If your freeze-damaged citrus tree is sending out new shoots, that s not necessarily good news
Calvin Finch, Gardening
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If your citrus is now sending up shoots after the freeze, temper your excitement unless you’re sure the shoots are from the trunk or stems above the graft.Justin Sullivan /Getty Images
In most gardens and landscapes, it is clear which of the plants that were damaged by the February freeze are going to recover and which are not. If there are no shoots emerging from the damaged plant at this time, it is probably not going to recover.
For citrus, however, sprouts do not necessarily mean that the tree will recover. Most of our backyard citrus trees are on special rootstocks to reduce their eventual size or to increase the desirable top’s ability to cope with challenging soil or other conditions. The combination of the rootstock and desirable top produce the characteristics that motivated the gardener to purchase the tree.