[Arid_gardener] Suffering Citrus

[Tyler Storey]

Good morning Jennifer,
All else being pretty much equal, it's likely your citrus is suffering as a
result of the significant pruning it received.  You mention that more of the
tree was exposed, and therein lies the problem with pruning citrus.

Citrus trees have incredibly thin bark, almost to the point where you
wouldn't call it bark at all, but rather skin.  When that skin is suddenly
exposed to increased amounts of direct sunlight, it burns or scalds, killing
that area, the underlying tissue, and eventually the entire branch or limb.
It happens quickly and is irreversible.  It is very common in pruned citrus
in the Valley, and a guaranteed occurrence in citrus pruned "significantly."

Citrus really don't need pruned for the health of the tree itself.  If it
needs pruned for other reasons, such as having been planted in a space too
small for it, it's a process best approached with caution.  Small amounts
should be pruned over time, rather than all at once, gradually giving the
tree the opportunity to respond to the increased light levels by growing
thicker bark. 

Now that the damage is done, I would recommend slowly beginning to remove
the dead branches.  Citrus is in a growth flush right now, so you may be
able to have new growth come in and restore the tree's interior shade over
time.  If the wilted branches are entirely dead, start by gradually removing
the dead wood, being very careful not to damage the rest of the tree.  What
you want to do is clear out the dead stuff to open up a place for the new
growth to fill in. But keep in mind that even wilted and dead, those
branches are still providing shade for the interior of the tree, so don't
make matters worse by taking it out all at once.  

You may also discover one of the interesting facts about most trees: pruning
makes them larger, not smaller.  Frequently, a hard pruning will stimulate
vigorous new growth in a citrus, resulting in longer, floppier, and weaker
wood.  For now, if you see that growth, it would be best to leave it to help
the tree recover.  Pruning can start a never ending cycle of pruning /
vigorous growth / more pruning / more growth, etc.  Avoid that cycle if
possible by limiting pruning to very small and well-spaced cuts, always
maintaining the tree's interior shade.

Thanks much,
Tyler

tyler at tylerstorey.com
http://tylerstorey.com
602-738-2978

-----Original Message-----
From: arid_gardener-bounces at CALS.arizona.edu
[mailto:arid_gardener-bounces at CALS.arizona.edu] On Behalf Of
jlchun2007 at aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 10:38 PM
To: arid_gardener at Ag.arizona.edu
Subject: [Arid_gardener] Question from Home-Hort WWW page

Jennifer
85250
jlchun2007 at aol.com

I have three citrus trees - two orange and a grapefruit. I've been in the
house for 5 years and they were here and producing fruit when I moved in.
this summer my grapefruit tree has had, now, the third section just die -
brown, wilted leaves. The only different care this year than others is that
they were trimmed by my neighbor - rather significantly - exposing more of
the tree and I missed the spring fertilizing. Other than that, the tree
seems as it always has. plenty of large fruit, full of leaves. The orange
trees seem fine. What can this be and what can I do to remedy the problem?
The fruit has always been plentiful and flavorful and enjoyed by all. 


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