Key lime trees can be grown in a bucket or large plant pot whenever there is not enough space to grow them directly in the soil. The advantage of having them potted is that you can have the plant grow on a balcony, porch, or even indoors.
Key lime trees grow well when planted in a bucket or plant pot. Although the environment is confined, the plant can thrive well with the available soil and adequately supplied nutrients. A potted key lime tree can be easily managed within a bucket since the plant doesn?t grow a large canopy and can produce fruit just as if it was planted in the ground.
Key lime is a member of the Citrus community of plants and is grown in subtropical and tropical climates. Limes (Citrus aurantifolia) are the fruit of tropical citrus trees closely related to lemons.
Key Lime trees are evergreen and can grow up to eight feet tall within the ground and within 3 to 5 feet when planted in a pot or a bucket. The branches are often slim and slender with 5mm to 10mm thorns which mature and become hard and prickly as the branches grow out.
Citrus trees when planted in buckets or pots, do not grow as big as they would if they were grown in the ground. Most tree roots are located in the top 6 to 18 inches of soil. Therefore, a pot that is 16 to 24 inches or larger in diameter should be used when potting the plant.
Planting citrus trees in a potted environment comes with many benefits and there are a few noteworthy things to consider when doing so such as nutrient addition, watering, temperature considerations, and pest control, which we will discuss further in this article.
See pictures after two years of this very tree after repotting into a larger pot at the end of this post.
Key Lime History in Florida
When we hear the term Key lime, we think of ?KeyLime Pie?. This is because Key lime Pie is well known and often associated with the state of Florida and for good reason.?
Before the 1920?s key lime was grown commercially within the state until natural disasters took a heavy toll on the mid-1920s causing a collapse in the industry when the citrus groves were destroyed.
After the fall of the Key Lime industry, the Persian Lime came to the rescue.
Key lime can be mistaken with its cousin the Persian lime which is a hybrid, seedless version found in your local supermarket. The Persian or Tahiti Lime (Citrus latifolia) was developed in the early 20th century and is larger than the Key lime. Both key limes and Persian lime turn yellow when fully ripe.
| Planting Considerations | Suggestions for Best Key Lime Plant Production |
|---|---|
| Pot Size | Fairly large pots should be used to compensate for roots. Pot size 16 to 24 inches in diameter with holes at the bottom. |
| Soil Composition | Use a well-aerated soil mixture rich in nutrients. A citrus fertilizer such as Citrus-tone can be used as an all-round fertilizer. |
| Planting Requirements | Plants should be placed In the Center of the pots and roots covered with at least 2 inches of soil |
| Fertilizing Periods | Fertilize before and after flower and fruit production, Usually in three months intervals. Liquid fertilizer can be used intermittently. |
| Watering Frequency | Plants should be watered depending on factors such as Soil type, pot size, Weather conditions, and plant size |
| Pest Control | Use Biological control such as Neem oil or mechanical control such as cloth and rubbing alcohol |
| Harvesting | Plants propagated by grafting will flower within a year, while plants grown from seeds can take between 3 – 5 years to bear fruit. |
How Long does it take for Key Lime to Grow?
Trees cultivated from seedlings take 3?5 years before producing a harvest.
They reach their maximal yield at about 8 years of age. However, Trees produced from cuttings and air layering bear fruit much sooner, sometimes producing fruit a year after planting. It takes approximately 10 months to start flowering.
The flowers produced are white in color and sometimes the entire canopy can be dotted with white 5 petal flowers.
Key lime doesn’t require other key lime trees to fertilize the flowers; they are self-pollinating trees. As a result, bees and other insects play a vital role when it comes to the pollination of the flowers and within two weeks small lime fruit can be seen growing out from the flowing sites.
The fruits can take between a month or two before they mature enough for harvesting. Fruits can be harvested when the lime is full and totally green in color or when the fruit is fully ripened and yellow in color.
The more yellow the color the more juice you will get from the fruit but the potency of the citric acid maybe a little weaker.
Can you Grow Key Lime from a Seed?
The
The average Key lime fruit produces between 5 to 10
Plants can also be propagated from grafting and air layering techniques. This is sometimes done to maintain a pure strain of the key lime plant, by taking a cutting from a known healthy productive key lime tree and grafting it onto another smaller tree.
Environmental Conditions for Key Lime to Grow
Key Limes are susceptible to frost than other citrus fruits. This makes growing them in buckets very convenient as they can be moved or covered to prevent the plants from dying of cold temperatures.
Apart from the frost limitations, Key Limes are a year-long fruit since the tree tends to produce fruiting flowers at least three times per year.?
Environmental conditions and fruit maturation are crucial in the cultivation of the lime tree. In warm tropical conditions, potted key lime trees can be planted during any season, whereas the best time for planting in temperate regions is late winter or early spring.?
Key Lime trees grow exceptionally well in full sunlight, well-drained soils, and good air circulation with temperatures above 60F. A simulation of near-tropical conditions would work well and produce fruitful healthy trees.
Watering Requirements for Potted Citrus
Watering is very important when it comes to key lime plants. The plant should be watered every three to four days. Depending on the pot or container you may have, you may have to water more often.
Another factor for watering you should consider is
- Pot size
- Weather conditions the plant is subjected to
- Type of soil used?
- The size of the plant in the pot
Key lime loves loose well-aerated soil and with this water would tend to run right out from the soil after watering. Therefore if you use this type of soil you may have to water a little more often.?
Additionally, if the plant is in an area where it is getting adequate rainfall this may be helpful to the plant. Too much rainfall may become a concern however, as the rainwater washes through the soil it will also carry with it vital nutrients which the plant needs to grow.
The safest bet when it comes to watering your Key lIme plant is to monitor the soil and see whether it needs watering or not. Usually whenever the plants need watering is when the top 1 to 2 inches of the soil appears dry.
A moisture meter can come in handy when monitoring soil moisture and can give a good indication of when the plant needs water.
A cheaper, and in some cases, more effective method of monitoring soil moisture is by using a skewer and sticking it into the soil, pulling it out, and noticing how wet it is.
Nutrient Requirements
When plants are potted the only nutrients that they are getting is what you are providing for them. Initially the potting solid will contain a good amount of nutrients for the plant to grow and for a while, you may not need to fertilize the soil.?
But as the plant ages, it will tend to use up the initial nutrients and additional fertilizer will have to be added to the pot or bucket.
A fertilizer formulated specifically for citrus plants such as Citrus-tone is a great choice since it provides all the nutrients required for growth and fruit production.
Typically fertilizer should be added according to the instructions on the product, before and after the plants produce flowers and fruits. Following this method, the plants are fertilized once every three months.
Pest Control for Key Lime Trees
Key lime plants can be attacked by spider mites, mealybugs, and leaf crawlers. If left unchecked these insects can wreak havoc on your plant and eventually cause the plant to die.?
The best organic pest control you can use is neem oil which is applied topically by spraying onto the leaves of the plants. This removes the insects if they are already attacking the key lime tree and will also prevent any other insect from coming close.
Mealybugs can be removed easily by using a small cloth dipped in rubbing alcohol and just wiping them off.?
My tree was attacked by mealybugs so bad that I had to prune almost all the branches after which you could barely notice if it was a key lime tree.?
Luckily these citrus trees are very resilient and after a week or two, it started producing new shoots and branches.
An update after two years has passed –
I can easily harvest from 10 to 20 Key Limes every month from this one tree.
Advantages –
- It is convienient
- The pot can be moved to whereever I want
- The tree produces limes all year round
So I can safely say that it is totally worth it growing a potted key lime tree.
