Don’t Make These 7 Citrus Tree-Growing Mistakes

Whether growing outside in a warm, frost-free climate or nurtured indoors in colder growing zones, citrus trees reward us with their bright fruits, especially sweet in winter. Explore how to best support thriving citrus trees by avoiding common mistakes with gardening expert Katherine Rowe.

Written by Katherine Rowe Horticulture review by Sarah Jay Last updated: December 2, 2024 | 5 min read

Close-up of male hands using pruning shears to cut ripe, bright yellow lemons from a tree with glossy, oval green leaves in a sunny garden.

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Fruit trees have great benefits for the home garden: they’re nutritive, productive, versatile, and ornamental. Citrus, in all their juicy brightness, enrich the edible landscape in the ground, pots, raised beds, and even indoors. They act as single specimens, form a grove, espalier, or train as hedgerows.

From large yielders like pomelos, grapefruits, and navel oranges to smaller satsumas, finger limes, and kumquats, the sweet reward of picking and enjoying fresh citrus feels exotic.

To set trees up for long-lived enjoyment, avoid common citrus tree growing mistakes that hinder more than they help. A few tips followed at the right time establish healthy, productive citrus trees.

Thinning the Interior

Close-up of a citrus tree with a light grey trunk and smooth bark, adorned with autumn foliage in shades of green and yellow, standing in a garden with mulched soil. — Maintain a dense canopy for optimal growth and fruit production.

Pruning citrus trees differs from some other fruits and deciduous growers. Often, we aim for an open canopy to allow plenty of air circulation and light exposure. For citrus trees, a dense, leafy interior is best. They prefer tight growth and full coverage as protection from sunburn and for winter insulation.

Avoid pruning out central stems and leave the tree in its natural form when they’re young. As they mature, you’ll have good visibility of the structure. Every few years, cut heavily shaded portions to allow light and airflow (but not to create an exposed canopy). Remove any weak, crossing, diseased, or damaged branches any time of year.

Fruits will grow on all but the most shaded areas of the canopy, and the upper growth protects them from the sun’s intense rays. All those leaves absorb energy and direct it into fruit production.

Pruning Before Flowering

Close-up of a male hand using red pruning shears to cut stems with oval green leaves and smooth edges in a garden. — Prune after flowering to avoid cutting off fruit-producing tips.

Pruning at the wrong time can impact and even prevent flowering and fruiting. Since citrus flower and produce at varying times, knowing your species and variety helps determine the best time to prune.

Cutting back stems prematurely removes fruit-producing growth tips. These may not even be visible at pruning; the growth tips are where flowers and, eventually, fruits develop. With these removed, stems won’t yield blossoms.

With knowledge of your specific type, you can allow it to flower and fruit and then prune. For many, late winter to early spring is the prime pruning window. If you don’t mind sacrificing fruits, prune any time except in the fall.

Pruning for Shape

Close-up of a man in jeans and a grey jumper using red pruning shears to trim tall, vertical branches of an orange tree in a citrus orchard. — Shaping after fruiting improves vigor and future growth.

Citrus trees sometimes need pruning to create an ornamental shape and improve vigor, but it is a mistake to prune before flowering and fruiting. To prevent losing potential fruits in the process, clip after fruiting is complete. In some cases, it may be beneficial to reduce wayward shoots outside of this window.

Space limitations or training constraints like forming an espalier or hedgerow may warrant a reduction. For the good of the future tree, shaping may be in order.

Not Removing Fruit

A woman's hand picks a ripe, vibrant orange fruit from a citrus tree with glossy, dense green leaves and smooth edges, set against a backdrop of lush foliage. — Removing early fruit promotes stronger roots and healthier growth.

Young citrus trees work hard to establish sturdy root systems and healthy vegetation, but it is also a common mistake to leave all of the early fruits to mature. In the first one to two years after planting, it benefits the tree to limit its fruit yield. Purposefully removing fruit is tough to do with an eagerly awaited harvest, but it offers long-term structural and production rewards.

When trees aren’t putting all of their energy into fruiting, they’ll develop robust roots, sturdy branches, and dense foliage more quickly. If you can bear it, leave only a single fruit or two on a first-year tree. Thin the fruits on a second-year grower, too.

Remove the early fruits as they begin to form; this catches the plant in time to redirect energy from reproduction into growth. Take off early fruit on young citrus trees (and put them to good use in household cleansers and fragrances). The next seasons yield bigger, better fruits.

Too Many Weeds

Close-up of a large weed forming a rosette of long, thin stems with small, oval, serrated green leaves growing beneath a citrus tree. — Weeds compete for resources, hindering growth and attracting pests.

