Growing Persian / Tahitian Lime | Bearrs Lime Trees in Northeast Florida Landscapes
(Citrus latifolia )
Origin of Persian Lime / Tahiti Lime | Bearss Lime For Northeast Florida:
Persian Lime is the most widely cultivated lime species commercially and most limes you run into being sold commercially are Persian Limes. The fruits start out green and turn yellow as they ripen and is normally sold in its green stage. The trees are nearly thornless and the fruits are nearly seedless.
Persian Limes also known as Tahiti Limes here in Florida and Bearss limes are triploid plants, natures exceptional creations that are quite unique with three sets of chromosomes instead of the usual two, they are limes of Citrus latifolia and information and care will be the same, differences between the two will be minimal if existent and for our information purposes they are all grouped together here. Bearss limes also originate in California and are not readily distinguishable from Persian Limes, they are considered a selection of Persian / Tahiti Limes.
For more detailed information regarding the genetics of the lemons and limes we all know and love click this link here https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4817432/
Persian limes are from a seedling found growing in a home garden in California in the late 1800’s . It parentage is unknown but thought to be a seedling of a fruit brought over from Tahiti some time between 1850-1880. They are thought to be a cross between Citrus maxima, Citrus micrantha and Citrus medica
Winter Temperature Tolerance For Persian Lime:
Persian Limes can be grown in tropical and subtropical climate zones successfully in zones 9-11 so they are an ideal candidate for a Northeast Florida food garden. Winter temperatures below 28°F can damage mature trees so protect young and newly planted trees from and hard freeze in your area and cover during a hard freeze if needed.
Sun Exposure for the Persian Lime | Tahiti Lime | Bears Lime Tree in Northeast Florida:
Plant Persian Lime trees where they will receive full sun in the Jacksonville and St. Augustine area landscapes. They require 6 hours of direct sunlight or more for best production.
Blooms and Persian Lime / Tahiti Lime | Bearss Lime Trees for Northeast Florida Landscape:
Blooms of the Persian/ Tahiti lime tree are small one inch, 5 petaled, white fragrant blossoms that are born in clusters of 5-10 on new growth, like other citrus they are extremely fragrant. Lime trees will bloom heavily in the early spring and you will find blossoms intermittently throughout the year although the subsequent blooms will be much lighter than the spring blooms.
Citrus trees are self pollinating, so there is no need for a second tree to pollinate your tree in order for it to produce fruit. Persian Limes blooms have no viable male pollen. Fruits are seedless.
The fruit starts out dark green and matures to a light buttery yellow. They are 2-2 3/4 inches in length and around 2 inches wide when mature. Persian Limes have a thin rind.
Soil Preference for the Persian Lime / Tahiti Lime | Bearss Lime Tree:
It is no longer a recommended practice to amend the soil in the planting hole on Citrus trees in good soil according to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. However, probably due to the simple fact that old habits die hard, one UFIFAS citrus publication cautions, if you are going to amend your soil be sure to use a 50-50 ratio. In other words, use equal parts soil amendment and native soil (that is the soil you dug out of the hole before placing the tree in it), and mix the amended soil together with the native soil before back filling the hole around the tree.
Size of the Persian Lime / Tahiti Lime | Bearss Lime Tree When Mature:
The mature size on a Persian Lime / Tahiti Lime tree is 10-20ft tall and 8-12 ft wide when grafted onto trifoliate rootstocks in Florida.
Pruning and Growth Habits of Persian Lime / Tahiti Lime | Bearss Lime for the Northeast Florida Landscape:
– Remove suckers that sprout up from the trunk, or to remove dead wood that can cause problems when left on the tree.
– When purchasing trees from an S & J Nursery container less than a 30 gallon pot size, pruning may be needed to shape the young trees into a desirable framework. In addition light pruning each year to develop the lemon trees rounded or mushroom shaped canopy, eliminate crossing or damaged branches etc.
-As the tree matures it should be shaped by selecting 3 – 5 main branches, well spaced along the trunk for fruiting production. Remove branches with narrow angles, and sub branches that are crossing or rubbing on other branches or branches / stems heading into the center of the tree should be removed as well.
Planting and Mulching Tips For Persian Lime | Tahiti Lime Trees in the Jacksonville | St. Augustine area landscape:
NOTE: THIS IS IMPORTANT
-Be sure to plant into well draining soils, and keep the soil level of the dirt in the container above the soil level of the ground by 1-2 inches when you are finished planting. The soil that your tree was growing in should be slightly higher or level with the ground.
– Never bury the top of the root system with soil ( the dirt in the pot that the tree was growing in). The soil in the top of the pot should be exposed to the air after planting, not buried by soil in any way.
Caution: Do not build berms around Citrus to hold water, as is recommended for pretty much all other trees. Leave a 12 inch diameter area around Citrus tree trunks with no mulch, do not put mulch up to the trunk of the tree on Citrus Root rot can develop quickly and good drainage is essential to a healthy tree.
