The first two pictures below are of a very young Kishu mandarin from Logees.

The next two are of a Cara Cara navel that I bought locally a year ago. It used to be larger but I had to cut it severely after part of it died this winter while it was kept indoors.

Do not prune. Your tree is to young for pruning. The tree will drop those limbs when it is time. You can also air layer those limbs for extra trees for free.

6b Steve Cincinnati Oh

I wouldn't prune those trees either. Too young, let them grow and do what they want to for a couple more years.

Evan

Thanks for the advice. I'll just let them grow naturally for a few years.

You gave us slim info to advise on long term tree shaping. If you are in a high number zone and plan to plant in the ground later, I would have different pruning/grooming than a container plant that stays indoors all winter. An outdoor tree should be pruned to have the outer lower limbs just touch the ground when holding fruit, if there is any chance it can get below 24 deg F.

I live in Philadelphia, PA (zone 7b). The trees can't be planted in the ground. I keep them outside on my roof deck when the weather permits and inside under a MH light in the winter. I would eventually like to get a greenhouse. I intend to let them grow large/tall as long as they can still fit through a doorway.

Thank you Silica! You are a wealth of information!

Silica, on the topic - If one wanted to "dwarf" a species of citrus that is not naturally a dwarf presumably by pruning it back in height every so often, will that have a negative affect on the trees ability to bear fruit? If so, is there any good way to train a tree to grow shorter?

On some mandarins, especially ponkan types, if you pinch out the growing tips after 8 to 14 inches they will produce more branches and will make many more fruit. But dont over do it. I mention ponkans since they try to produce too few branches which tend to be too "long and leggy". It helps to shade the roots also and will help thicken the canopy for freeze protection. Freezes are a big consideration on the Gulf Coast.

I hope Silica sees your question zomick...id like the answer to that myself.

Citrus produce fruit on new wood ( the new flushes of growth). The very act of pruning removes new growth. If one continually keeps pruning the new growth back in an effort to keep the tree small, the tree cannot produce fruit. - Silica

Will pruning a tree after fruit is removed reduce production for the next year?

Is this right that a citrus only blooms on new growth? Can anyone who has fruiting citrus confirm this? My trees haven't matured enough yet to flower/fruit but I always thought that once the tree is mature it flowers all over - not limited to new growth. This is a really important piece of info, if confirmed.

mattcolq(6)i if you prune after the fruit is picked, which would be presumably in October or November, the tree could flush new growth the following spring. A flush the following spring could produce flowers which could produce fruit. However, the size of the tree would greatly determine the quantity of possible fruit. Another method would be to lightly prune only one side of the tree per year, leaving the other side to produce fruit, followed by pruning the opposite side the following year or two. - Silica

Zomick, I'm not experienced, but my Meyer has always bloomed on new growth. However, if you have a long limb, for example, you can cut it back and the sprouts from those nodes may bloom.

My Meiwa Kumquat has flowered along the trunk of 2-3 years old. My lemonade and Cuban Shaddock flower on new wood from the base to the tip, but never flowered on old wood. Whenmy trees get to big I plan to cut entire trunks of th make room for younger, shorter trunks of bearing wood to fill in. I am growing my trees as bushes that send shoots up from above the graft union.

Low level graft union of New Zealand lemonade tree on true dwarfing US897 roots.

Silica

Not quite. If one only pinches out the end bud, the tree usually responds by sending out multiple branches at that point and usually does so quickly. The result if done correctly is to spur growth on top and in the roots. I like to call this grooming, rather than pruning, because it can shape the tree during the growing season without harming anything.