Trimming and shaping lemons at home

Pruning homemade lemons is an important step in growing them. The correctness of the tree’s development, attractiveness, timing and abundance of flowering and fruiting, and the risks of infection by diseases and pests depend on how correctly and timely it is completed.

The procedure has different goals: it is used to form a beautiful and neat crown, remove affected and weak shoots, collect planting material, and stimulate the formation of new branches. Let's look at how and when to prune a lemon.

Is it necessary to trim indoor lemons?

Indoor lemon trees must be pruned. Without this procedure, it will not bear fruit and will begin to hurt.

Main purposes of pruning:

1. Increasing the attractiveness of a houseplant. Without pruning, the lemon either grows upward with virtually no branches, or turns into a spreading bush with weak shoots. In both cases, the plant looks untidy. With the help of pruning, it will be possible to form a beautiful crown of any shape, increasing the aesthetics of the lemon.
2. Stimulation of fruiting. Without timely pinching and removing unnecessary branches, the lemon will spend energy on developing existing shoots without throwing out new ones. In this case, branches of the 4th–6th order (the fruits are formed on them) may not appear at all. A tree with a thickened crown spends a lot of energy on green mass, produces small and tasteless fruits, or even drops its ovaries.
3. Prevention contracting diseases And appearance of pests. When thickening in the crown, air circulation is disrupted. Such conditions are optimal for the development of fungal infections. Fungi and harmful insects often settle in damaged and weak shoots, which must be removed.
4. Rejuvenation. Pruning extends the life and fruiting of an old tree.
5. Improving the taste of fruits. Pruning lemons at home is useful for fruiting. It improves the quality of fruits and increases their size. In a shaded crown, the fruits are small and sour. If you shape the green part so that the ovaries receive enough sunlight, the lemons will accumulate more sugar and be larger and juicier.

Timing of pruning

Citrus plants are pruned once a year.. The first time the procedure is carried out already in the first year of the plant’s life, after the trunk reaches 20 cm in height.

Most gardeners believe that the best time to prune lemons is spring., first half of March. Usually the procedure is carried out before flowering, but at home in a pot the lemon can bloom by this time. During spring work, the plant adapts faster, tolerates stress more easily, and produces new shoots faster.

Some gardeners prefer to prune in winter, after removing the fruits. This usually happens in February, before the start of sap flow. If the tree is dormant (not bearing fruit, standing in a cool room), the procedure is not recommended.

Attention! There is an opinion that lemon can be formed all year round. However, experienced gardeners do not recommend carrying out the procedure in the summer. They believe that the best period is from February to March.

Autumn pruning is also acceptable. In this case, work is carried out from late October to November.Most lovers of exotic plants in the fall prefer not to form, but to carry out sanitary removal of weak and damaged shoots.

When is unscheduled pruning necessary?

Citrus trees are pruned once a year. Thinning the crown more frequently will harm the plant.

The younger the tree, the greater the risk of its death due to too frequent pinching.

Eat cases in which pruning procedures more than once a year are justified. Among them:

1. Defeat by diseases. To save the plant, you will have to act quickly. If possible, remove infected shoots to reduce the risk of infection of healthy branches.
2. Severe pest infestation. Remove parts completely eaten away by insects.
3. Yellowing of leaves, loss of turgor. Such signs indicate a violation of the rules of care or plant disease. Often the only way to save a citrus tree is to remove the dead branches and replant the lemon.

Formation

Forming a lemon crown is an important stage of care. Not only the appearance of the plant, but also its fruiting depends on the correctness of the procedure..

Features of citrus branching

To properly form a lemon, it is important to understand the peculiarities of its branching.

This will help you understand which shoots to remove and which ones to leave?:

1. In the first year, only one shoot will grow; it is called a trunk or trunk. This is a zero-order shoot on which skeletal branches are formed.
2. Branches are formed on the trunk - shoots of the first order. This occurs after the plant reaches one year of age. Leave 4-5 such branches.
3. On shoots of the first order, branches of the second order are formed. Growths of the third form on them. Next come shoots of the fourth order, on them - the fifth, etc.
4. Fruits are formed starting from shoots of the fourth order.

