Sweet orange trees have special characteristics that make you love this tree. Although it is a beautiful tree in winter you must prune it for several reasons. Pruning will give you the best benefit for your tree in terms of health and beauty. Different rules apply depending on your location and the maturity of your tree. You must know the best times and methods. Why prune an orange tree? Pruning an orange tree is essential to maintaining the overall health of your tree. This helps provide room for the tree to grow. Branches on orange trees often grow stunted over time, which can crowd the main branches of the tree and make your tree look unattractive. 
Pruning orange trees are also essential to producing good fruit. Worn and crowded branches lead to the poor lighting of oranges and confined spaces. The result is a smaller fruit and a smaller crop. This is when you will prune an orange tree more often, but it lays the building blocks for your tree's success in the years to come. When to prune an orange tree Pruning is important, but knowing when to prune is nearly as important. tree age If your orange tree is a young plant, the timing of pruning is more flexible because you will only remove the buds. Just be sure not to prune the tree around the danger of frost. Mature trees should be pruned according to the above recommendations where you live, in the fall or early spring. Make sure not to prune during the extremes of winter or midsummer temperatures. This will ensure that your tree does not suffer frost or sun damage. Mature trees often pass two to three years between pruning. Simply monitor the fruit tree and prune it as needed. What tools will you need? Having the right equipment will ensure that the job is done safely and easily! protective When choosing your clothing, choose a long-sleeved shirt that protects your arms from rubbing while you're sorting. Closed pants and shoes are also a good idea if a branch falls near you. Get a pair of work gloves to protect your hands. Thistles and thistles are no fun! 
Most of the time, you'll be looking at the tree when pruning, so you need a baffle to keep anything from falling out and getting into your eye. pruning shears Pruning shears, or hand shears, are good for small branches and suckers. Ratchet lopper Ratchet loppers are similar to pruning shears, but have much longer handles. You can also find some pairs that have telescopic handles to adjust to your desired height. These make it easier to reach the higher branches of the tree. They also cut thicker branches than pruning shears, which is great for wood stumps. pruning saw Instead of making a scissor-like cut, cutting saws have an outward-facing serrated blade that is either curved or straight. Pruning saws make it easy to cut large branches using a back-and-forth motion to see off the ends. pole saw A pole saw is a long pole with a saw attached at its end. They are often battery-operated and can be used to cut off any thick ends that you can't reach with a regular pruning saw, and they don't require you to bring a ladder. Imagine a small saw on a pole. You can also buy hand-held pole saws, which are similar to a pruning saw attached to a pole. Be careful not to spread diseases! 
Make sure to keep all tools sharp and clean. Using dirty or faded blades puts orange trees at risk of spreading disease. How to prune a mature orange tree What do you prune When pruning a mature orange tree, look for overgrown branches first. Next, look for any dead or damaged branches, crossed branches, or branches that rub against each other. If you wish to prune your orange tree, you can remove any low-hanging branches to reveal the main trunk. This process is usually performed by anyone who wants to make his orange tree aesthetically pleasing. Just remember that once you touch an orange tree, branches will not usually grow back on the lower half of the tree. These low-hanging branches are often considered one of the best productive parts of the tree because they are not exposed to sunlight. How to sort Your choice of tool depends on the size of the branch. For limbs and smaller branches, use small pruning shears or a ratchet looper. If the tip is large, use a pruning saw. Using the wrong tool will usually result in a bad cut, which will open your orange tree to potential damage and disease. When pruning the top of the canopy, remove no more than a third of the tip to avoid losing flowers in the future. If you want to completely remove an overgrown branch, trace the tip back to the collar of the tree to cut. The collar is the raised area where the branch meets the main stem or trunk. When you keep the branch collar intact, the wound will be able to heal itself naturally without the protective tree bark. Any damaged or diseased limbs should be cut off with the collar to completely remove them from the tree. The cutting should be made of healthy wood, usually yellowish-white in color. No diseased wood should remain. 
Pick a spot on the tip six to twelve inches from the collar. Using the saw, spread a third of the tip from the bottom. This is called an undercut, and its main purpose is to prevent the bark from breaking off the tree after the tip has fallen off. Reduce the weight of the tip by cutting an extra three inches of collar at the top of the tip. This cut should reach the tip or until the tip falls off. The final cut should remove the remainder of the branch by making the cut flush with the collar. fruit thinning Not only should the twigs be weakened, but the actual fruits on the tree should also be thinned out. Thinning the fruit helps reduce some of the weight on the tree's branches. This helps the oranges grow into larger, healthier fruits. Thinning helps the tree remove some fruit from this year's crop to give it enough energy to produce a profitable crop for the next growing season. The more energy your tree uses for this year's fruit, the less energy it will produce next year. 
