I have a single citrus plant (a donor plant, but he did not know what kind of citrus it was). It is full of blossoms. Do I need to do anything for this plant to form fruit? It is in my greenhouse. It is only a single plant and there are no other citrus trees anywhere around me as far as I know.

Hi Ken.


It is my understanding that most citrus is self pollinating save for some hybrids. It seems that you can increase the yield by hand pollinating.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ch082 http://www.citrustreesonline.c...

If you keep it in the greenhouse, it may require some help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Bees are great pollinators for citrus, so perhaps you could move it out during the day and back in at night depending on size. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/aa092

I have a native sweet orange and a Moro Blood orange in ground on the south side of my yard. I am in zone 8b& 3/4s so to speak. I leave pollination to nature. Some years we get bumper crops of more than we can eat and give away. Other years, barely enough to keep the grandkids happy. My neighbor hit a sale and has 6 or 7 orange trees in his yard. His yields seem about the same as mine.

Mmm, must smell really nice in your greenhouse, Ken! Jean is right, it will probably self-pollinate.

I'd keep it in the greenhouse until your nighttime lows are at least above 40. There most likely aren't a lot of bees out and about when it's cold anyway. By the time the fruit is ripening, you'll be able to have it out in the sun to load up the fruit with sugar.

Some citrus, notably lemons, are more cold tender than others. They'll drop the flowers, and sometimes even drop leaves if they get too cold. Prolonged cold will kill them. So until you know what you've got, I'd err on the safe side and keep it warm.

Thanks Jean and Arlene. Maybe I'll just get a soft brush and gently nudge those blossoms. It is far too cold to put her outside, and I haven't seen any bees in ages. I don't know where the bees go during cold weather.

I gave up on the indoor lemon tree I had because it was an aphid magnet and had the nastiest thorns! Does yours have thorns?

I got a calamondin tree in a container, since our weather is milder here, it is outdoors year round. It does like to get a lot of full sun and lots of watering here, since it is too dry. Once I see the flowers form, I know the fruits will be right behind, well lots of pollinators here, bees, hover flies, hummingbirds, so it just goes now blooming and fruiting year round.

I have seen some neighbors around our area and their citrus trees are just jampacked now with fruits.

Maybe when you get better and warmer temps you can take it out so Nature can help in the pollination.

One of my friends keeps a single citrus (lemon) tree and she helps the pollination with a small, soft brush.

As for where the bees go in the cold months, they consolidate and cram themselves together in the center of the hive and take turns moving from the center to the outer part of the ball of bees in an effort to keep the hive alive until spring. First they kick out the useless drones who would eat up all the stored honey, then the girls cluster around the queen and the brood. The bees start to shiver and wiggle to create heat. Aren't you glad you asked.

Are you pulling my leg, Greene?

There a few thorns, but it is mostly thorn-free. Of the dozen or so branches, there are only 3-4 that have even a single thorn. I once had a fairly large Myer lemon tree (at least I think that's what it was). That tree was loaded with large, long, dangerous thorns. I liked the lemons but it seems that those lemons were just full of seeds. As for insects, I don't see a single insect on this citrus plant.

Yes, I think the one I had was a Meyer lemon. Nasty thorns! And yes, mine seemed to have a LOT of seeds, too.

Then that's what I had. I wouldn't want one of those suckers simply because of the thorns. Plus, I didn't care for all the seeds.

No, not pulling any legs. Both things I said are true.
Information about bees is available on the internet or at your local bee association where you can talk with experienced beekeepers. You can join even if you don't keep bees.

You are welcome Ken. My geography failed me momentarily...I didn't realize that you are a good 300 miles northeast of me. Your greenhouse is the safest place for the next few weeks.

Yep, protection for my orchids and solitude for me - a win-win.

A win-win with a grin.

I'll vouch for Greene on the bee thing...

I have some kind of orange tree (Calamondin, maybe??) in my sunroom, which flowers profusely in the early winter and sets some fruit, without any assistance. Love the scent of the flowers when they're blooming, but holy moly what a mess they make!!

What sort of orange fruit is the Calamondin, Sandy?

It's in the database, Ken. Calamondin Orange (Citrus x microcarpa)

I did not mean the color/form/size of the fruit. I meant what is the taste/texture/seeds like. I should have explained my question better.

The fruits are 1 1/2 to 2in across, and very seedy, but tasty. The trees bear heavily, although some of them are heavy/light bearers, one year they will have a lot of fruit and the next a light crop. They are really pretty, small trees, don't know if they're thorny or not, that seems to vary with the variety. My Key Lime has no thorns at all but I have a friend who has one that is very thorny. She just clips off the thorns she can reach, and that works for her. My Kumquat has no thorns either.