The formation of the citrus crown is an exciting but patient process. Sometimes necessary to get a fruiting tree. Fruiting in most lemons begins only after the formation of fourth-order branches in the crown (more on that below). Branches of the first, second and third orders do not produce fruits. But Meyer's lemon bears fruit on branches of the second and third orders.
I must say that citrus fruits are distinguished by a rather stubborn character. They do not always want to grow as we need - a compact tree. Therefore, let's try to formulate a detailed formation instruction. And the most important thing here is the beginning, when the sprouted seed, rooted stalk or young graft has just begun to grow. But before we talk about formation, let's touch on the issue of physiology.
Features of the development of citrus fruits
The growth and development of citrus fruits in nature and on our windowsills is significantly different from other houseplants. The specificity of development is due to the cyclical growing season. From spring to autumn, these plants have three developmental peaks:
First growth, spring, from about mid-March to June. At this point, new shoots and leaves grow powerfully. But suddenly the growth stops and the lull (lack of growth) lasts until the ripening of the young growth occurs.
Ripening of shoots is one of the phases of the growing season, and it consists in preparing the plant for the dormant period. In nature, ripening begins with a significant reduction in growth processes: a decrease in the length of the day, an increase in the differences in daily temperatures, and in cultural cultivation, in addition, during pruning. When ripening in shoots, the deposition of nutrients increases, the green bark becomes woody, becomes brown and dry, the leaves acquire a darker shade.
The second wave of citrus growth during the month in mid-summer. Again we observe intensive leaf growth. In August, it stops again and the maturation of recruits begins.
The third wave of growth usually falls on Indian summer - early September and can last until the end of October.
What is noteworthy: often at the end of the growth phase, citrus trees dry out the apical kidney (growth point) at the end of the shoots . Thus, the natural formation of the crown in nature occurs. I.e. due to this mechanism, fruit trees have a spreading crown.
I must say that the deadlines for growth spikes are not tight, they are dictated primarily by weather conditions. For example, last year my calamondin began to grow rapidly in mid-March, this year - at the end of February. And an orange in another room (at lower temperatures) last year - at the end of March, and this year has not yet started. In addition, if the spring is early and sunny, the first growth can be more stormy and long than the second, or vice versa, the spring is cloudy and the summer is sunny, then the second growth is longer and more productive. Sometimes there are only two waves of growth per year, or vice versa four.
Not in the topic of formation, but by the way about peaks of growth. During intensive growth of green leaves and flowering, citrus fruits gain a huge number of buds. Sometimes they bloom like our apple trees - all the branches are strewn with flowers, then the formation of ovaries begins. But suddenly the part flies around, and after a couple of weeks, it flies around again. A significant part of the fruits that have ensued , citrus fruits are dropped on the instincts of self-preservation, so that there is no depletion, there are enough nutrients for a new cycle of growth and flowering.
When I saw this sight for the first time, I almost made a monstrous mistake. The fact is that the mass flying of ovaries - they fall like peas, immediately causes the thought that, probably, the plant lacks water. We must water! But waterlogging is disastrous for citrus fruits - it is certain death. And if you do not know the physiology, you can ruin the plant, trying to stop the shedding of flowers and ovaries with watering. Therefore, first, check the soil in the depths of the pot, whether it is dry enough.
Well, now let's move on to formation.
Theme on the form about the formation of citrus fruits
Formation of the crown of citrus fruits grown from seeds
Step one
After germination, an shoot is formed in a seedling or rooted handle, it is called a zero-order shoot. In this single-stem seedling, while it is not yet lignified, we pinch the crown (growth point) so that the height from the ground is 25-30 cm. This process is called pinching.
After pinching, the growth of zero escape is suspended, it begins to ripen.
Step two
When the maturation of the zero shoot is over, the citrus is ready for new growth, and we cut it to the desired length. Traditionally, it is recommended to leave 15-20 cm, some gardeners cut even shorter - leaving about 10 cm. In any case, it is desirable that at least four leaves remain on the zero-order shoot.
Step three
From under the leaves left on the escape, new shoots begin to grow. Usually, when pruning the zero shoot, the kidney of the uppermost leaf or two kidneys, less often all three, starts to grow. For the formation of a abundantly fruiting tree in the future, it is necessary to achieve three, in extreme cases, two new shoots. These will be first-order escapes. If they do not want to grow, stubbornly climbs only one new escape, we break it out (breaking out differs from pruning in that the escape is removed completely under the base). We are waiting to wake up the rest of the kidneys. If they do not want to start growing, then we will break out the leading escape again.
And so, until we get the simultaneous development of two or three shoots of the first order. Ideally, it is better to get four first-order escapes, but in fact this does not always happen.
Step four
If we managed to get three shoots of the first order, the fact that above we allow to grow up, we direct two to the sides. I.e. you can fix shoots in certain directions using a flexible wire, but make sure that it does not injure the bark.
If we managed to get four shoots of the first order, then we direct them as if in a fan, in different directions, moving them apart so that the shoots do not interfere with each other, do not block the light. Very often, the shoots stretch upwards with the whole crowd so that you cannot see outside where which branch and what order. At the same time, young citrus fruits are formed very easily with wire.
