I came back from a business trip this weekend to find that my 15 year old Mexican Lime has been hacked. My wife gave a day laborer a chainsaw and told him to clean it up. He removed all of the lower branches. The tree is still 8 feet tall. It used to be at least 10 foot diameter and actually had a very nice shape, but I guess she thought it looked too bushy. He also got sloppy with the chainsaw and made several deep gouges in the trunk as he no doubt carelessly shoved it into the center of the tree. For now, all I have done is paint the trunk white with a 50/50 mixture of white interior latex paint and water to prevent sunburn. Every single cut left a large stub that I will have to cut back to the collar. What else can I do to bring this tree back to proper shape? I don't think the lower branches will ever grow back properly with the umbrella of branches above the trunk. Should I cut the top off completely and let the tree grow new scaffold branches? Should I just live with the shape the way it is? I doubt there is any hope for my marriage, but can you please help me save this tree?

I intentionally did something way more severe to my pomegranate so it would bush out. Every place where I removed a branch, at least two branches "sprouted" in its place. I think citrus does this too.

You'll probably have a bigger harvest next time around, or maybe next year. So thank your wife for your potential bumper crop! lol 

But I get you - people don't understand the amount of thought we dedicate to this stuff. When I have family over, I just ask them that I be the only one who handles my fruit trees. They can pick whatever they want but when it comes to watering or anything, I'll do it.

I would do like you said and paint the trunk and cut the stubs back properly.  I would not try cut back on the top.    The tree will survive and come back.  As far as your wife, I hope you  two can work things out.

The tree's going to want to go vertical so you'll probably want to remove a foot or so of the apical growth.
It'll push water sprouts,you can select which ones you want as new scaffolds and prune out the rest.Once
the water sprouts you've selected get some girth but are still flexible bend them more horizontal and regrow the
lower scaffolds.Good Luck.

They tend to spread out and "droop" as the branches get longer.  Maybe the day laborer can prune the wife?

Citrus trees are very strong.
I would suggest to graft a different variety on the stump.

You're lucky that's all your ex-wife hacked.

If, by chance, you are collecting Ex-wives, PM me.

Always willing to donate, lol.

Mine goes for the guitars.

My wife and I just came back from marriage counseling. The marriage counselor's house where we met had several citrus trees in the front yard that all have received the same lollipop pruning treatment. Every single one of them had sunburned trunks with the bark peeling off, just like the other three citrus trees that my wife hacked 5 years ago. I hope the fact that I painted this one as soon as the disaster occurred will allow the trunk to keep it's bark and maybe even host some new laterals. At any rate, the marriage counselor agreed that I should definitely get rid of the wife.

I cut a lemon tree down to the stump last year because i wanted it more bushy. Probably 6" diameter trunk. Pushed new growth and I have a nice lower scaffold growing, although no flowers this year.

Paul,
I wasn't sure you were serious with the ex-wife line until your last post, but whatever the outcome, I hope it works out for the better.

I have one of those on a hillside (about 20 years old) and it periodically suffers similar mistreatment from unsupervised "clean up" people. I don't know about your tree but mine shrugs off this sort of outrage and quickly fills the gaps created. I hope your tree recovers quickly. I doubt that it will suffer anything other than embarrassment from this episode. Indeed, it may reward you with fewer but larger fruit. Good luck.

I'd be mad too, but, how do you grow a lime tree?? I've never seen seeds in limes, only lemons.  I've planted lemon seeds and have trees, although I've never gotten fruit. That's a whole new topic.

How did this tree ended up leaning so much? Other than that it looks great to me.