How to cut indoor lemon. How and when to prune indoor lemons? Care after pruning

Many flower growers prefer to grow not only beautiful, but also useful plants. So, for example, more and more often in houses you can find a lemon. It is small in a regular pot, many even have fruit. The lemon tree tends to grow, so it needs to be pruned. And in order for the tree to bear fruit, it is necessary to do it in a timely and correct manner.

The process of crown formation is quite long, it will take a lot of patience and several years of painstaking work, but in return, the owners of the plant will receive not only decorative tree, but also a crop of citrus fruits.

How to properly prune a lemon tree

To crop lemon Tree some rules must be followed.

It is necessary to form a tree during the dormant period. It starts in late autumn and lasts until spring. Lemon is evergreen tree so it never sheds its leaves. But during the dormant period, it greatly slows down growth and all metabolic processes. Before pruning, if the plant is mature and bears fruit, it must be freed from fruits hanging on it. Pruning is carried out depending on the purpose. Some flower growers just want to get a beautiful, neat plant, while others want a lot of fruits.

1. The first stage of formation is the most important. If all the branches are cut correctly, then such a tree will certainly begin to bear fruit. To form a crown, a lemon must be cut at a height of 15-20 cm. Zero-order shoots are pruned, each of which leaves 4 buds. Zero escape is considered vertical. Of these, then 3 or 4 more main shoots will be formed. After the main shoots grow to 20-30 cm, they pinch the tops. Branches of subsequent orders will develop after several years of lemon growth. After the shoots of the second order grow, they need to be cut, leaving a length of 20-25 centimeters. All subsequent shoots must be cut 5 centimeters shorter than the previous ones. When pruning reaches the shoots of the fourth order, the crown is considered formed. From these shoots, the plant begins to bear fruit.
2. The formed crown needs to be looked after and old and unnecessary branches should be removed in time. The subsequent form-supporting shaping consists in shortening strong shoots and removing old branches and those that grow inside the crown. Shoots that do not bear fruit can be cut off, leaving a length of 20-25 centimeters or completely removed.
3. If the tree is quite old, then it needs anti-aging pruning. Old and weak branches are cut short, thereby causing the rapid growth of new shoots. In this way, you can increase the fruiting period of the tree.
4. In order to, it is necessary to remove part of the flowers. The weakest buds are to be removed. Then the remaining inflorescences will form larger fruits. When there are too many flowers on a tree, empty flowers appear, from which fruits are not formed. And if the yield is too high, then the quality of the fruit is noticeably reduced, and the next year the plant may not give them at all.

When forming the crown, it is necessary to achieve its uniformity from all sides. The lower branches should also be removed at the very beginning of the pruning process. This procedure will allow the plant to form a strong and stable trunk. To make it easier to start the formation, you need to select several branches in advance, preferably 3, as the main ones, on which the fruits will subsequently form. When the tree begins to bear fruit, you need to pluck the grown fruits in time, leaving the plant with energy for the growth of the rest.

Sometimes a lemon forms the so-called fattening shoots. They adversely affect the overall growth of the tree, as they pull a large number of nutrients and water. Moreover, such shoots grow only vertically and spoil decorative look plants. Fattening shoots must be removed immediately as soon as they are noticed.

Some growers use hard pruning. In this case, all branches are cut to a certain size. The downside of this procedure is that if you cut a lemon heavily, it will not bear fruit for a whole year. For pruning, you need to take a very sharp pruner. Branch cuts should be even, without bitten or torn edges. A lemon cut with such a tool can slow down growth, and productivity and decorative appearance will be greatly reduced.

In general, the process of forming the correct crown is quite long, and can take about four years. But having formed a beautiful crown once, the lemon later will only need to be cut, supporting necessary form. The lemon will have a beautiful decorative and neat appearance, and such a plant will form much more fruits and the fruiting time will increase by several years.

Lemon - beautiful plant which can be grown at home. To make the tree look neat and well-groomed, you should properly prune the indoor lemon, which will help give its crown a decorative shape.

Why is pruning needed?