A lack of weeding is a mistake for any crop, but especially for citrus tree saplings. Mature trees have a broad canopy that shades weeds out more readily than new plantings, but young ones do not have enough foliage to overshadow weed seedlings.

Weeds at the base of trunks compete for resources like nutrients and water. They soak them up before they reach the tree. A weedy under-canopy hinders the tree’s feeder roots (thin, newly formed roots just below the soil surface that seek minerals and moisture).

Weeds are also vectors for pests and pathogens. They harbor insects and diseases that impact roots, tissues, and fruits. They also block sunlight that warms the roots for faster growth. Keeping up with weed-pulling has big payoffs as trees develop.

Not Preparing in Fall

To prepare citrus for winter in colder climates, it’s important to start in the fall. Stop fertilizing this time of year as the fruits prepare to enter winter dormancy. Fertilizing citrus trees in the autumn is a mistake because it wastes most of the nutrients. Roots slow in their uptake, and excess may build in the soil or enter runoff.

Fertilizing

Close-up of a gardener in black flip-flops using a green watering can to apply liquid fertilizer to a potted lemon tree with glossy green leaves in a large black pot on a porch. — Avoid nitrogen in the fall so the tree can focus on root development.

Fertilizing with nitrogen in autumn sends energy to producing vegetative growth rather than root development. New growth is counter to the natural growth cycle going into winter. The moderate conditions of fall, coupled with a less active growing season, is one of the best times for plants to develop their root systems. Promoting new growth redirects energy needed for developing roots. It also exposes fresh stems and leaves to winter damage.

Apply compost or mulches like alfalfa in fall and winter to offer extra insulation and to enrich soils as they break down. Resume fertilizing with organic amendments like fish emulsion in the spring.

Heavy Pruning

Close-up of hard-pruned lime tree branches with smooth bark, surrounded by clusters of young green buds and emerging growth in a garden. — Pruning too early reduces insulation and encourages vulnerable growth.

Avoid any heavy pruning this time of year to keep as much leafy growth in place for insulation. Cutting back before dormancy also encourages premature new growth. Like fertilizing, it takes energy from roots and directs it to tender new growth (susceptible to winter damage).

Continue to water until frost. Less stress and root cells filled with insulating water are a good foundation leading into cold weather.

Potted Trees in Cold Climates

Overwintering potted plants, including a lemon tree with glossy green leaves, placed in a room with large, bright windows. — Bring them indoors before frost to protect against cold damage.

In areas with temperatures that fall below 30°F (-1°C), it’s safest to bring citrus indoors for preservation. Start to acclimate the tree to lower light conditions in advance of frost by moving it to a partially shaded situation for a week or two prior. House it indoors when temperatures are in the 40s (4°C). Some varieties are hardy to as low as 25°F (-4°C), but suffer damage in prolonged cold spells.

The best daytime temperature for overwintering citrus indoors is near 65°F (18°C), with ten degrees less at night. A cool room, cold frame, greenhouse, sun porch, or garage are good options as long as they have plenty of natural light.

Citrus need bright, sunny light to support them in the altered environment. Full sun, at least six to eight hours daily, is optimal. A grow light is a good option in lower light to ensure plenty of exposure.

Not Protecting in Winter

Multiple young orange trees covered with white protective cloth to shield them from wind and frost. — Use frost cloth and wraps to protect trunks from cold.

For in-ground trees in chilly climates, taking a few measures for extra protection offers the best success in overwintering. Extra mulch from leaves, clean straw, and alfalfa help insulate roots and protect against freezing and thaw cycles.

On cold nights (those below the threshold of your selection’s hardiness zone), use frost cloth and floating row covers as a wrap for extra insulation. This helps defend against freezing temperatures and elements like drying winds and hail.

Wrap young trunks with kraft paper, corrugated cardboard, or a plastic guard for added protection against splitting in winter’s fluctuating conditions and sunscald.

Key Takeaways

Citrus benefits from pruning for shape or structure, though usually minimally. Leave canopies dense to protect young trunks, stems, and fruits from sun and cold.
Prune after flowering and fruiting to avoid prematurely removing growth tips.
Remove the majority of early fruits from trees in the first one to two years after planting.
Keep up with weeding to direct nutrients to feeder roots and to prevent pests and diseases.
Stop fertilizing by fall, and avoid intensive pruning this time of year.
Protect container specimens in cold climates by moving them to a shelter.
Protect in-ground growers with extra mulch, and add insulation on chilly days and nights below their hardiness threshold.