Lime Tree

This is the most popular commercial 'supermarket' lime - and rightly so. It has a good tolerance to cold (but not frost) and produces hefty crops of flavoursome limes - sometimes seeded, sometimes seedless.

Limes are traditionally eaten un-ripe when green - but if you allow them to ripen to a delicate yellow orange colour they will exhibit all the flavour without being quite so 'sharp'.

Recognised to be an excellent attractant and nectar source for bees and other beneficial insects.

• Self fertile.
• Like a sunny, sheltered position.
• Prefer free draining, slightly acidic (pH 6 - 6.5) soil.
• Can be grown outside through the Spring and Summer months but needs frost protection.
• Requires a minimum of 41F (5C)and ideally 50F (10C)or higher.
• Please note that citrus plants will drop leaves with extreme changes in temperature - they usually just re-leaf.
• Edible flowers.
• Perfumed flowers.
• Can be grown in pots.
• Ensure the compost remains moist but doesn't get overly wet.
• Never let the plant sit in water (as this will cause rot).
• Feed the trees once a month from April until September and then every three months the rest of the year with a quality, general fertiliser.
• Any pruning that is required is best done late Autumn when the tree is dormant.
• A fully-grown lime tree, 11 - 15 feet(3.5 – 4.5 metres) in height can produce around 300 fruits in a year; at 6 - 8 feet (1.8 – 2.4 metres), approximately 10 years old, it should give around 60 or more fruits.