If you have a new orange tree, check it often for vertical shoots and excess branches. Give the tree at least 2 to 4 months to recover from major treatment. Damaged and diseased trees could benefit from a second trimming. Be careful to avoid removing too much of the tree, but focus on giving healthy branches ample room to grow.
Southern California is an example of a warm climate where orange trees grow well. If the weather tends to stay in the 55 to 85 °F (13 to 29 °C) range year-round, consider it a warm climate area. If you’re in a warm climate, you have a lot more flexibility when dealing with your trees. The warm weather enables them to grow all year and even produce oranges twice.
Trim the trees once you’re sure the weather will stay above 30 to 40 °F (−1 to 4 °C). Some colder weather is fine, but sustained frost could damage orange trees beyond repair.
If you’re thorough during annual trimming, orange trees likely won’t need much maintenance during the rest of the year. It can be done to shape the tree, however. Remove dead or diseased branches as you see them to keep the tree healthy, but don’t thin out healthy branches before your annual pruning session.
Tackle the branch problem in the spring before your trees start flowering. Remove the flowers as well if your orange tree is under 2 or 3 years old. During the rest of the year, you can maintain the tree with some light trimming. Trim the edges of the canopy to keep the tree’s shape, but don’t remove healthy branches.
Mature trees don’t need much maintenance trimming throughout the year. If you’re doing any trimming, don’t cut too deeply. Avoid removing healthy branches outside of the annual pruning.
A lot of smaller branches, including water shoots, can be snapped off by hand. For thicker branches, switch to hand pruners or a hacksaw.
To maximize safety, sterilize your tools after trimming each tree. This isn’t very practical, but you can avoid part of the problem by rotating through several different pruning tools.
If you’re using a chainsaw, put on hearing protection to compensate for the noise. Wear a hardhat or helmet to guard against falling branches. Stay safe by keeping upper branches at about shoulder-height. Avoid reaching for branches that are higher up than you are.
New orange trees mature after 2 or 3 years of growth. At that point, leave the flowers alone so they turn into oranges. Routine pruning on older trees does eliminate some flower buds. However, removing some buds causes the remaining ones to turn into bigger oranges, so it isn’t a problem.
If you’re dealing with space constraints, trim the canopy back on a regular basis to prevent it from overgrowing. Gently trim it every year to maintain the tree’s shape. This kind of trimming isn’t strictly necessary, but it’s good for keeping your tree beautiful. Removing dead or excess branches is more important.
Preserving the collar helps the tree heal at a faster rate, which means less chance of disease. Water sprouts are also less likely to grow up from the collars. For forking branches, locate the spot where the branches meet. Cut there if you’re planning on preserving one of the branches.
Spread open the outer branches to get a glimpse of what is closer to the trunk. Notice anything that looks cracked, splintered, discolored, or broken. Note that some discolorations aren’t fatal to your tree, so research the problem before doing any serious pruning. White spots from mildew can be treated with a fungicide. Use a pesticide on spots caused by insects.
Fruit and branches that touch the ground collect contaminants that could lead to diseases. They also give insects like ants a way to climb up the tree. Many people choose to get rid of the lower branches entirely. It makes the tree look nice, but the downside is that the best oranges often come from those branches and they are hard to regrow.
If you let water sprouts grow, they could interfere with other branches. Horizontal branches are much better to keep. Some water sprouts can produce oranges, but they are typically not as good as the ones grown on horizontal branches.
With frequent growth, the tree has more branches than it can support. Removing excess branches keeps your tree healthy and improves the oranges you get from it. If your tree is young, it won’t have an overabundance of branches. It happens more often as the tree gets older. Watch more intently once the tree approaches 10 years of growth.
If the tree is in bad shape, you don’t have as much leeway. Always take down damaged and diseased branches first, then thin out the canopy if you are able to do it without leaving the trunk exposed. Bare trees are prone to sunburn just like bare skin is. Trimming off too many branches at once could seriously damage an orange tree.
