Pruning a lemon at home for fruiting in a pot for beginners

Lemon became a room culture not so long ago. It is not difficult to care for him, and a rich crop of yellow vitamins ripens at home. An important procedure for caring for a young tree is pruning lemon shoots. It helps to form a crown, prolong the fruiting period, and is a disease prevention. If pruning is neglected, few side shoots grow, the lemon looks untidy. In addition to trimming, they also carry out the pinching procedure.

Why you need to trim

The lemon tree is pruned for three main reasons:

1. Aesthetic. From the first year of growth until the beginning of fruiting, they are engaged in crown formation. If this is not done, the lemon will grow into a long stick. Pruning gives the bush a neat appearance.
2. Sanitary. Periodically remove old and diseased branches, prevent the appearance of pests and diseases.
3. To increase the yield. If you cut off weak and old branches, "fatting" shoots, then the plant will not spend energy on them, more lemons will be tied.

Do I need to prune an old tree? Surely, this procedure will rejuvenate the bush, and the lemon will bloom again.

Features of the growth of lemon branches and their pruning

A lemon, grafted or grown from seed, is a single upwardly growing shoot covered with leaves. This shoot-trunk is called the 0-level shoot. If its growth is not stopped, then the side shoots (1st level) will not begin to grow soon. For a potted lemon, height and compactness are important.

The following pruning guidelines apply:

• the trunk is left 10-20 centimeters long, so that 3-4 buds remain on it;
• shoots of the 1st level are cut no more than 25 centimeters;
• shoots of the 2nd level - no more than 10 centimeters;
• shoots of the 3rd and more levels - no more than 5 centimeters.

If you make a mistake, you can correct the situation by additional pruning of most branches. After this procedure, flowering is delayed for several years. You should be very careful.

Timing of the procedure

Lemon growing experts disagree on whether it's okay to prune a lemon in summer. Indoor citrus is not forbidden to cut all year round. The best period is from late autumn to early spring, when the tree is at rest and new shoots have not yet begun to grow.

If the plant is an adult, all the fruits are removed from it first. In winter, the crown thinning procedure is carried out in order to increase the harvest for next year.

What tools will you need

Shorten the shoots with a sharp garden pruner. A smooth cut heals faster and looks more aesthetically pleasing. Bitten and torn edges heal for a long time, slow down flowering and fruit ripening. The tree spends a lot of energy on their healing.

Schemes and technologies for the procedure

At home, the trimming pattern is as follows:

1. The one-year-old shoot is cut to the height of the trunk. Leave about 3-4 kidneys. The height of the houseplant is about 20 centimeters.
2. As the shoots of the first level form, they are cut again, leaving 3 buds each. If only one shoot has grown, it is cut off completely to stimulate the growth of additional ones.
3. Pruning continues up to level 5 inclusive.
4. If flowers appear at the stage of crown formation, they are removed. Fruiting prevents branches from growing.

Advice! If a weak shoot has grown, it is better to remove it completely. Branches that grow upwards are also subject to removal.

Crown formation

For home cultivation, a flat, fan-shaped crown is preferred. It turns out a "living curtain" decorating the window opening. Without the formation of a crown, a tree will either grow to the ceiling, or will not fit on a window or table. In the process of forming such a crown, the development of processes extending from the trunk to the right and left is stimulated.

To do this, periodically turn the tree to the sun in different directions, completely cut off those branches that grow in the wrong direction. When it fills the required amount of space, a hard pinch is carried out. With such a crown, the lemon feels good, blooms profusely and bears fruit. All work on the formation is carried out before fruiting. Shoots without buds and shoots are removed.

For abundant flowering

The lemon tree spends a lot of nutrients on flowering and subsequent ripening of fruits. If the tree has a lot of shoots with a small number of buds, weak and old, then flowering will be weak. Removing these shoots from the tree stimulates the growth of others. A he althy and strong tree is always covered with buds. The main advice on how to properly prune branches for flowering is to be careful. With a formed crown, young branches only thin out a little.

Advice! If the flowers appeared during the winter period, they should be cut off, leaving only a couple for fragrance.

