How to Prune Orange Trees
An orange tree offers a supply of fresh oranges to the owner. The amount of oranges that the tree will produce depends on the size and health of the orange tree. It is important that you prune an orange tree once a year to remove any dead leaves and limbs so that the tree is allowed to blossom to its full potential in the spring.
Items Needed
- Hand sheers
- Rubber gloves
- Rubbing alcohol
- Choose a day that is in late in winter to prune the orange tree. The best time to prune an orange tree is in February or March depending on the climate where the tree is located. Make sure that the blossoms have not yet begun to grow on the tree before you begin.
- Observe the orange tree carefully to help determine the amount of pruning the tree will need. The dead leaves and branches will need to be removed in order to allow the blossoms to produce the most fruit possible.
- Apply rubber gloves to your hands in order to prevent blisters from forming due to the use of the tools you will be using to prune the orange tree.
- Clean the hand pruning shears with rubbing alcohol to remove any germs or disease that may be present on the surface. Trees that are pruned with the same sheers without cleaning the tools promote the growth of diseases from one tree to another.
- Remove any dead or diseased branches from the orange tree you are pruning using hand sheers. You should also remove a few of the middle branches if they are growing over each other, this will cause fewer blossoms to form in the spring.
- Stand back and inspect the orange tree to see if you have missed any branches that need to be removed.
- Make the final cuts to any branches that do not appear to be healthy.