Hello, I am a new member and not sure is this is the correct spot to place my question. 4 years ago, I planted a lemon tree at the time it was only about 4 feet tall, now 4 years later it is about 12 feet tall, and producing lemons, the size of grapefruits with, this is a good thing. However it is starting to take over my backyard, I have looked at many posts on the internet and seen conflicting information, I have seen people say to prune back ¼-1/3 then I see people say do not prune back at all, but to cut out sucker growth. This tree has produced 5 large laundry baskets full of fruit this year, and the limbs are touching the ground. Should I prune it back, I would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you Bryan Booth
If size is not a problem, i would not pune it at all unless theres something wrong with a branch i never prune a tree (apart from taking cuttings) as it might upset the tree, alter the amount of fruit next year etc
Lemon trees can withstand pruning, even hard pruning, very well. However, because pruning greatly reduces fruit production, pruning is either practiced not at all or rarely, and when done is mainly devoted to thinning and opening the canopy for light penetration as well as to keeping the canopy low. The reason that pruning reduces, or even eliminates, fruit production is because lemon trees produce fruit on the new growth, and pruning removes the new growth, thus reduces the crop. Commercially, because grove trees are planted in close proximity, as they grow pruning must be done to allow light, space, and air flow. Therefore, growers prune only one side of the tree in the first year of pruning, and the opposite side the following year. This enable the unpruned side to produce a normal crop of fruit. If you do not care if a year goes by without any lemon production, you can prune the entire tree all at one time. - Millet
