Q: I purchased a Mandarin Orange tree called ‘Robinson’ at a local nursery and was told I needed a pollinator tree to produce fruit. Is that true and if so what should I use to pollinate it?

A : Many citrus trees are self-pollinators meaning they produce fruit by pollinating the blooms on the same tree. However, your orange tree ‘Robinson” does require other pollinators and you should consider using the ‘ Orlando’ tangelo as a cross pollinator. It is important to use a cross-pollinator that has a blooming period that overlaps your tree, produces a good crop of flowers, and has the same cold-hardiness. ‘Robinson’ is one of the most cold-hardy of the mandarin types but it is susceptible to limb breakage if fruit bearing is too heavy. Harvest occurs between October and December with fruit containing 1-20 seeds per fruit.

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