4

My mandarin tree started sagging when its fruit started coming in. Now most of the branches are sagging. My suspicion is that it was allowed to get too tall. I've roped it to minimise the chance of catastrophic failure. Is there anything I can do for it, short of forfeiting the fruit for this year? Do you see a risk of branches snapping and damaging the tree as a whole? What about later on? Should I drastically prune it, and if so, does anybody have any tips?Closeup of sagging branch In context

Apologies for the images; my garden is small and the lighting isn't great.

1 Answer 1

5

Congratulations you are now a fruit farmer! That is a great crop on your tree. With success comes additional work though.

  • next year thin the fruit so you get less fruit of better quality and less weight on the branches
  • be prepared to support heavy branches with temporary stakes before harvest time
  • this link provides detailed information on pruning and care which includes
  • removing water sprouts which it looks like your tree has
  • thinning the canopy
1
  • Thanks for the answer and the great article. The tree is rather tall and gangly, and I was hoping to cut it back (mistakenly believing that the water sprouts would become branches and fill the canopy back in a bit). Do you have any thoughts about cutting the branches down to a more manageable size?
    – omannay
    Oct 31, 2015 at 7:12

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.