Blossoms on a Potted Lemon Tree

Bloom Appearance

• The blooms of a lemon tree appear in a cluster of several flowers at the end of a branch. Each flower has five petals that range from pure white to white with a pink hue in and near the center of the flower. Not only do lemon blooms look nice, but they smell wonderful, giving off a mild citrus scent.

Bloom Time

• Lemon trees can bloom any time of year, but they will do so more abundantly from late winter to mid-spring. For your indoor lemon tree to bloom, it must receive at least eight hours of sunlight a day. If you don't have a sunny window, or your days are too short to meet this requirement, set up an indoor plant lighting system. Use full-spectrum lights to simulate sunlight.

Making Fruit

• Kept indoors, your potted lemon trees won't have exposure to pollinators like bees and butterflies. To get your lemons to bear fruit, you will have to pollinate them yourself. One method involves simply tapping the flowers to shake the pollen around. however, a more reliable way is to use a small, clean artist's paintbrush, dip it into one flower to pull out some pollen, then swirl the pollen over another flower. If you have two trees, use the pollen from one tree to pollinate the other tree's flowers.

Blooming Lemon Care

• Lemons in pots need to be fed regularly. Provide a tablespoon of citrus food every three weeks except during the winter months. Never over water your citrus trees. Let the soil near the roots become dry in between waterings. Too much water will rot your plant. After the plant blooms, look to see if any branches have fruit developing. The branches without fruit can be pruned to maintain the shape of the tree.