{"id":11992,"date":"2022-10-03T07:01:51","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T07:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farmandanimals.com\/?p=11992"},"modified":"2022-10-05T22:38:34","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T22:38:34","slug":"how-to-prune-a-grapefruit-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farmandanimals.com\/how-to-prune-a-grapefruit-tree\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Prune A Grapefruit Tree?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Unlike other types of fruit trees, citrus trees, including grapefruits, don\u2019t require excessive pruning. Once the form of the tree is established when young, all that\u2019s required is the removal of dead, damaged, or diseased branches and a small amount of tidying up. Over-pruning your grapefruit tree will be detrimental to the tree’s health and its fruit production<\/a>. Read on to learn more about how to prune a grapefruit tree correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When To Prune A Grapefruit Tree?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"When<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Grapefruit trees require pruning in the winter when they are dormant, and there is no risk of frost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you plant a grapefruit tree, helping it to form a strong structure to support the heavy fruits will be highly beneficial, and this is the only time when any amount of major pruning is required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Do You Prune A Grapefruit Tree?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Grapefruits start by forming a bush-like form and should not be pruned until they reach two feet in height. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s better for the tree to maintain this shape as citrus trees are closed canopy trees that should have thick foliage on their outer branches to protect the delicate bark on the trunk and branches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exposing the bark of a grapefruit tree can cause it to become sunburned due to the volatile oils contained in it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a mistake made by many people, believing that a citrus tree should be pruned just like any other type of fruiting tree into an open shape that allows for a lot of airflow and sunlight to penetrate into the heart of the tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because citrus flowers and fruits are on the outer branches, sunlight doesn\u2019t need to penetrate inside, and airflow is achieved as there are no leaves on the inside of a mature canopy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How To Prune A Newly Planted Tree <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Stand away from your tree and look at its overall shape. Find four strong branches that are spaced around the trunk of the tree evenly and are growing outwards away from the trunk and with an open angle of around 45 degrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These branches should not be positioned adjacent to each other on the trunk but rather staggered, going up the trunk in more of a spiral. This is because adjacent branches can be put under too much stress when laiden with fruit and could break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve identified the best four or five branches, you can remove anything that is growing below them. These four or five branches are called \u201cprimary scaffolds\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If any of the scaffold branches are excessively long, you can also tip them to reduce them to a more uniform length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After pruning, allow the tree to grow on until the following winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pruning In The First Winter After Planting<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

By now, your sapling should have established a strong root system and a healthy-looking foliage layer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now cut out any dead, broken, diseased, crossed, downward, or inward pointing branches and twigs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then look at the shape of the tree and trim it to get an attractively even-shaped canopy, so there aren\u2019t any long branches growing off to one side and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping the shape of the tree even and symmetrical when young is important, as once it begins to favor growth on one side, it will continue to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember you never want to cut back more than 20% of the tree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flower And Bud Pruning<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Should your young grapefruit tree produce any flowers in the first couple of years, it’s better to remove them along with developing buds so that it can focus all of its energy on growing strong roots and branches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pruning A Mature Grapefruit Tree<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once your tree reaches three years old, you should limit the amount of pruning you do each year and allow a good canopy to form. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From now on, pruning is no longer done for the benefit of the tree so much as for the gardener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The form of the tree you created while it was young should have created a strong scaffolding of branches that can support the heavy weight of the grapefruits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pruning now involves removing dead or diseased branches from within the canopy. You can also remove any suckers growing from below the graft point on grafted trees, or branches that are less than a foot from the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t want any branches to touch the floor, as this can promote problems with disease and pests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The canopy of the tree should be closed so that sunlight cannot penetrate the inner tree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fruits are born on the outer branches, so access to light is not a problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside the canopy, you can open up the branches by removing small twigs or dead wood, plus any suckers that are growing beneath the scaffold branches of the tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this video, you can learn more about pruning citrus trees that are growing in cooler climates: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=knY009Esk6Y<\/a>