How do I get my cacao to flower?

[TomekK]

So I’ve had a couple cacao trees growing for over 5 years now, one from Logees and a few more that I grew from seed. Three of them have branched out naturally over a year ago, but none have any flowers yet. I live in northern Virginia and take my plants inside for the winter. Are there any known methods for helping or “forcing” cacao flower? I don’t need fruit (yet), just flowers.

Thank you,
Tomek

[Botanicus]

Cacao plants that are clones from a mature plant can flower when small and in pots, not sure how long it takes seedlings to flower. I have noticed that Cacao plants seem to not be self-pollinated and need a different (genetically) plant for fruit to form.

[Jungle Yard]

I have a few cacao trees growing. One is about 4 or 5 years old and has been blooming for a couple of years. Theobroma cacao is a peculiar tree. Out of many many flowers they produce, fewer will set fruits. Many fruits grow to about 1 - 1 ˝ inches and get aborted. Aborting young fruits is a natural occurrence in cacaos. So, it is very normal to see hundreds of flowers on the tree and only a few large pods grown to maturity.

Cacao, doesn’t need another plant to be pollinated. Older single trees can fruit just fine.

Cacao blooms on older matured wood, something that is called cauliflory. So your trees might need to develop more branches and thicken up to start blooming.