Step five
First-order branches grow, and can grow thin and long for a long time, so when they grow 25 cm, we pinch them again. When the branches ripen, cut about 5-6 cm below the pinching site, so that four leaves remain on the shoots of the first order, no less. When cutting, the cut is made directly above the kidney facing outward, and not inside the crown (figure above).
Final part of crown formation
If you have coped with the formation of shoots of the first and second order, everything else is not difficult. Everything happens according to the same scenario . We grow shoots to a certain length, pinch, wait for ripening, trim.
The length of the shoot at which the top of the shoot is pinched depends on the order of branching - with the next order they shorten.
Approximate dimensions:
- escape of zero order 15-20 cm
- shoots of the first order 20-25 cm
- shoots of the second order 10-15 cm
- shoots of the third order about 10 cm
- shoots of the fourth and further about 5-10 cm
On shoots of the fourth or fifth order, the formation of skeletal branches ends. If the shoots begin to bloom until the crown is formed, it is better to cut off the buds, since there will be no growth on such branches, the formation will drag on for a long time. And only with the formation of shoots of the fifth order, citrus can be allowed to bear fruit.
The first difficulty: to achieve development after pruning not one kidney, but simultaneously two or three. If a single shoot begins to grow at the pruning site, you need to break it out, sometimes repeatedly. I.e. do not let it grow back, but break it out under the base until the shoots from the kidneys below go.
The second difficulty: the appearance of tops. These shoots are also called fattening, they will not bear fruit, but differ in that they grow vertically up and grow much faster than future fruit branches. If they are not broken, they pull back a lot of nutrients and thicken the crown .
Formation of the crown of the fruit tree
If you already have an adult, grown lemon tree (and other citrus), then you can cut branches and form a crown during the round year, but better in spring (April - May). Shoots grow constantly, tops grow especially vigorously - these shoots need to be cut out regardless of the time of year (if you do not want to use them in the future, this is also possible).
The formation of an already mature large plant, having branches of both 5 and 6 or more orders, is carried out as the soul tells you. Move away and evaluate the shape of the crown from the side. Usually it is cut so that the lemon or orange is really like a tree in miniature. Some citrus fruits, such as calamondin (citrofortunella), due to genetic characteristics, grow not as a tree, but as a bush. Then your task is to maintain an even shape of the bush, to cut branches that grow inward, and not outward.
If you have a vaccination on a fruit tree or game grown from a seed, after a successful fusion, you need to properly direct the graft. An escape growing after vaccination, so that it grows straight, is tied to a stick stuck in a pot. It is necessary to cut off the growing graft with a length of 12-15 cm. In the distant sham, form in the same way as described above, counting the order of the branches of the graft, not the rootstock.
Lemon trees propagated by cuttings, branches or grafting bear fruit on 4-5th order twigs going to the side. When using a low-stemmed form in a tree grown from a cutting or branch, branches of the 4-5th order form by the end of the second year of life. Such plants already in the third year bloom and can bear fruit. On three-year-old lemons, half of the buds are first removed, and then 2-3 fruits are left from the remaining ovaries, on a 4-5-year-old plant - 6-7 fruits, on a 6-7-year-old plant - up to 10 fruits. With this rationing of the crop, the correct development of the lemon tree is ensured.
Stem tree formation
Depending on the height of the tree (trunk), there may be:
- high-stemmed - the height of the stamp reaches 30 cm
- midstand - height up to 20 cm
- low-stem - the height of the strain is 10-15 cm
To form a low-stemmed grapefruit lemon, lime or any other citrus, after the young plant reaches a height of 15-20 cm, the top is cut off before starting its next growth (late February - early March), leaving 4-7 sheets. After that, 4-6 shoots will begin to develop from the lateral kidneys. Of these, only 3-4 shoots must be left, going in different directions (first-order shoots). When these lateral branches have completely finished their growth, they also cut off the tops, leaving on each of them 3-5 buds in the axils of the leaves. The last kidney should not look inside the crown, but outside. From the lateral buds, the growth of twigs will begin again (shoots of the second order).
Further, pruning is carried out until fourth-order branches are formed.
Rejuvenating old citrus trees
Lemon tree is rejuvenated at 14-20 years of age, when its fruiting decreases. By this time, the plant is already quite powerful, thick, the branches are quite thick. Not every windowsill will fit such a specimen, but lemons and oranges are quite loose in the room - fruit shoots do not grow upward, but to the sides.
In addition, large trees often outgrow all available containers. The root system is limited to pots (bucket, tub), and may not master the nutrition of a large dense crown, especially hung with fruits. In order to observe a certain proportionality of the tops and roots, the crown of old trees is shortened.
Pruning is necessary in the spring (in March - April): all branches up to the 4-5th order are cut, thereby causing increased growth of sleeping kidneys. Rejuvenated plants are transplanted into new dishes or old ones, while the root system must be shortened by one third, cutting off the roots from the periphery of the root coma. Inside the root coma, roots should never be disturbed.