Trifoliate orange: when and how to prune

Trifoliate orange: when to prune it?

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Prune after flowering, in June. It flowers on the previous year’s wood, so spring pruning costs flowers.

What else to prune in those months? June

Trifoliate orange: how to prune it?

1. As a hedge: in June, trim the new growth back to the desired shape.
2. As a shrub: only remove dead, crossing or overlong shoots back to a side branch.
3. Use long-handled loppers or hedge shears and wear thick gloves, safety glasses and long sleeves.
4. Clear up the prunings at once and never leave them where you work with bare hands.

How much to cut, and how often?

• One pruning period a year: June.
• Prune in moderation: never remove more than about a third of the shrub at once.

What does it mean for wildlife?

• Pruning in June can fall in the nesting season (15 March–15 August). Check carefully for nesting birds first: disturbing an active nest is against the law.
• Trifoliate orange flowers in April–May, when it attracts bees.
• Prunings can go on a dead hedge or brash pile in a corner of the garden: shelter for hedgehogs, wrens and insects.

Common mistakes

• Clipping without first checking for nesting birds.
• Leaving a stub or sawing flush with the trunk: cut just outside the branch collar.

Nearby: related pruning guides

• Kumquat
• Lemon
• Lime
• Mandarin
• Barberry
• Blackthorn

Plant profile: Trifoliate orange · Pruning calendar and basic rules