My mandarin orange tree has green fruit. I moved it into the greenhouse for the winter. Will the fruit turn green?
Answer
How wonderful that your mandarin orange tree has fruit. Hopefully when you moved it into the greenhouse it was well before the chilly weather, although they are somewhat cold and drought tolerant. In your greenhouse the oranges should turn orange. When they seem ripe feel free to pick them and enjoy them. Pruning should not be necessary. If you need to prune, do so within the month after the fruit has finished so you don't interfere with next year's bloom. Be sure to keep an eye out for insects such as mealy bug (white cottony substance in leaf nodes) and white fly. If this occurs remove mealy bugs with alcohol dipped Q tip or if it gets really bad, use a horticultural oil spray to smother the cases. And watch for the crawler stage, which is the best time to spray the horticultural oil. But hopefully you won't have any insects. Enjoy. ep