Taking care of the space surrounding your house is sometimes easier said than done, and every homeowner knows that when it comes to the garden, even one small mistake can make a huge difference. We all want our lawns and yards to look picture-perfect, and we want to have beautiful vegetation and greenery that looks like it came out of the cover of a magazine. However, all of these things take time and skills, so you need to do how to do some basic gardening if you want your property to look good.
There are many things that you will need to pay attention to, and here we are going to talk about trees and pruning. As you already know, the pruning process is done so that the tree grows healthy, prevents diseases, and just helps it develop like it is supposed to. In this article, we are going to tell you how often you should prune your lemon tree, how to do it, and which are the most common mistakes you need to avoid.
Why is this important?
The first thing we are going to talk about is why this process is important and why you need to pay attention to the time you do it. When you do it promptly and correctly, the trimming is going to help your vegetation develop, and it will help it grow. Note that this is especially beneficial if you want to promote growth; if you want to get more fruits, and or if you just want to protect your tree.
On the same note, if you don’t do it properly, if you do it too soon, or if you do it too often, you risk causing serious harm to your vegetation, and chances are, your citrus will dry out and die. You definitely don’t want this to happen, so you need to be aware of your citrus’s needs.
When you trim the vegetation, you will be causing it controlled stress, and you will make it work harder to create new buds and with that, more fruits. Even though your citrus will be giving you lemons even if you don’t do this, chances are, they are going to be smaller, rarer, and you may even risk losing the tasty flavor of it.
In addition to this, when you do the trimming process, you will be able to control where the branches go, and you will create an even more beautiful space in your garden. Even though the primary purpose of pruning is not aesthetics, it can still be done to control the growth, location of the branches, and overall appeal of the fruit.
How often should you do it?
Now that you know more of why you should do it, let’s see how often you should be pruning your lemons. Note that you should pay attention to the time of the year along with the weather if you want to have the best results.
Mature trees should be trimmed between once or twice per year, and experts suggest that you can trim them after the harvest of the fruit. This will help them recover after the harvest and it will help them develop faster.
The weather plays a significant role in this process, so you depending on the climate and your region, you should never do the trimming process during the hottest days of the summer, as you can see on websites like https://manictimes.com.au/how-to-do-your-lemon-tree-pruning-in-australia/.
When it comes to young citrus vegetation, you should do the trimming when they start to develop their structural framework and when they need to be encouraged to bear fruits. This should be carefully done, and you should pay attention not to do damage to the tree. Make sure you don’t do it too early, as baby trees are never trimmed and they should not be bothered until they are ready to have fruits.
When it comes to the season, as we already said, you should do this process after the harvesting time, and citrus fruits can be collected during the second half of the year. Depending on the type of citrus you have, its age, and your previous habits, you should be able to gather the fruits between the months of July and December. However, these months may change depending on the exact type you have, so if you have any specific questions, you can talk to a professional to give you their advice depending on your current vegetation.
If you choose to do the trimming process during the summer, you should never pick days where it is too hot, and on the same note, if you choose to do it in winter, you should never do it when it is too cold and when the temperatures are expected to drastically drop. Give your vegetation time to recuperate in a safe and controlled environment and don’t add to the stress of pruning.
How to do it?
When it comes to how to do this process, you should know that it is not complex, but you still need to have some specific skills, so you don’t end up injuring the lemon. You should always use sharp and proper tools, and you should clean them before every process.
Before you start the process, create a plan on what you want to achieve and what has to be done. You should always start by removing dead or ill branches that are not going to help your vegetation develop, and you should then start the actual trimming. The cuts should be carefully done and they should be made at a 45-degree angle. Choose if you want to help your tree develop at the bottom, or if you want to let the top branches grow. Depending on this, you can make selections with the areas, and pay more attention to one part of the lemon than the other.
If you have never done this before, you should always start by gaining as much information as you can, you should read and watch tutorials and guidelines, and you should never rush the process. Know that you can always consult with a professional gardener that will give you advice on what you should do, how to do it, and what you should steer away from. They can give you some additional tips that will keep the health of your citrus and that will help promote the growth of tasty fruits.