There are several reasons why a plant should be pruned.

• It helps to make the crown even and neat.
• The procedure helps to rejuvenate the old tree.
• If the plant is not pruned, it will grow up and not bear fruit.
• Pruning reduces the risk of developing tree diseases.
• A properly formed crown will increase the life of the plant and the duration of fruiting.

The crown should also be given an even shape if there is no goal of obtaining fruits, otherwise the tree will look untidy.

Main Rules

So that pruning a lemon tree does not harm it, you must adhere to the following rules.

• It should be done at a time when the plant is at rest. This is the period from late autumn to early spring.
• If the plant is mature and already bearing fruit, all fruit should be removed from it.
• Shoots of the first level should be removed by 25 cm, the second - no more than 10 cm. All subsequent branches - only 5 cm.

It is necessary to understand that the procedure is simple, but it must be approached responsibly, because incorrect pruning will set the tree in the wrong direction of growth. Correct errors after an unsuccessful procedure can only be removed a large number branches, which is why it is important to act strictly in accordance with the recommendations of experienced lemon tree owners.

Timing

Experts are divided on when is the best time to prune indoor lemons. Most believe that the most suitable time for this is the beginning of spring, before the formation of new shoots. However, in winter, you can slightly thin out the crown. To improve fruiting next year, pruning the tree should be in late autumn.

First pruning

At home, the first pruning of the tree should be done in time; if it is carried out correctly, you can count on the fact that the houseplant will bear fruit. The procedure is carried out in the first year of the life of a lemon, the trunk is cut off at a height of about 20 cm, but it is very important that 3-4 developed buds remain, from which shoots will form - this will allow the side branches to develop. Pruning is done with a pruner.

It is best if the kidneys are placed at the same level, but with different parties trunk.

When pruning a young lemon, all vertically growing branches are removed. The best time for the procedure is February.

The height of the plant depends on where the lemon pot is located. So, if the tree will grow on the windowsill, it should not be too high. This must be taken into account when forming the crown.

Carrying out subsequent trimming

The first stage of crown formation is the most important, it depends on it whether the tree will bear fruit. In the second year of life, lateral branches form in the seedling (they are called branches of the first order), there should be 3-4 such shoots, which is why it was necessary to leave 3-4 buds during the first pruning. In order to form shoots of the third order, pruning is also carried out. Further, the tree itself will form a crown, and will begin to bear fruit after the appearance of branches of the fourth order.

There are two ways to remove it:

1. partial - shortening of the "fattening" branches by 25 cm;
2. complete - this is how most often dead or old branches of a tree are destroyed, which can cause disease.

Shoots are removed when they interfere with each other's development. At the same time, the strongest shoot is left, and the weak one is cut off.

If the shoot is strong, but growing vertically, it should be removed, leaving a weaker one, but growing horizontally. At the top of the plant, the shoot growing upwards is cut off first.

Trimming pattern

The tree pruning scheme is as follows.

1. In the first year, only the trunk is pruned, this will contribute to the formation of side shoots. If this is not done, the lemon will begin to grow up and will be an unattractive "stick". Plant height should be 25-30 cm from the ground.
2. In the second year, side branches are pruned. It is necessary to ensure that 3 new shoots begin to actively grow and develop. If only one grows, it should be completely removed to stimulate the growth of others. This process is called breaking out.
3. Next, the branches of the third order are pruned.
4. The formation of the crown is completed by pruning the branches of the fifth order, after which the tree can be given the opportunity to bear fruit.

The main task is to give the crown a fan-shaped appearance.

If one of the young shoots grows vertically, you can not cut it, but give it the right direction by carefully wrapping it with wire and fixing it in the desired position.

Difficulties

When pruning lemons, some difficulties can arise.

• Often, only one shoot begins to actively form at the place of pruning, while it is necessary to achieve the development of three or four. In this case, it is completely removed (breaks out) under the base, sometimes this procedure has to be repeated several times.
• So-called tops may appear, growing vertically upwards and incapable of fruiting. Their growth rate is much higher than that of fruit branches. The easiest way to deal with them is to remove them. Some experts use a 25 cm pruning.

