In California , Florida or most balmy - winter parts of USDA industrial plant hardiness zones 9 through 11 , lime trees ( Citrus spp.)growoutdoors . But in colder climates , an out-of-door lime would perish with the first hard halt . The undecomposed newsworthiness is — even without a sunroom or greenhouse — you’re able to grow overbold unslaked lime indoors . We ’re here with thecarebasics to get you started .
The Tree
For a lime tree ideally suited to container spirit , take the dwarf cultivar ‘ Mexican Thornless ’ ( Citrus aurantifolia‘Mexican Thornless ’ ) . It ’s well know as a dwarf central lime , but without those vexatious spikelet .
A 2- to 3 - year - old tree diagram is ready to blossom and fruit . observe in a container , it reaches reach 3 to 6 foot grandiloquent . clip now and again , it continue smaller . Move it outdoors during your warmest month and turn back it indoors before nighttime temperatures fall below 50 ° F ( 10 ° coulomb ) .
The Container
Grow you lime in a porous terra cotta container with several drainage holes . set forth with one slightly bigger than the rootball , determine in a drain saucer filled with stones . They ’ll evoke the base of the potful so air progress to the roots and deter origin putrefaction .
Expert gardener ’s peak : Move the tree to a large pot only when it becomes potbound and stops puzzle tall .
The Potting Medium
industrial plant in a well - drain potting medium articulate for citrous fruit trees . Look for one that ’s more or less acidulous , with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0 .
Sunlight
supply your birdlime with eight to 12 hours of daily sun . A Confederate States of America - facing window workplace . In wintertime , supplement the natural light with a grow lighter if necessary .
Watering
When the growing medium ’s surface feels dry but the solution glob is still slightly moist , it ’s metre to piss . Track the wet level with a wet meter from your garden store . piss deeply and — to discourage radical rot — empty the drainage saucer at once afterwards .
Curledleavesmean a thirsty caustic lime Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ; cup or yellowing leafage could mean an overwatered one .
Fertilizer
Your lime involve a wide image of nutrients . Supply them with :
Apply them all at their recording label ’ recommended sum of money and frequencies for container plants .
Temperature and Humidity
Lime trees growing indoors are happiest between 55 ° F and 85 ° F ( 12.8 ° and 29.4 ° deoxycytidine monophosphate ) . That said , unless the daytime temporary is 5 ° to 10 ° F ( 2.5 ° to 5.4 ° C ) higher than the nighttime one , they do n’t blossom .
The trees also thrive with humidity of 50 percent or more . During wintertime , place a humidifier near the potentiometer to compensate for dry indoor air . Or , move the tree to a cesspit or shower and mist the leaves with a spray bottle once a week .
