There are Persian , Indonesian , Palestinian sweet and Spanish limes , but the key lime is famous for the sourish tone it gives the pies named after it . Key Citrus aurantifolia originated in Southeast Asia and were bring to the West Indies by Columbus . Tree - ripened key limes are bright yellow ellipse fruits with dark-brown splotches that resemble lemons . Also do it as Mexican or West Indian calcium hydrate , the trees are exceedingly frost sensible and heavy feeders .

Fruit

Aromatic , juicy and prized for their unparalleled and complex acidic flavor , primal limes ( Citrus aurantiifolia ) are low , walnut - sized , seedy oval with slender peel . The juice is yellow - light-green and highly fragrant . Limes are sweeter than lemons but contain less vitamin C. Once grown commercially in the Florida Keys , they were near wiped out by a 1926 hurricane . grower replant thornless , sweeter - flavor , thick - skinned , larger - fruit Persian limes , but primal limes hold up in the south , principally in Florida , where they are used to make Key Lime Pie .

Tree

Key lime tree tree are bushy evergreen plant that produce up to 8 feet tall . Their slender , crooked ramification are full of thorns to protect the yield . exceedingly moth-eaten sensitive , they survive outdoors only in hoarfrost - free part or with stale protective cover or indoors . They need stain with first-class airfoil and internal drainage . Horticulturalist Julian W. Sauls notify they will suffer from nutrient inadequacy in soils high in hardpan . Planted in the full Dominicus on the S of the planetary house in frost - free areas , they should provide bushel of lime .

Growing Conditions

central slaked lime are susceptible to tooth root rot . make a shallow basin around the trunk to hold water will result in bunkum and kill the tree within five years , agree to Dr. Sauls . tree set higher than the nursery mark resist rot . New trees do good from a 2 - foot lachrymation ring of soil piled several column inch around the tree trunk and filled with water every other day for two weeks , then once a week .

Fertilizer

Citrus plant food with a high nitrogen percentage ( 2 - 1 - 1 or 3 - 1 - 1 ) that includes trace amounts of manganese , smoothing iron and Zn is idealistic for primal fluxing lime . dim - release plant food granule provide constant nutrients . Fertilize after trees show newfangled growth with 1 cup of fertilizer break into three or four applications during the tree ’s first twelvemonth . Sprinkle fertilizer around the trunk and water in good . expend two cup divided into three or four alimentation the second year and continue adding a cup for every year of emergence . Yellow leaves on a lime are a sign of inadequate fertilizer or bad drainage .

Container Growing

References

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