It should be remembered that pruning a lemon tree should be done carefully, it is very difficult to fix the result.

secrets

In order for the formation of the crown of a homemade lemon to be successful, it is important to adhere to the following recommendations of experienced flower growers.

• After pruning, be sure to process the sections with a garden pitch. However, if very thin branches were removed, then there is no need for such processing.
• Annual pruning of the tree will help to form a beautiful crown of a homemade lemon: all weak shoots are removed, as well as those that grow in a vertical direction.
• Pinch off the top of the working shoots so that fruits begin to form on them. This should be done after the appearance of 6-7 leaves.

Often there is a need to correct the crown of an already mature tree growing in a pot. In this case, pruning should be carried out in April or early May - at the time when shoot growth begins. The formation of the crown of an adult plant is done primarily for aesthetic purposes, to make it attractive. It is also very important to remove dead and diseased branches.

It is necessary to cut tops as they appear, throughout the year.

If a house tree for many years, regular pruning will help rejuvenate it. After shortening the old branches, new shoots will begin to develop more actively.

flower removal

If the goal of growing an indoor lemon is to produce fruits, then removing excess flowers will allow you to control the process. Using this procedure, you can ensure that the forces of the tree will be directed to full development ovaries from the remaining flowers.

The number of buds to be left depends on the age of the young tree.

• If the lemon is three years old, remove half of the buds, then leave 2-3 fruits.
• For a 4–5-year-old tree, the number of fruits is increased to 7.
• When the lemon has reached 6-7 years, you can leave up to 10 fruits.

It is necessary to remove the weakest flowers. If the whole branch does not bloom well, you can cut it completely.

The more empty flowers and weak flowers are cut off, the more ovaries will remain on the branches and, accordingly, the harvest will be richer.

Rejuvenation

When a lemon tree is 15-20 years old, pruning can rejuvenate it. This will not only improve appearance plants, but will also increase fruiting.

Pruning is carried out in the spring, all branches are cut up to the 4-5th order, this stimulates the growth of dormant buds and the subsequent appearance of young shoots. After this procedure, the plant must be transplanted into new pot by carefully shortening root system by about 30%. It is very important not to touch the roots inside the earthy coma.

The process of forming the crown of a young tree is quite long and can take up to 4 years. However, having completed it once, in subsequent years it will be enough to slightly cut the shoots so that the lemon does not lose its attractive appearance.

As indoor culture is gaining more and more popularity. But in order to lemon tree grew healthy and regularly brought good harvest, it needs careful care. And one of the important points in the care of indoor lemon is its pruning. Pruning is needed for indoor lemon, without it the plant will either grow with a small number of side branches, or vice versa, look like a large sloppy bush. In this article, you will learn how to properly trim your citrus and form a beautiful and neat crown.

The lemon tree will be smooth and beautiful, only. if it is formed

Why you need to cut

First you need to figure out why you need to cut at all. Pruning is necessary for the following reasons:

First pruning of a lemon

When to start trimming yours? For the first time, it is recommended to prune your tree from the first year of life, when it grows more than 20 cm in height.

What is the best time of year to prune? Here opinions differ. It is believed that at home you can cut all year round. But anyway best time for this event - spring, because it is then that the tree begins the period of flowering and budding. If you need to cut the tree earlier, then you can do it at the end of winter (in February).

Pruning will refresh the plant and give it new stimuli for growth and development.

It is better not to prune a too young lemon, because instead of the expected benefit, this will cause irreparable harm to your plant.

Features of branching and its effect on pruning. General pruning rules.

Before you start pruning, it is very important to understand how the branches of a lemon tree grow. The branching of its shoots has several features:

1. at the very beginning of the growth of a lemon, it has only one shoot, it will be a zero-order shoot (it is also called a bole);
2. when it reaches one year of age, new lateral shoots are formed, these will be shoots of the first order. When pruning, you need to leave 4 such shoots;
3. as the plant grows further, shoots of the second order are formed on these shoots of the first order, shoots of the third order are formed on them, and so on;
4. after shoots of the IV order are formed on the lemon, it will begin to bear fruit.