It is believed that every year branches of a new order grow.

Basic Rules

Lemon is formed in compliance with a number of rules:

1. It is important to start pruning from zero shoots. The procedure will stimulate the formation of new branches.
2. It is important to ensure that buds sprout on several shoots at once. If some of the shoots do not send out new shoots, the extra branches will have to be removed.
3. The cut areas are covered with garden varnish. It prevents the plant from becoming infected with diseases and pests.
4. Forming a flat crown is better for citrus growing in a pot.
5. Branches directed inside the crown are removed or bent outward. It is recommended to direct them to the windowsill. It is best to leave branches pointing outwards, to the sides and upwards.
6. When the crown reaches the size of the window socket, the growing points are pinched. Otherwise, the plant will not have enough light.
7. The first pruning is carried out only after the height of the zero shoot reaches 20 cm.
8. Excess shoots are removed completely, leaving no stumps. They are pinched off as close to the trunk as possible.
9. The necessary branches are pinched to the optimal length (usually after the formation of 5–7 leaves). The procedure stops the growth of branches at a suitable length.

Step-by-step instruction

Even beginning citrus growers can handle the formation.

The main thing is to follow step by step instructions:

1. The zero shoot is pinched when its height reaches 15–20 cm. After this, the growth point is pinched off. There should be 2–4 live buds left on the trunk.
2. Shoots will grow from the buds on the trunk. They are bent in different directions. Pinching is carried out after the length of the branches reaches 20–30 cm.
3. Second-order shoots are oriented in different directions and pinched at a height of 20–25 cm.Branches directed into the crown are completely removed. If there are few shoots, they are straightened outwards.
4. Branches of the third and fourth order are pruned according to the same principle. Shoots of the new order should be 5 cm shorter than the previous ones.
5. After branches of the fourth order, formation is stopped. Only maintenance pruning is carried out.

lemon pinching

Pinching differs from pruning in that the branches are not completely removed, but the growth point is destroyed, due to which the shoot lengthens. It is cut from thin branches with scissors, and from thick branches with pruning shears.

Pruning involves shortening the shoot by 1/3 of its length or more.. This stimulates the growth of lateral branches. Pinching implies a slight reduction in green mass.

Important! Before pinching, the instrument is sharpened and disinfected with alcohol or a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate.

How to pinch a lemon correctly? Using scissors or pruning shears, cut 2-3 cm from the top of the shoot along with the growth point. Usually the soft part with 1-2 leaves is removed. The cut site is treated with garden varnish.

Pruning and fruiting

You should not expect the tree to bloom immediately after pruning. The crown is already well branched, but there are no fruiting branches, the tree is stressed and is not ready to flower.

The first flowering and fruiting are possible only after the formation of branches of the 4th order. After their formation, the tree usually does not bloom, so the fruits appear in the 5th year of life.

With a large number of flowers and ovaries, citrus fruits turn out small, with low taste qualities. Often in this case, the tree drops all the fruits, and if the fruit bears too much fruit, it does not produce them at all the next year.

No more than 4 of the largest and strongest flowers are left on one shoot. The remaining ovaries and flowers are plucked off. First of all, this is done with small and deformed specimens. Branches with a lot of small flowers can be cut out completely. This is also done with shoots on which too many weak ovaries have formed.

In the first year, most of the ovaries are removed from the tree, leaving only 2-3 fruits. The next year their number is increased by a couple more fruits. Then proceed according to the scheme described above.

If such conditions are met the citrus fruits will turn out large and tasty, the tree will not discard them. The lemon will have enough strength to develop a moderate number of ovaries.

Anti-aging pruning

Anti-aging pruning used for old trees that produce minimal growth of young, sparsely fruiting shoots. In this case, most of the branches are cut out. As a result, the tree begins to actively throw out new shoots.

The first few years it may not bear fruit at all, then fruiting will resume. The lifespan of the lemon tree will increase.

