Lemon plant: pruning, cultivation and care

The lemon (Citrus lemon) is a remontant plant belonging to the family of Rutaceae whose fruits, much appreciated in the kitchen, are available practically all year round: flowering can occur in spring and for the so-called verdelli, lemons characterized by an intense green peel, in the month of September and then be harvested during the next summer. In order to obtain a good harvest, it is necessary to know the period in which to plan the cropping operations as well as the most appropriate techniques to achieve an optimal result. As? Here are the advice of the agronomist Salvatore Barra to avoid missteps.

Why is it important to prune lemon?

Pruning lemon is a‘important operation that involves a series of interventions aimed at regulating and improving the flowering and fruiting of the plant. The practice, which requires due attention, in fact allows you to keep the foliage tidy and ensure that the tree is productive and healthy.

When to prune lemon?

Never prune the lemon in the months of February and March and, in general, the months in which the temperatures are excessively low or high should be avoided. Better to have a light hand and limit yourself to thinning the foliage after flowering by depriving it of dry, diseased, broken branches and even those that curve downwards. The longer and non-fruit bearing ones, however, known as suckers, must be eliminated only if they come from the basal part of the tree‘tree as they subtract nourishment from the rest of the plant, otherwise a simple trimming may be sufficient.

The best time to prune lemon is: April – June. In fact, in this period the temperatures are spring-like and there is a low risk of late frosts.

How to prune lemon?

As far as the pruning of the lemon is concerned, it is necessary to distinguish between the training pruning, carried out after planting to give the plant a form of cultivation (generally globe-shaped), and the maintenance pruning which instead takes place later, during the culture. In the first case, the transfer interventions are aimed exclusively at the‘elimination of suckers and possibly dry or broken branches. In the second case, instead, the ordinary management interventions of the‘tree are used to remove branches that are too vigorous, malformed, badly disposed or unproductive.

• To obtain a healthy and productive lemon plant, it is important to remove the suckers, i.e. those branches that grow vertically and which do not produce fruit, but which instead steal precious resources from the plant.
• When pruning, pay attention to the branches that cross and choose to cut the weakest, leaving space and light for the strongest branch, to ensure harmonious and uniform growth.
• Remove branches that grow inward so that air and light can also reach the center of the canopy for better air circulation and even distribution of sunlight.
• To prevent the branches from bending under the weight of the lemons, shorten all the branches to the same height, so that the fruits grow in the lower part of the tree, guaranteeing a balanced shape and an abundant production.

Potted lemon pruning: how to do it

As regards the pruning of the potted lemon, the operation must be carried out every year so that the plant preserves its globe shape. We therefore proceed by lightening the foliage slightly and then removing the older branches, the dry ones, the duplicates, the crossings and still the suckers.

What it takes to prune a lemon

In order to complete the mission, it is good to have a series of specific tools. Primarily for safety and practicality reasons it is better to wear a pair of gloves and protective goggles. A pair of scissors or shears must not be missing, however remembering to always disinfect the blade before use.