The mature plant has various options branches that bear fruit in different time(some bear fruit, while others are still growing and begin to bear fruit only after a year).

Sometimes shoots are formed with only one apical flower. It is also sometimes possible to form “fatting shoots” - they are very powerful and can periodically form on a lemon. Such shoots arise inside the crown, grow vertically and then turn into long soft shoots. With "fatting shoots", as well as with non-fruitful shoots, you can do the following: either completely remove them, or shorten them by 25 cm, somewhere at the level of 5-6 buds (in this case, they may degenerate into fruit-bearing branches).

A fattening shoot on a lemon is strong, beautiful, but there will be no fruit on it

If some branches of your lemon are weak or dry, they also need to be cut back. You need to do this because they will waste the nutrients that the living parts of the plant need.

Pruning should be done according to the following rules:

1. Pruning is carried out during the entire growing season of the plant.
   You can cut all the branches of a lemon tree, but first of all it is cut off. So the plant can take the correct shape.
2. Start with a 0 order escape. shorten by at least 15, but not more than 20 cm. Be sure to leave 4-5 well-developed buds, they are needed for the development of future side shoots that form the “skeleton” of the crown.
3. Level II shoots are shortened by no more than 25 cm, level III shoots are no longer than 10 cm. All subsequent levels are shortened by only 5 cm.
   On shoots of levels IV-V, pruning can be completed.
4. One of the pruning methods is tweezing (or pinching). Its essence is to remove unnecessary shoots on initial stage their development from the fruit (fruit branch, bearing flower buds). You can also pinch intensively developing shoots. This will help the plant reduce the consumption of the nutrients it needs. minerals, and this will contribute to the maturation of new growth.

After you remove all unnecessary parts of the branches, you must definitely treat all cuts with an antiseptic. If this is not done, the plant may become sick. Processing can be carried out with a special garden pitch.

It is also worth noting that small branches (thinner than a pencil) can not be processed.

It is best to shape your lemon tree into a flat shape. Such a lemon crown is considered the best in home-grown conditions.

In order to form such a crown, you need to certain time direct the shoots of all levels to the windowsill, if necessary, cut and break them off. Then, when the dimensions of the crown of the tree and the window opening become the same, a hard pinching is carried out, you can even trim. In this case, you can form the so-called "living curtain". With such a crown, it will feel great and give a good harvest.

It is important to monitor the formation of "fat shoots", if they are noticed, they must be removed immediately.

Lemon according to the basic principles is similar to the formation of the crown of an ordinary fruit tree

There is another method of crown formation, which consists in cutting all the branches to a certain length. But with this method, there is a risk that yours will not bear fruit this season.

It is best to perform corrective pruning, in which new branches are only slightly shortened. A few weeks after this event, new growth sites form at the site of the cuts, and soon new young branches will appear. It is important to do everything as carefully as possible, trying not to damage the tissues of the trunk of the tree, because this can disrupt the growth of the lemon.

must be completed before fruiting begins. But we must remember that the removal of flowers and ovaries from the branch contributes to its growth. This way you can regulate the yield, rationing the yield is very important so as not to deplete your plant with excessive flowering.

Excessive flowering on a lemon should be removed, otherwise it will weaken the plant.

Lemons compared to others fruit trees, differ in very magnificent flowering. And despite the fact that a large number of colors look very beautiful and pleasing to the eye, abundant flowering can really deplete your tree. The result of such depletion may be a small number of fruits or their poor quality. To avoid all these unpleasant consequences, it is necessary to carry out pruning during the flowering period of the tree. In its process, all weak, as well as poorly flowering branches are removed. This procedure will help you get a good harvest of lemons.

Anti-aging pruning

Everything tends to age, so your tree will grow old over time. But there is a way to delay this process a bit - you need to carry out rejuvenating pruning. During this, all weakened and dry branches are removed from the plant as much as possible. This will help stimulate the growth of new young branches. Also, at the same time with such pruning, it is recommended to make various top dressings.

