Interesting. Michael Phillips discusses this pinching technique in his book to keep the central leader vigorous and reaching for the sky and it’s often discussed in high density orchard settings.
Stripping leaves does not encourage vigor.
Tim Hensley of the Urban Homestead nursery in Virginia sometimes strips off his stock whips to gauge how soon he can dig them for bareroot storage and avoid transpiration through the leaves:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nQQqXt_lefg
I’ve also seen Tom Spellman of DWN do it in order to force his trees into winter dormancy for spray purposes-- see 6:30 into this video:
Hello,
I’m absolutely no expert on this subject but I do practice leaves stripping for a different reason. After an in-house winter, my kumquat has yellowish leaves. Early spring annually, just like what my mom did to hers, I stripped all leaves from this plant and about 3, 4 weeks later, my kumquat has a new set of leaves.
So, I think my reason is to re-invigorate the tired-looking kumquat! I don’t notice any significant growth spurt, just some moderate growths as expected when warm weather and sunlight are available. This picture was taken in late May, probably a week after the ritual. I’ll take another picture to post of its current condition after I got home today.
Tom, that’s a nice, compact, many branched little kumquat you have there. I hope you eventually ate that last lonely little fruit.
That’s a good way to kill a citrus tree. When a citrus tree (which are evergreen, not decicuous) drops leaves, it is because they’re stressed. It is NOT a good sign. If the leaves look “tired”, it is because the tree is ailing. The tree you show above should have its fruit stripped (not its leaves), so the tree can put forth the energy to save itself by pushing out new flush. Remove all the competing plants growing under it - citrus do not “share” well with other plants being grown in their containers. Be sure you have a very well draining potting mix (the potting mix in this tree looks very heavy, which can retain too much water and cause root rot), and fertilize regularly with a high quality water soluble higher N fertilizer such as Dyna Gro’s Foliage Pro. I also recommend using a good quality time release fertilizer as well such as Osmocote Plus (must be the “Plus” formulation, as it has a higher N to PK ratio, plus all the micros). Never strip a citrus tree of its leaves.
Ew! I did the totally opposite then!
Here’s the look of it after taking in your recommendation. All other vegetation removed and a healthy dose of composted horse manure!
The little fruit is still hanging, MuddyMess! We’re still debating (4 of us) who’s entitled for that little fruit! 
And this picture is from the top of it. Not much “extra growth”, only what you would normally see of spring growth…
Well, we all live and learn 
That’s what makes our forum so helpful, we can make huge learning strides and shorten up the learning curve with all the real experts on this great forum. So, with your heavy potting soils, just monitor the bottom of your pot, especially in the winter when you bring in your kumquat. Monitor for both scale and spider mites, the absolute nemesis of indoor citrus, and treat accordingly, and frequently (you’ll think they’re gone, but they wont be, trust me.) The healthier and more vigorous your tree, the better it can withstand insect infestations. Also, if you do get new flush, which I suspect you will with this shot of N with the manure, you’ll want to treat for CLM (Citrus Leaf Miner). You can either use something systemic (Bayer Vegetable & Fruit Insect Control - Imidacloprid), or something topical (Spinosad + Neem, only add the Neem if outside temps are below 85 degrees, spray in the evening if you have blossoms, so spare your bees). So, get your fertilizer going, use the Dyna Gro Foliage Pro full strength with every watering, and you can switch to 1/2 strength during the winter, when growth slows. Apply the Osmocote Plus now, and again in 6 months.
Patty,
This is what I use in early spring. Is this compatible to Osmocote? I have this kumquat for over 6 years but it stayed at pretty much the same size. Could it be that since it’s in pot, it did not get any sizable growth? And it does not flower for me every year. And when it does, most fruits were aborted. What should I do to get more fruits so that us 4 don’t have to keep debating who get what out of a few matured fruits? 
No, not really. I’m not sure why folks seem to be so ga ga about organic fertilizer. First off, it’s terribly expensive, and you have to use 2 to 4 times as much, which makes it REALLY expensive. All those organic compounds need to be broken down into their inorganic forms in order for the plant to be able to absorb those nutrients, so in the end, it’s all the same thing. This has a a 5-2-6 NPK ratio. Low numbers = low concentration of macronutrients = need more product. The application rate on the bag is for in-ground citrus, not container citrus. For container citrus, you’ll have to apply this product really every 30 to 60 days, as it gets leached out with watering. And, it only has Ca, Mg, Su for micros. Plus, it is not time-release product. So, this would be more comparable to Dyna Gro Foliage Pro, which is a far superior product, imvho. Osmocote Plus, on the other hand, IS a time-release product, and has an NPK ratio of 15-9-12. And has the full compliment of micros. You only need to apply 2 or 3 times a year (more frequently the warmer the temps). I use it as a supplement to my Foliage Pro. I have found much better results with the two products I’ve recommended. You’re probably underfeeding, and also if it’s been in this pot (and mix) for 6 years, it is most likely pot-bound and your potting medium has collapsed. Pot it up to a larger pot, trim any roots that are circling, use a good home-made well draining potting mix, and fertilize more frequently. Full sunlight outside for as long as possible, west or south window during the winter. Kumquats should bloom prolifically and set prolifically. Here is a video link to how to make your own, well-draining potting mix:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixp_UI6AfwU&feature=youtu.be
Don’t use something right out of a bag (unless it is Farfard Pro Mix), as it will just have too many fines and you’ll end up with compressed mix that will retain too much moisture. Even “Cactus Mixes”. I don’t even use something out of a bag in my warm, dry climate.
