Lime Tree?

arsenalluva, Jun 5, 12:47am
when is the best time to purchase and plant a Lime Tree? and are they easy to grow and take care of?
maclad, Jun 5, 2:31am
Now is a good time to buy and plant. They take no more care than any other citrus. They, as other citrus are prone to scale, whitefly, sooty mould and borer and of course good feeding and watering are necessary.
lythande1, Jun 5, 4:32am
They are quite a tropical tree - compared with other citrus. You can try but it might sulk and never produce fruit.
coralsnake, Jun 5, 6:13am
I am in Christchurch and have a very healthy lime tree growing in a pot.
During winter, it is placed in a sheltered sunny spot and wrapped with frost cloth.
Don't use regular citrus fertilizer if in a pot - check with your nursery for a slow release fertilizer.,
arsenalluva, Jun 5, 6:49am
oh thanks, I've often thought about planting one. do they take much room if you grow in a pot?
gabbysnana, Jun 5, 6:53am
I bought a double grafted lemon/lime, been in 4 years, get lemons but no limes, cost $60 so bit annoyed.
arsenalluva, Jun 5, 6:54am
that happened to me with roses from a grower once, paid for specific colour of pink and type, when it flowered it was yellow!
merrigj, Jun 5, 6:55am
It has taken our lime tree 4 years to produce limes. It is a tree that requires patience.
mark_g, Jun 5, 7:10am
and aphids.

And if planted in lawn citrus roots are fair game for grass grub if you have moderate-heavy grass grub issues.

Mine (2 limes, a lemon and a grapefruit) suffer a little die back if hit with more than a couple of mild-moderate frosts over winter - but they recover.
mtbotrev, Jun 5, 7:45am
we bought one in a pot in October ahead of moving house!. Still in pot but will be planted out soon. It has produced about v30 limes which I am slowing picking and eating. Cost $130 as its larger than usual ex Mitre 10. Apparently supposed to take off all fruit in first year if plantinbg to encourage growth and then it fruits like mad year 2. It is Tahitian lime. nice fruit.
dibble35, Jun 5, 8:09am
Bearrs Lime is very slightly hardier if you live further south and get the odd frost. If you want a small tree/bush then buy one on a flying dragon rootstock - this is a dwarfing rootstock The other type of rootstock is usually trifoliata - this is more common, but the lime will grow bigger
brightlights60, Jun 6, 8:53am
Yup, same here. Ours are pulled into the cover of the porch over Winter, then dragged out into the sun in Summer. If you fertilize, do it in Spring and apply along the "drip line" where the water will drip off the outer most leaves, this will get right into the roots. And always take off any fruit, the little tiny starter limes (applies to all citrus trees) that appear in the first year. This allows the plant to concentrate on growing healthy foliage and branches, instead of fruit, which takes a lot of energy. They do really well here.
cantabman1, Jun 6, 9:34pm
I suggest that you grow it in a large plastic pot for 4-5 years until it is almost root bound, before planting it out to face north with lots of sun.
Ideally under eves if possible.I do this with all young citrus, giving them a really good start, before planting out.
brightlights60, Jun 6, 11:19pm
If you guy a good sized one, this has already been done for you. Over the years we have had little ones, but they never do quite so well. Just over a year ago we bought two good sized ones, popped them into huge dragon pots for in our front porch and they have doubled in size. Removing all the fruit setting in the first year gives them the added advantage of all the growth going back into the plant. So they have great root systems due to being root bound back at the nursery, and good growth because of the fruit being taken off. Looking forward to lemons and limes in the next year. Especially when the limes go to $25 a kilo!
thistle4, Jun 8, 11:55pm
Our Lime tree took 4 years to produce fruit. It's planted in the garden and this year has been laden with fruit. I don't really fuss over it apart from giving it a dressing with Citrus Fert. twice a year and making sure it gets enough water.
harm_less, Dec 19, 12:00pm
+1 Bearrs is a Tahitian lime variety that is less prone to dropping fruitlets, which normal Tahitian can be bad at.

Also pick a warm spot for a lime as they are less cold tolerant than most other citrus.