All these measures will help you “rejuvenate” your lemon tree a little and extend its fruiting period for several years. A properly formed crown of your green pet will help not only make it a decoration for your home, but also improve its condition, enhance fruiting and prolong the life of your tree.

After trimming the crown of the plant, you need to carry out how to do it according to the rules, read on our blog.

Kira Stoletova

Pruning a lemon at home is necessary not only to give houseplant neat appearance, but also to ensure flowering and fruiting.

Purpose of pruning and principles of carrying out

Pruning a lemon tree is carried out for the following reasons:

• to give the crown a decorative look,
• to rejuvenate and prolong life cycle mature plant,
• to reduce the risk of fungal and bacterial diseases,
• to ensure fruiting and prolong its duration.

Principles of

Cut a lemon at home in compliance with a number of rules:

• Pruning is carried out at the dormant stage, which occurs in late autumn-early spring, until the appearance of young shoots.
• To improve the quality of fruiting for the next year, pruning is planned for the end of autumn.
• Before pruning an adult lemon tree, fruits are removed from it at the fruiting stage. A suitable time for pruning an adult citrus for aesthetic purposes is spring, from April to May.
• Lateral shoots at the first level are cut to a length of up to 25 cm, at the second level - no more than 10 cm, all subsequent ones - up to 5 cm.

An incorrectly performed procedure will give an improper direction for the development of citrus with a violation of the flowering and fruiting processes.

Main steps

The procedure for trimming a lemon at home for beginner flower growers is conventionally divided into 2 stages.

initial stage

The first time a lemon tree is cut in the first or second year of life. They do it in order to indoor citrus did not stretch and bear fruit. The right time is February.

Next step

The second and subsequent pruning of a homemade lemon involves the formation of a crown and includes:

• partial pruning of overly actively developing branches that take most food,
• complete removal of dead and old branches that provoke the appearance of diseases,
• pruning of shoots that prevent each other from developing due to their dense arrangement, leaving the strongest process.

Strong shoots growing vertically are removed, leaving less strong ones, but developing in a horizontal direction, which will ensure proportional growth of the crown both in breadth and in length. On the top of the lemon, the upward-growing process is cut off.

scheme

How to properly cut a lemon at home:

• In the first year of the life cycle of the plant, the central trunk is cut off at a height of up to 20-30 cm from the soil surface in a pot, leaving 3-4 developed buds, from where young shoots are formed and later lateral branches develop.

The kidneys should be located at the same level on different sides of the central trunk.

• In the second year, vertically developing branches are additionally removed, shortening them by 25 cm. At the same time, 3-4 new shoots are observed to grow. If only one shoot receives development, they resort to the breaking-out procedure: it is completely removed to ensure the formation of other young shoots.
• In the third year of the life of a room lemon, a third-order tier is cut.
• In the fourth year, the formation of the crown is completed by cutting branches of the fifth order. After this stage is completed, the citrus begins to bear fruit.

Pruning problems and solutions

In some cases, difficulties arise:

• In place of the cut branches, the so-called tops develop - vertically growing branches that are not capable of fruiting. Compared to fruitful ones, they are distinguished by an increased growth rate and take a significant proportion of nutrients in the process of caring for citrus, preventing the rest of the shoots from developing. To correct this situation, they are removed completely or cut off by 25 cm.
• Even if all the pruning rules are observed, homemade citrus in some cases does not bear fruit, therefore it is worth taking a closer look at the working shoots, in which the tops are pinched, which gives impetus to the formation of fruits. Pinching is carried out when there are 6-7 leaves on the branches.
• A lemon tree over the age of 15 often ceases to bear fruit, regardless of quality care. Allows you to increase fertility spring pruning crown, in which all branches up to 4-5 orders are cut off, the plant is transplanted into a new pot, after shortening the roots by 30%. This stimulates the activity of dormant buds and gives impetus to the formation of new shoots.

A homemade lemon needs to be trimmed regularly and properly. Without forming procedures, the plant will develop chaotically, look untidy, and in general will quickly turn into a real tropical tree. How to cut a lemon so that it not only looks pretty on the window, but also begins to bear fruit faster?