Patty, some people just like the idea of using natural fertilizers. As a young person I was a full blown, back–to-the-earth hippy and when I grew anything in the coastal CA climate where I then lived, I’d never consider using anything synthetic (except one time when borers were killing some plum trees).
Growing fruit in the east coast broke me of my religion a great deal but I still hate using anything synthetic in my vegie garden, even for the parsley I grow in containers (to keep it above the root worms) I use compost and other organic sources for nutrition to keep it growing well.
And yet I have about 25 various synthetic compounds in my pesticide cabinet to kill anything that attacks the fruit trees I manage. I also use plenty of urea in my nursery to size up trees in a hurry and use other synthetic fertilizers to more economically manage other people’s orchards.
I guess I’m a sell out to my old religion but I still attend church.
Alan, I get that we all want to keep our gardens as healthy as possible, but chemistry is chemistry when it comes to fertilizers. Now, do I top my trees with compost? Of course I do Not just for nutrients, but mainly for an improved biodiversity in my soils, which tend to be rather thin. With container growing though, it’s a bit of a different story. You don’t have the biodiversity in a container pot like you do in the soil. It would take so much longer for those organic compounds to be broken down in a container, than they would in the soil. And, I also try to take an “integrated pest management” approach, and use the least possible harmful compounds first (like Spinosad, insecticidal soaps, Neem oil, even just a hard stream of water), before going to more serious compounds that have residuals I really don’t want on or in my fruits and vegetables. But, with fertilizers, it is just really Chemistry 101. And, for me, it just doesn’t make sense to spend 10 times the money for an organic product that will probably not work and eventually end up being the same exact chemical compound as the synthetic version that costs a fraction of the cost and works better. Just my take on it. It’s nice folks have the choice, and if someone is asking me my opinion about the best choices for container citrus fertilizing, I’m going to give them my take on it. Just doesn’t make economic sense to me, and the results aren’t any better, will cost more, and there just isn’t any “gain” in using organic fertilizers.
Tom, are you a purely organic grower, or are you open to other growing practices, as well?
It would also be nice to split off a separate thread to discuss the challenges of growing your kumquat in a northern climate, since there is much more to discuss along this line that has nothing to do with the OP’s topic of the practice of stripping leaves.
Hoos, I think you probably know that I’m aware of all of that- that would be why I referred to my thinking as being “religious” on the subject.
There are, however, some logical arguments for organic fertilizers. One is that the manufacture of synthetic N contributes to global warming. Another is that potassium is a finite resource and where we can get it organically, such as from wood mulch (in great quantity) we are sparing that finite source so essential to agriculture in some areas without other sources.
Two weeks ago I stripped all the fruit and leaves from a truculent Black Mission Fig. The darn thing had gotten about 4’ tall and refused to branch. All it seemed to want to do was make figs at the rate of 2 per leaf. I don’t know. Maybe it had originally been raised around palm trees and thought that a tall naked trunk with a froth of leaves and fruit at the top was high fashion. 
Its growth habit seemed to be wearing it out, as it had gotten to the point where both the leaves and remaining fruits were looking stressed and not thriving.
Less than two weeks ago I stripped it of both leaves and fruits, figuring the move might further weaken it, but doubted that it would totally do it in. After all, it’s a fig. Figs are tenacious survivors.
The response has been that the fig almost immediately put out new leaves at the top, but also finally allowed the lower buds to break through and begin branching. Even though I can see that it is still trying to the 2 fruits per leaf thing, the new growth is much healthier and creating a better, more stable looking form.
I’m not necessarily recommending this move to anyone else. I’m just reporting the current results from a move I made when I was at the point of accepting anything that happened as a result, including the risk of further weakening it. The next move would have been to cut it way back and hope that it sprouted new growth from low on the trunk or the roots.
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It is often written in academic type books on commercial fruit production that all pruning is dwarfing- but this is not true. Spurs are an energy sink to vegetative growth and one way to revive an excessively spurred and runted out tree is to ruthlessly cut out the spurs.
My guess is that you got similar regeneration just by removing the fruit and spur leaves. Removing fruit always will stimulate vegetative growth. Next time try cutting out more of the knotty spur wood on the tree if you want to stimulate it- I bet it works.
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MuddyMess,
I think I don’t particularly follow any practice but probably partial with organic side due to its freely availability for the taking, like horse manure! I guess when it comes to maintain the balance of things, I would love to keep cost down to minimum.
Tom
Patty,
I owned the tree for over 6 years but the soil is replaced every 2, 3 years with root trim at that time. With no annual fruit to show, I’m sure the tree is underfed. I’m glad to get feedback from the experts and will look up for amending new soil for it. Would it be late to repot now that summer is progressing and everything has hit it spring growth spurt?
Tom
Well, probably a little late, but you might get some blooming if you can push new growth. Dyna Gro Foliage Pro will work quiclky, then Osmocote Plus will pick up the slack. LOTS of sun, very important.
You have my head a spinning thinking about stripping the leaves on my June apples to see if I can get two crops per year. Guess I need to wait and see if I can get one crop first. Bill