Episode: 7
Title: The Garden Gurus to the Rescue – Pruning Lesson
Broadcast: 30th April
Presenter: Nigel

Some people are unsure of how to prune their citrus trees. In this segment, Nigel helps Karen by showing her the right techniques.

• Citrus trees will continue to grow and produce fruit as long as they’re healthy; they do not have to be pruned.
• Overtime they can become too large and misshapen, reducing fruit production, and that is when they should be pruned.
• The best time to prune citrus is after the last harvest of fruit and before flowering. Generally late winter in the warmer areas, or mid-spring in cooler areas.
• Eureka lemons tend to have fruit all year round, so instead just prune as required.
• Prune branches that are too long and too heavy.
• Keep the tree at a practical height.
• Health-check pruning is to be done at any time as required. Remove the growth from below the graft as it belongs to the rootstock and should not be encouraged.
• Always be on the lookout for citrus gall wasp, a pest found in coastal areas of Queensland, New South Wales and even Melbourne. They are prevalent from spring through to autumn.
• The pests leave a swelling in the bark of the branches. Cut them off and dispose of them in a tightly sealed bag or safely burn them.
• The time to feed citrus is in March and September.