, another was Lane Late Navel and I had been calling one a Pumelo due to fruit often being ‘pear shaped’. Found out it is called Oro Blanco grapefruit but it does have a Pumelo parent.
Anyway, getting to the point, about 20 years ago, a bad freeze hit California the hit the citrus industry hard. I lost the fruit on all the trees but the Oro Blanco, but no major loss of leaves. The fruit on the OroBlanco was undamaged (due to the thick skin pumelo heritage) but the tree lost all its leaves and subsequently suffered major sun scald. The tree eventually recovered and has produced heavily. I should have painted the trunk and limbs with white interior latex paint to prevent that damage But I didn’t know about that then.
If you are cutting back, be aware of possible sun scald, but may not be a big concern at this time of year. The other thing is that you will get a flush of new growth when you cut back. Unwanted new growth can be just rubbed off before it hardens.
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