Citrus trees are great for patios and conservatories. With maturity, this potted Lime will produce bright green, spicy fruits. The exquisite clusters of tiny white flowers fill the air with their wonderful aroma, set against a foil of glossy, black leaves. The following fruits can take up to a year to ripen, but they are well worth the wait. Limes can be stored for up to two weeks after being collected.
Lime trees can withstand temperatures below 0°C for short periods of time, but they do best when kept in containers and brought indoors to a sunny, frost-free location from autumn to spring. Ultimate height and spread: Up to 4.5m (14’).
Growing Information
Growing Information
ON RECEIPT - Remove the plant from the packaging immediately. Check the compost is moist and water if necessary.
CARE OF THE PLANTS - These plants have already been grown on to fill the pot provided. The plant can now be enjoyed in it’s present container or planted into a larger container to suit the growing position chosen. Citrus trees grow best in a sunny greenhouse, conservatory or windowsill with a minimum temperature of 4ºC (38ºF). They will also thrive outside in a sunny sheltered spot during hot summer weather. In a dry atmosphere leaf drop can occur, therefore plants should be stood on a saucer containing gravel and water which is away from radiators. Water thoroughly each time the surface of the compost becomes dry.
In the summer months watering may be daily during hot weather and fortnightly during the cool winter months, just enough to keep the roots moist. Do not allow the compost to become soggy and waterlogged as this will kill the roots. Feeding the plants weekly during the spring and summer with a citrus fertiliser or seaweed-based fertiliser will promote fruit growth. Citrus do not thrive with high salt levels in the compost so taking the plant outside twice a year and drenching with lots of clean water will prevent any build-up of excess fertiliser salts.
FRUITING & PRUNING - Citrus are very rewarding plants to look after, providing endless interest as the small scented white flowers appear in spring, followed by small fruit as the flowers fade. With the correct conditions the fruit will grow steadily over the next six months until they ripen. The fruits can be picked off or left on the tree for ornamental purposes. To encourage a bushy plant and to maintain a good shape, plants can be trimmed just as the new growth starts to sprout in the spring.
Caring for your Citrus
Given the huge range of temperature fluctuations between regions of the UK, please see our recommendations to care for your citrus.
In the more balmy south, we can grow Citrus outside all year round albeit that we drop fleece type covers over the plants in the harshest conditions. (Nights that show temps. of below about -3) Even then we can lose some leaf in early spring and the tree will stay like that until Mid-June when the new leaf starts pushing hard.
For the rest of the UK whilst citrus can withstand short drops in temperature to below -3, prolonged drops will affect the plant and cause some defoliation. Our recommendation for citrus must always be that whenever the temperature is regularly above +4 then the plants should be placed outside but sheltered from the cold winds. If temperatures go below that, then they should be brought into a protected environment, but that does not mean the home where the humidity is far too low and will cause even worse damage than frosting. We recommend a shed or barn that has windows to let in sunlight, which is the most vital thing. An unheated greenhouse is perfect of course but in very low temperatures a layer or two of fleece will be valuable. Its worth remembering that unless the greenhouse is double glazed, then a wooden shed is very much more frost-free.
Citrus continues to grow at anything above +7c and below that they sit dormant but the fruits continue to ripen!
