Since starting the first seeds in the summer of 2024, things have largely gone according to plan and over half of the seedlings are almost 1-foot tall and they’re starting to look like actual trees. Outdoors, these trees would grow to be 8-25 feet tall, but when grown indoors in containers, these might reach 2-4 feet tall. This, at 2 years old, is the start of a noticeable and possibly long awkward phase for the oldest specimens. But, we won’t lose hope: we’ll see this phase through and not give up on that tree! Yes, I’m telling myself this as much as I’m telling you!
Aside from trimming off dead leaves and cutting the occasional water sprout on some of the seedlings, major pruning hasn’t been necessary yet and probably won’t be for another two years, likely even longer. Pruning directs energy towards producing flowers and fruits by eliminating dead branches and unhealthy growth, and the seedlings have responded to having dead growth trimmed off. Years from now, hopefully it’ll be growing strong enough where you’ll have to occasionally prune it to encourage branch growth and fruit production.
Because over-pruning can quickly kill a healthy tree, the consensus seems to err on the side of restraint . There are many, many resources available about pruning citrus trees. You should absolutely look these up, especially if you (like me) have never pruned anything before. Please feel free to get in touch to share your updates and progress!
In a full grown tree, the best time to prune branches to control shape and growth is in the very late winter or early spring. This time of year is when trees emerge from dormancy just ahead of new growth, so the best and most productive branches experience peak season. Late season pruning is not recommended as you might mistakenly cut off forthcoming growth.
These trees will produce thorns as they mature. Some of these young seedlings already grow small thorns. These are natural defenses to protect the tree and fruit from predators. It will produce thorns regardless of whether it produces fruit, and it may or may not stop growing them as it ages. The good news is: properly pruning the thorns won’t damage or harm the tree. In fact, because they could be a bit dangerous, this might be necessary if you have pets or young children.
It will take at least 5-8 years or much longer, if it happens at all, but if your indoor specimen(s) produce flowers. Even if you keep it indoors without access to pollinators like bees, it’s still possible to pollinate the flowers by hand. If you are successful in your pollination methods, the flower parts might eventually (hopefully) mature into fruit! But it will probably grow some form of thorns the whole way. Ain’t that damn near poetic?
A kumquat sprout in the sunlight, August 2024