Anti-aging pruning aimed at working with branches from 3rd order and higher. Skeletal shoots of the 2nd and 3rd order are not touched. Only dried skeletal branches are cut out.

Branches from the 5th order are cut out completely. They are removed right down to the base of the trunk, leaving no stumps. The cut areas are sanded with sandpaper and covered with garden varnish.

All dry, weak and old branches of order 4 and below are removed. They are also cut off at the base, covering the cut areas. Remove branches growing inside the crown.

Attention! After rejuvenating pruning, the tree looks bald. However, new shoots grow quickly and the crown is restored.

After the procedure it is important apply fertilizer to stimulate the growth of green mass. It is better to use complex products with a high nitrogen content.

Sanitary pruning

When growing lemons, sanitary pruning is mandatory. She helps to avoid plant infection by diseases and pest attacks. First, carefully inspect the tree for signs of infection.

Remove all damaged, broken branches. Shoots with cracks in the bark are also cut off. If there are signs of damage on the branches, treatment is carried out. Severely affected parts are removed.

After sanitary pruning, preventive spraying is carried out a solution prepared from 3 liters of water and 1 tsp. copper sulfate.

Preparation of cuttings for propagation

Lemon cuttings do not need to be specially cut. Planting and grafting material is also prepared during formation. To do this, wait until the branches that will be pruned will reach such a length that on a separate part there were 3-4 buds.

Excess shoots and branches directed inward are used as planting material.. Weak, dry and diseased shoots are not suitable.

Important! To prepare high-quality vegetative material, the plant is watered before pruning.

Sometimes lemon trees produce little growth. In this case cuttings for planting won't be enough. To stimulate the formation of branches, cut off all new fruiting branches.. This stimulates the rapid growth of green mass, but there will be no fruit this year.

Possible problems and tips

To make pruning more beneficial and successful, it is important to consider some nuances:

1. Removing excess flowers. Excessive flowering affects not only the quality and quantity of fruits, but also the development of the tree as a whole.If you do not pinch off the excess inflorescences in time, the citrus will dry out within several years.
2. Feeding. A week before pruning or a week after, the tree is fertilized with nitrogen. This will help the plant tolerate stress more easily and stimulate the growth of green mass.
3. Annual pruning work. If you skip them, fruiting will come later and the tree will develop incorrectly.
4. Crown trimming. To give indoor citrus a more aesthetic appearance, use scissors to form a green mass, cutting off only the tops of the shoots. The procedure can be carried out all year round.
5. The plant is not allowed to flower until the crown is formed, otherwise the yield will be low, growth will slow down, and the risk of plant death will increase.
6. When forming, it is important to be careful and follow the instructions. It will be difficult to correct the mistakes made.
7. Excessive pruning stimulates the formation of new strong shoots. Pinching the tops awakens the fruit buds.
8. Branches of the 5th order and higher are pinched after 5–7 leaves. This simulates flowering and ovary formation.

Sometimes when forming a crown, a citrus grower encounters difficulties:

1. In the place where 3 or 4 shoots appear, only 1 branch is formed. To correct the situation, the branch is broken off. If the next growth again does not produce the required number of shoots, the procedure is repeated.
2. Tops form on the lemon - branches that grow vertically and increase in size faster than others. Fruits do not form on such shoots. Experienced gardeners recommend cutting them to the base. Some citrus lovers do not remove the tops, but shorten them to 25 cm.

Care after pruning

After the procedure, be sure to coat the cut areas.. Use garden pitch or other suitable remedy.It is not necessary to cover the cut areas of thin branches.

After pruning, the lemon is placed in a shaded place for 2 weeks., protecting from direct sunlight. The room temperature should not exceed +20°C. It is important to control humidity between 65-80%. If these indicators are exceeded, the risks of rotting increase.

After the procedure, fertilizing is applied. Use complex fertilizers with nitrogen.

Conclusion

Pruning a lemon is an essential step in caring for it. Whether the tree will bloom and bear fruit depends on the regularity and correctness of the procedure.

Timely removal of excess shoots increases resistance to diseases and pests, makes the crown more aesthetically pleasing, and extends the life of the plant.