The best time to prune indoor lemon

It is better to remove lignified branches with secateurs, but two nails can be used for young branches. Don't forget to sanitize your tools!

In principle, extra shoots from a room lemon can be removed at any time of the year. The most suitable time for this case is March - early April.

At the same time, experts still recommend refraining from conducting a “surgical” intervention in late summer and early autumn. The fact is that pruning a lemon stimulates the formation of new shoots, which are absolutely not needed in the cold season.

Since the lemon grows in waves, it is allowed to carry out several prunings per year.

How to trim a homemade lemon, step by step

When cutting a branch, hold the pruner at a 45 degree angle.

The lemon growing in room conditions, shoots are pruned according to the following rules:

1. The main shoot is shortened when it reaches a length of 18-23 centimeters (usually this happens already in the first year of life). This contributes to more active branching of the plant.
2. In the future, from 3 to 4 strong leaves are left on the bush, evenly scattered along the crown of the shoot. These will be the branches of the first order. When they reach 15-20 centimeters, they are pinched, removing 1-2 upper underdeveloped buds.
3. On each branch of the first order, two shoots of the second order are left (they are pinched in the same way as described above).
4. On branches of the second order, from 3 to 5 branches of the third order appear, and later an increase of the fourth, last, order is formed.

This is where the forming pruning of the lemon ends - on the branches of the fourth order, fruits usually begin to set.

Fruiting shoots immediately after fruit removal are cut to ¾ of their length.

In young lemons less than 10 years old, so-called fattening branches can grow. As a rule, they are formed from the main shoot or from branches of the first order. It is easy to distinguish them from normal shoots - they grow much faster and have large, oily leaves.

If the crown of the plant is of normal density, then it is better to get rid of such shoots immediately. But with weak branching, shorten them by 60-70% of their length.

And with each pruning of a lemon, be sure to get rid of growing inside, diseased, damaged and shrunken branches.

In order for the crown of a homemade lemon to develop more evenly, it must be rotated around its axis by about a quarter every week.

Ringing a lemon for a quick harvest

Broken branches are removed entirely

A procedure called "ringing" is carried out in order to bring the lemon tree closer to the fruiting phase.

It is performed according to the following algorithm:

1. Copper wire is tightly wrapped around the main shoot of the plant at the very bottom (you can also “ring” several skeletal branches).
2. The wire should sit tight enough, then press a little into the bark of the plant.
3. The ring is removed after about six months, but it is allowed to leave it for up to a year.
4. The injured place is covered with garden pitch and girded with a piece of elastic bandage.

In the area of ​​the constriction, the bark is deformed and, as it were, floats on the ring. This causes the accumulation of nutrients in the tissues of the lemon and it quickly begins to lay fruit buds.

This operation is carried out when the indoor lemon has reached the age of two - three years. If a one-year-old lemon gave flowers, then they should be cut off. Premature flowering weakens the plant and slows down its branching, which is necessary to initiate the formation of fruit buds. In addition, if there are less than 15 leaves for one left flower, then the lemon will simply not be able to “endure” the crop.

Regular pruning of a lemon allows you to get plants with a compact but dense crown. In addition, it promotes intensive branching, thereby stimulating the plant to lay fruit.

Of course, pruning is also stressful for lemongrass. To make it easier for him to cope with it, after the surgical procedures, be sure to feed your pet with some kind of weak organic fertilizer. For example, blood water can be used after washing meat.

How to form a homemade lemon tree and guide the development of the crown with a simple trick (be sure to check it out!), Well explained by an expert in tropical plants Sergei Marinkov:

Well, how to cut a lemon without making the worst mistakes can be found in this article - http://marianablog.ru/obrezka-citrusovyh/.

Let me remind you that this article is part of the "lemon" series (you can find out how to grow a lemon from a seed). If you are on fire with the idea of ​​​​growing a homemade lemon, be sure to subscribe to the blog and notifications of new materials will be sent directly to your mail!