Branching can be encouraged, by simply pinching the apical bud off, of the new growth. Leave four to five buds on each branch in order to promote further branching and forming of the canopy. As for the new growth flush, any fertilizer high in nitrogen should do the job. However I still wouldn't force the new flush at this time of year. Now, it's much more important for the plants to get ready and prepare for winter dormancy. There will certainly be enough time for them to get back in shape. So no pruning, no heavy fertilization until the next spring. Patience is the key!

Good luck and enjoy your citrus!
Igor

You probably don't want your citrus to grow long upright growth. So I suggested you to remove the apical (top) bud to stop the upright growth and encourage branching. If the growth is already longer than it's supposed to be, I usually leave only 4-5 buds on each twig and cut off the rest. The shorter the branches, the more compact the canopy (tree top).

Igor

I guess you're talking about the calamondin and sinensis then? I must admit I'm kinda scared that if I remove the tip of the branches, I wouldn't be seeing any sidegrowth which then would make all the growth stop since the plant cannot even grow upwards. I'll have to put my doubts aside I guess .

By buds you mean leafbuds in this case right? I've got no flowerbuds on neither the calamondin or sinensis so that wouldn't be an issue :p.

I must admit I do fertilize the persian lime and the limon since they grew a nice set of leaves already. Could it be that fertilizer is stopping leaf growth?
I must point out that the leaves of the limon aren't nice colored, but instead, seem to be lacking 'stuff'. :s

By "bud" I mean, tiny undeveloped growth in the axil between a petiole and a stem. If apical bud, growth is removed some of the lateral ones will take over and develop into side shoots. This happens once the top bud is removed. Since there's no more apical dominance, the other (usually referred to as lateral) buds get a chance to start their growth. And no, pinching the top off won't stunt the tree, as long as it was pinched off at the fourth or greater internode - as I described earlier.

Good luck,
Igor

Very nice explanation! Does it work on branches that seem to be kinda 'dormant' ? E.g. the branches on the persian lime and lemon trees that lost the leaves and are still 'leaveless' without any apical growth.

Again thanks for the help

edit: I've noticed that most new leaves have grown at the ends of the bald branches, leaving the entire branch bald except the tip. Should I cut the top with those leaves on too?

I wouldn't suggest you to prune the old leafless branches until the next spring. If they haven't completely died back they might still eventually leaf out.

Just moved the plants upstairs for the fall/winter to come:


The 2 limes I left on the latifolia:




C. limon: is this one ripe or going bad? I've got 2 hanging on the tree the last 2 summers :s:


this one remains rather green:


Some new sprouts on my calamondin:






A look through the window :

Lime update: The 2 fruits have almost doubled in size in the last 2 months and it started growing flowerbuds!

fruit, about 4cm in diameter


one of many flowerbuds