How to Prune Freeze Damaged Citrus Trees

Citrus trees, more than most other types of fruit trees, are especially susceptible to damage from freezing temperatures. Not only can the citrus fruit or blooms be lost during a freeze, but often entire limbs and branches will die. When this happens, it's important to prune the damaged areas to prevent disease and help the tree focus its energy on growing healthy areas. Removing the damaged branches also gives the citrus tree the opportunity to re-grow areas left bare by the freeze.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pruning shears
• Loppers

1. Wait until spring, when new growth has started, before doing any pruning. A little patience will go a long way in better preserving the tree and making sure that only damaged portions are pruned. In addition, pruning too soon can make it harder for a citrus tree to recover from freeze damage.

2. Identify branches damaged by freezing temperatures. This is easy to do once new growth has started. The areas not growing leaves have been damaged and will need to be removed. In some cases, the bark will have a different color than the rest of the tree, or even begin to fall away from the tree.

3. Clean the pruning tools by rinsing them in a mixture of bleach and water to prevent the spread of disease between plants. If you are pruning more than one citrus tree, clean the tools between pruning each tree.

4. Cut the dead or damaged branches away from the tree. Make vertical cuts that are either up against the trunk or within a live area of the tree. If the branch forms a "Y", make the cut as close to the joint as possible.

5. Coat any large wounds left by pruning with a white paint mixed in a 50/50 ratio with water.

Tips & Warnings

• Minimize freeze damage to your citrus trees while waiting for spring by coating the areas that have lost leaves with white paint mixed 50/50 with water.
• Don't be afraid to prune large areas or remove large branches by cutting into live areas. Citrus trees, once recovered from the freeze, will quickly recover and bare areas will become filled in.

References

• Master Gardeners - frost damaged citrus
• Tropicamango - rehabilitation of frost damaged citrus and avocado