Fruit Tree Pruning

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networkn

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Topic # 123428 7-Jul-2013 12:12

I have two feijoa and a lemon tree in our back yard that have never seen the sheers, and could probably do with some work. It's not the type of thing I feel confident to do myself, so does anyone know of anyone in the Auckland area who could competently handle this without retarding the trees fruit output next season significantly?

josephal

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Reply # 850402 7-Jul-2013 12:53

feijoas you cant kill by pruning, you can cut them back really hard and its good for them. Lemon tree cut back any dead and diseased branches. Only cut back citrus in winter when the tree is dormant, also the lemon tree borer is not active. You can do it not too hard.

idle

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Reply # 850412 7-Jul-2013 13:26

It is not hard and you will not kill the trees! They will survive. Cut off branches that will be too high when you want to pick fruit. Thin out middle branches, leaving enough spaces for "birds to fly through"! Prune branches that are diseased, eg with borer. Do not get too fussy about the appearance and all will be well after only an hours work.

bluedisk

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Reply # 850413 7-Jul-2013 13:27

One person supports this post

josephal: feijoas you cant kill by pruning, you can cut them back really hard and its good for them. Lemon tree cut back any dead and diseased branches. Only cut back citrus in winter when the tree is dormant, also the lemon tree borer is not active. You can do it not too hard.

Sorry i don't quite agree with the idea that you can't kill a tree/bush by pruning.

There are a few basics to pruning:

prune after flowering
remove all damaged, diseased or dead wood. (This is the three D's principle)
remove any branches that cross over each other, rubbing bark off
prune to either healthy wood, or remove the branch to where it meets the trunk
make a clean cut with sharp, clean secateurs or pruning saw
be careful about removing more than one third of the tree/ bush during a season
stand back from the tree to look at the shape of the tree, to create a strong healthy tree.

Peaches and nectarines are much more able to handle a hard pruning than Feijoas in my experience. It depends on which variety, soil, climate etc.

Good luck.

PANiCnz

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Reply # 850443 7-Jul-2013 15:16

Aren't most citrus tree's fruiting at the moment? Thus its not the right time to prune?

We've got a big plum tree in the back garden that has never seen any love but I'm not going to touch it until spring.

bluedisk

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Reply # 850471 7-Jul-2013 16:29

PANiCnz: Aren't most citrus tree's fruiting at the moment? Thus its not the right time to prune?

We've got a big plum tree in the back garden that has never seen any love but I'm not going to touch it until spring.

Citrus don't usually need much pruning, just cut out unhealthy wood and prune a little for shape.

It would be better to prune your plum tree now rather than spring when there is a lot more sap flowing prior to bud burst.

cldlr76

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Reply # 850504 7-Jul-2013 18:39

It's also a good time to spray the trees with a copper and oil mixture, so which ever way you decide to go give them a spray as well.

josephal

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Reply # 850609 8-Jul-2013 07:35

bluedisk:
PANiCnz: Aren't most citrus tree's fruiting at the moment? Thus its not the right time to prune?

We've got a big plum tree in the back garden that has never seen any love but I'm not going to touch it until spring.

Citrus don't usually need much pruning, just cut out unhealthy wood and prune a little for shape.

It would be better to prune your plum tree now rather than spring when there is a lot more sap flowing prior to bud burst.

you can cut a feijoa to a stump and it will grow back. Citrus you can also cut back hard but as i said when the tree is dormant in winter..... best of luck.