How to prune an orange tree seedling What do you prune Orange trees or seedlings used in a nursery require different types of pruning than mature orange trees. You'll want to pay the most attention to any shoots or suckers that come from the base or bottom of the tree. Bud removal encourages the main branches to grow healthy and strong. How to sort You can use your hand to remove these sprouts if they are small enough to separate. If not, use pruning shears to make a healthy cut of the tree. Remember to leave the tip collar, even for the bud, so that it can self-heal. Try to cut any shoots before they are too large to require a pile cut. How to prune an orange tree in a pot Pruning orange trees in a container is all about helping the orange tree maintain a healthy size for any size container. Up to three inches. You also need to cut back any fruit that is overcrowded, so that the smaller tree is not overburdened and there is plenty of room for more fruit to grow. As with shrubs, remove any shoots from the base of the tree. Try not to make your container tree too dense and dangerous, as the fruit will need a lot of light from the top to grow healthily. 
Sweet Orange Tree Characteristics
Before paying attention to the characteristics of the sweet orange tree we must talk about the origin of oranges and the history of oranges. Oranges come from the southern Himalayas and southern China, where the wild species are very similar to the cultivated ones. It appears to have begun to be cultivated in southern China about 4,000 years ago, although the first written information appeared in China about 2,700 years ago. Although it is known that Alexander the Great introduced most citrus fruits to the East, it is not known exactly who introduced oranges to Europe via the Far East. Various theories are referring to the Genoese merchants, and others refer to the Crusaders. All that is known is that the Portuguese did this in the 16th century. Oranges were brought to America on Christopher Columbus' second voyage. The Arabs introduced it to North Africa and Spain in the 10th century, in both Andalusia and Valencia, where oranges reached an international reputation for high quality. Orange production in the world Orange is the most consumed fruit in the world, with a production of 70 million tons. They represent the third largest crop after bananas and grapes. Today it is grown on any continent, provided that it has a suitable climate, including plenty of sunlight, water, and low humidity. Brazil is the world's largest producer of oranges, spending most of it on domestic consumption and orange juice production. Brazil will follow the United States and China. Florida, California, Texas, and Arizona have large crop fields in the United States. Spain is the largest producer in Europe and the main exporter of oranges in the world. Other producing countries, in order of importance, are Mexico, whose production has increased significantly in recent years, Italy, India, Egypt, Israel, Morocco, and Argentina. 
Properties and uses of oranges Not only do people benefit from oranges from orange trees. This tree produces a range of products used by industry: From orange blossoms, by distillation, an essential oil called neroli is produced and used in perfumes. It forms part of a colony mixed formula with scents of orange, lemon, and lavender. * More information: Properties of orange blossom Another ingredient used in perfumery is petitgrain, an essential oil obtained from the twigs and leaves of the orange tree, also used in aromatherapy to soothe pain and provide greater clarity to the mind. Orange peel essence is used as a flavoring for the food industry. Other products obtained are pectin, caramel crust, and animal feed products. * More information: Properties of orange peel essential oil Bitter orange is not eaten directly because it is unpalatable. After all, it is very bitter. They are generally involved in making bitter marmalade and the oil industry. Can eating oranges be dangerous? Orange or orange juice can cause allergic reactions with skin manifestations in some people. Oranges or orange juice can cause migraines for people who are allergic to them. Eating these foods in large quantities can lead to intestinal problems such as the appearance of heartburn, flatulence, diarrhea, etc. Characteristics of orange trees. Classic orange (Citrus sinensis), mandarin orange (C. reticulate), and tangelos (C. reticulate x C. maxima) share similar characteristics. These evergreen trees bring dense shade to your yard all year round. They produce delicious fruit, grow at a steady rate of two feet per year, and live 50 to 150 years. 
Orange trees thrive in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 11, tangerine trees grow in zones 10, and tangelo trees grow in zones 9 and 10. growth habit Orange trees have the same height and usually growth. Orange and tangelo trees grow up to 25 feet tall, while tangerine trees grow up to 20 feet tall. All three make good privacy screens; They have a compact and upright shape when you plant them close to each other or if they are spaced apart. Orange and tangelo trees have a low canopy. Tangerine trees make good hedges with a shrub-like growth habit, as long as you prune the lower branches to encourage the tree's shape. Sun, water, soil, and temperature Orange, tangerine, and tangelo trees love the full sun and moist soil. These versatile trees can grow in loamy, loamy, or sandy soils with a pH ranging from highly acidic to highly alkaline. Their ideal temperature ranges from 55 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the growing season and 35 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit during dormancy. As a general rule, temperatures from 26 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit will damage the fruit. Temperatures below 25 F for more than 10 hours can damage mature trees and light frosts can kill young trees. Fruits and flowers Orange, tangerine, and tangelo trees have bright, fragrant white flowers in spring, and orange trees can produce pink flowers. They are excellent fruit producers, producing fruit about 3 inches in diameter. 
Orange trees bear fruit in fall, winter, spring, or summer. Tangerine trees bear fruit in the fall. Tangelo trees bear fruit in winter or spring. More orange trees Citrus sinensis includes a variety of cultivars for different fruit characteristics. Known for their thick but easy-to-peel skin, 'Washington Marine' is eaten and ripened ahead of many other varieties. Valencia oranges have a thin peel that is difficult to peel, but rich in juiciness, which makes them ideal for orange juice. The blood orange has a dark pink to burgundy flesh that, when squeezed into juice, looks like red wine. Produces small, juicy fruits with a peel of medium thickness.