Question
I have an indoor lime tree that is 5 years old and is approx. 6 feet tall. 8 months of the year it is kept indoors and 4 months of the year it is kept outdoors. I live in Chicago. The tree is very healthy. My question is this: The tree has yet to produce fruit or flowers, why? Do I need to artificially pollinate? Please help.  

Answer
Hi John,

It is very difficult to get citrus trees to produce fruit when they are kept indoors for a substantial part of the year. They require a tremendous amount of direct sunlight to produce fruit. Even a south-facing window produces strong light to only one side of a tree at a time. In addition, the hours of daylight are much shorter in Chicago than in Florida and southern California. Artificial light helps, but probably not enough.

If you grew your tree from a lime pit, then it is probably sterile anyway and would not produce fruit even in Florida.

Should you happen to ever get flowers, they would have to be pollinated by hand, unless you keep bees in your home!

Good luck and please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

You can E-mail me directly at: [email protected]

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