For fruiting

The first lemons should appear on the tree only after the formation of its skeleton, when all the main branches are well developed and ripened. For a rich harvest, pruning is carried out during the flowering period. This will prevent the plant from being depleted and stimulate the development of more citrus fruits.In order for the lemon to bear fruit, branches with little or no color are removed. You can cut thin shoots that cannot support the weight of a lemon.

Rejuvenation of citrus trees

A lemon tree grows old at the age of 15-20 years. Rejuvenation is carried out to prolong its life with flowering and ripening of the crop. To do this, in the spring, all shoots are cut to the 4th and 5th levels. Removing old branches leads to the growth of new ones from dormant buds. After rejuvenating the bush, it is transplanted into a new pot, removing about 30% of the root system. The new crown grows in 4 years, and all this time the lemons do not bloom.

It is recommended to carry out a slight anti-aging pruning throughout the life of the plant. To do this, dry and damaged branches are removed to the maximum. Additionally feed citrus.

For propagation by cuttings

A new lemon grows from a seed or from a cutting. During pruning, many shoots appear for cuttings. Choose he althy branches for planting material. You need to cut the stalk at an angle. Perfect fit:

• branches about 10 centimeters long;
• they should have a couple of leaves;
• bark without damage, dry patches;
• no parasites.

It is advisable to choose undersized boles. To stimulate the growth of the root system, the cut of the cutting is dipped into a special solution.

Care after trimming

The procedure for shortening branches is quite painful for a tree. After it, the lemon requires special care:

1. Processing slices. Thin branches do not need special care, while thicker ones are treated with garden pitch or sprinkled with ash. Additionally, shoots are disinfected.
2. Feeding the plant. Phosphorus-containing fertilizers stimulate the growth of leaves and shoots, accelerate the healing of twigs.
3. Transplantation. Although the lemon does not require a particularly large pot, after pruning, after 2-3 months, it is recommended to carry out a transplant procedure. A sign that the planting capacity is small - the roots stick out from the outside, filled the entire volume.

How to form a crown without pruning

Cutting a part of living branches is difficult for any plant for two reasons:

• a lot of resources were spent on growing them;
• growing the cut also requires additional energy.

As an alternative to pruning when forming a crown, use:

• pinching buds before they hatch;
• guiding branches in the right direction as they grow with wire;
• changing the growth of young shoots by turning the pot towards and away from sunlight.

Note! Lemons need a lot of nutrients and time to grow. Useless frequent pruning greatly harms the plant. Alternative methods should be used whenever possible.

How is pinching different from trimming

Both methods are used to remove part of the shoots. But if pruning is carried out for already grown branches, then pinching is performed as the plant grows. Unnecessary buds are removed or damaged from the branches until they open, and the top of the shoot is also torn off if a sufficient number of leaves have formed on it. In this case, the plant does not waste energy on unnecessary green mass. The lemon will grow and enter fruiting much faster.

Pinch out and remove excess blooms

Lemon yield depends on flowering. The more magnificent it is, the more the plant's strength is wasted and there will be less ovary. At the flowering stage, pinch small buds, damaged, irregular in shape. After opening, it is removed with a short stigma or without a pistil. Additionally, branches are pruned, where there are very few or no buds.

According to the number of fruits sufficient for one tree, the age rule applies. At 3 years old, only 2-3 lemons are left to ripen. At 4-5 years, the plant is able to increase the yield to 7 fruits, and after 7 years a good harvest consists of 10 fruits. If all unnecessary is removed in time, the tree will give a good harvest for many years.

Tips for Beginners

For those who want to grow a lemon bush at home, professionals give the following pruning recommendations:

• until the crown is formed, all flowers are removed;
• if only one shoot is actively formed, it is completely removed;
• cut "tops" - branches that stretch up very quickly and are not capable of flowering;
• rejuvenating pruning is carried out for annual growth;
• if possible, trimming is replaced with pinching;
• A flat shape is preferred at the stage of crown formation;
• short pruning stimulates the growth of new shoots, and a long pruning encourages fruit set.

Timely pruning without undue diligence will help grow a neat indoor tree. Proper care contributes to the annual flowering and ripening of several lemons to the table.

Recommended