Q: I am afraid my lime tree was damaged after these cold nights. How do I prune it?

 

A: After a severe freeze that causes damage to major limbs, wait several months to prune. During the spring flush following a freeze, leaves on freeze-damaged limbs may grow but then will wilt soon after. After this wilt occurs on the spring flush, you will have a better idea about which limbs to prune. However, limbs with minor cold damage and split bark can continue to reduce fruit production for months, and even years, after a freeze. Sometimes when a tree is weak, frozen back or broken off, a sucker or shoot will grow from the rootstock. The fruit from this rootstock shoot will be different than on the original tree. The tree may produce two kinds of fruit if a portion of the scion remains. Fruits from rootstocks may be sour orange, rough lemon, trifoliate orange, Carrizo citrange, or Swingle citrumelo or other rootstocks. Cut the sucker off to allow the desired variety to become dominant. If your tree is completely destroyed, it is usually better to plant a new tree of the desired variety than to try to bud the rootstock. If you’re thinking of moving a mature tree to a different location, it is also usually more economical to plant a new tree in the site.

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Posted: June 12, 2017


Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
Tags: Citrus, Cold Damage, Lime, Lime Tree


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