The lemon tree is a very fruitful tree, but to get it to bear fruit you have to give it specific and constant care. If you have a garden and want to plant a lemon TreeYou should know that after planting the cutting you have to wait three years for it to grow to be able to prune it. In addition, you have to know details such as that the lemon tree, also known as sour, is an evergreen tree, which has the flowering time from the month of March.
If you want to know how to prune a lemon tree keep reading this oneHOWTO article and prepare your tree to have a spring full of fruits and flowers.
Steps to follow:
1
After you have managed to plant a lemon tree and have waited a while, prepare your tree for pruning. The best months to prune a lemon tree are January-February and June-July that is, just before or after its flowering season.
Start by pruning all the branches that are in poor condition. The objective of pruning is to direct the sage of the tree upwards, so that it is distributed as directly as possible from the roots to its crown.
Therefore, start by discarding all the branches of your tree that do not lead anywhere and that, for that reason, are blocking the main road, that is, the trunk.
2
Prune all the lower branches and balance the sides of the tree, making sure there are the same number of branches on one side and the other to balance the weight of the lemon tree.
Be especially vigilant about suckers or shoots that emerge from the trunk, as they may belong to cuttings of other plants that will feed on your lemon tree and will prevent the sage from fulfilling its main purpose: make your lemon tree a strong tree.
3
Select three main branches that are strong and align in a balanced way with the trunk. These three main branches of the lemon tree They will be in charge of supporting the fruit. So sign up that from now on the objective of your pruning will be to keep both the trunk and these three branches in perfect condition. And for this you must prune all the other branches and shoots that arise from them (or him) to make sure that all the nutrients provided by the irrigation reach them and make them grow strong.
4
Cut off the tips of the secondary branches that come out of the three main ones. This is about you can all that outbreak that looks weak and leave only the branches of your tree that look stronger. Leave only 20 cm tips on the branches that are well directed and that are part of the three main ones. That is, if there are branches that block the light or turn out, or in general, you see that they bother the trunk of the lemon tree, cut them from the base.
Furthermore, if there is a very long main branch and you have a shoot coming out of it, cut the branch back to where the shoot begins, so that the main branch end becomes the new one.
5
When you are done your first pruningNever before the age of three, you should have a clean lemon tree, with a small crown and only the three main branches, with some terminations of approximately 20 cm on them.
Don’t worry if it looks small, you’ll have a stronger lemon tree in the spring.
6
As soon as spring arrives and you see the first fruits and flowers, you will have to cut them to help the next ones are stronger. It is a practice that sometimes costs a lot of effort, since it tastes bad to have to remove the first lemons from our tree. But it is something that specialists highly recommend for sanitize the lemon trees.
7
Lemon trees work like this: the more vigorous the tree, the lighter the pruning should be; Conversely, a weakened lemon tree must be severely pruned to make it grow healthy and strong. You should prune it deep once a year, before or after flowering: January-February or June-July, and the rest of the year practice a maintenance pruning:
Lemon tree maintenance pruning
It will consist in sanitize the tree during the year, removing dead and misdirected branches. As well as all the small twigs with abundant leaves that could block the light on your lemon tree.
Remember that the important thing is:
- Direct the sage towards the main branches so that they grow strong.
- Avoid the abundant glass so that the whole lemon tree can touch the sun.
By following all these tips you will achieve good care of a lemon tree and you will be able to enjoy its fruits and flowers every year.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to prune a lemon treeWe recommend that you enter our Gardening and Plants category.
Advice
- Do not prune lemon trees under three years of age.
- Remove the first fruits that the tree bears so that the next ones come out stronger.
- Prevent your lemon tree from having a very large crown, as the shadow will cover the light and it will not be able to carry out photosynthesis well in the lower part.
- Prune your lemon tree branch by branch, taking care that the leaves do not become too abundant and that there are no misdirected shoots.