Question
i bought an indoor manderin tree with a little mand growing on it from a home depot.  the manderine matured and it was quite tastey.  this was 4 months back.  since then the tree wont bloom and we have it in direct sunlight, indoors.  our inddor lemon tree is doing great.  why wont the mandering flower? thanks

Answer
Hi Vince,

It is very difficult to get Mandarin orange trees to bloom and produce fruit indoors. In general, they require more sunlight than even direct indoor sunlight can provide. Outdoor sun is up to 100 times more intense than indoor sun. Cool night-time and winter temps are also beneficial, but hard to provide indoors.

Some Mandarin varieties can be pollinated within the same flower, but require you to do that by hand in the absence of bees. Other Mandarin varieties are not self-fertile and require pollen from another tree. You may have that variety.

Finally, Mandarins are unlikely to flower more than once per year when kept indoors, assuming everything else is in order.

So, you have a lot of things working against achieving more flowers and fruit on your Mandarin. Of course, Home Depot would never tell you that!

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

If this information has been helpful, please click the Rate Volunteer bar below and enter a rating and nomination for me. I am a volunteer on this site so Ratings are the only compensation I receive for answering plant questions.

Need more information? Visit my website at:
A link to HorticulturalHelp.com

or email me at [email protected] or call me at 917-887-8601 (EST)
 
Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

Visit my website at: A link to HorticulturalHelp.com