Remove the grass and weeds growing under the foliage of any Citrus tree in Northeast Florida about a foot beyond where the foliage stops. Don’t allow grass and weeds to regrow under your Florida Citrus.
When planting in areas with a high water table, consider planting your Citrus into a raised berm a few feet high and 6 or more ft wide. This will keep your Citrus roots up out of the water soaked ground during periods of heavy rain.
Wow, that was allot of don’ts! Here’s one last one. Don’t worry, it really isn’t as hard as it seems, once you get them going Citrus trees just keep on growing!
So for all those “DONT‘s” listed above I have just two “DO‘s”for you that is additionally as critical for the long term succsess of your plant…
DO mulch under and around your citrus trees with Oak leaves, even if you have to beg some of of your neighbors. UFIFAS is recommending the practice to help deter the Asian Citrus Psyliid insect that is responsible for spreading Citrus Greening from tree to tree.
DO fertilize your tree with Citrus specific fertilizer. Florida’s sandy soils grow plants wonderfully, the roots penetrate easily through the large sand particles quickly establishing plants into our landscapes. The drawback to our easy digging garden sand is that is doesn’t hold on to nutrients well or water for that matter. They can quickly utilize what is available to them and begin showing nutritional deficiencies when the soils nutrients is not replenished in and around your Citrus trees. Remember, citrus does a whole lot of work producing hundreds of thousand of blooms on a tree each year and a Persian Lime can produce 20-50 lbs of fruit every single year! All that productive output takes a toll on the available nutrients in the soil, they need replenished and Citrus fertilizers are specifically designed to give your citrus tree everything it needs to grow strong and healthy and help it fight off the insects and diseases that may come its way. Keeping your tree healthy and happy does more for your fruit production than you can imagine!
Keeping your Persian Lime / Tahiti Lime | Bearss Lime Tree Free from Pests and Diseases:
When it comes to gardening, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That is to say that, paying attention to proper planting, watering and fertilizing practices for your citrus tree is the best way to keep it healthy and growing well.
Water Requirements of the Persian Lime / Tahiti Lime | Bearss Lime in the Jacksonville and St. Augustine area Landscape:
Newly planted citrus trees require watering every other day for the first month and twice a week for the first few months, or in sandy soils when the top two inches of soil is dry to the touch. Take care to make sure that newly planted citrus trees receive water at least once a week for the first 2 years after being planted, skipping watering altogether once the local rain season is here.
Mature citrus trees need little to no supplemental irrigation in Northeast Florida’s subtropical climate zones and are more often damaged by over watering than under watering.
When citrus trees need supplemental irrigation, make sure to irrigate the soil only and not the trunk or foliage, this is best done by hand with a hose.
Fertilizing Your Persian Lime | Tahiti Lime Tree for Northeast Florida, Jacksonville and St. Augustine area Gardens:
Citrus trees tend to be a bit demanding on the fertilizing side of the equation. Citrus Fertilizers can be purchased at any local hardware store and are specially formulated to supply all the major and minor nutrients your citrus tree requires to thrive.
A good quality fertilizer specifically formulated for citrus trees should be used. Fertilize in spring, again in summer and, skip the fall application in Northeast Florida, and then again in January. Spread your fertilizer out into the circle of non grass area you have kept free of vegetation under the Canopy of your citrus tree.
Harvesting your Persian Lime | Tahiti Lime Fruits straight from your very own tree:
Persian Lime / Tahiti Lime will be ready for harvesting fresh from your tree for the most part from June to August. The fruit is ready approximately 90-120 days after it blooms. Now remember above how we mentioned that Persian Limes flower heavily in spring but lightly throughout the year…yep that’s right, you can have limes year round any time on your tree! Just harvest whenever you want to. The green limes you get at the grocery store are picked and shipped immature limes. So pick them green if you want or wait for them to get that 2 inch by 2 inch size and to turn that beautiful soft buttery yellow. It may just be all in my head but I am convinced they are best in the yellow stage! After all, fully ripened fruits on just about everything else taste best. Am I right, maybe not, I love green tomatoes..although I do only love them battered and fried so??? hmm now I’m going to have to do a blind taste test…. maybe its just that the limes fresh from the tree in my yard are so much better than the ones I get at the grocery store and green or yellow doesn’t apply…maybe this is all fiction and I couldn’t tell a grocery store lime from my own lime if I did a blind taste test and I just think I love them more because I cared for them and watched them grow…so its just partiality… maybe none of this is real and I am not real and I am not really tasting anything but am just a computer simulation and have never actually tasted anything in my life….If that’s true can God just overwrite this whole calories in calories out thing in my programming…its loathsome… My brain is never quiet, also why does it always have so many plant related questions and ignore correct grammar spelling and punctuation all together as unimportant and not worthy of consideration? I’m sorry Mrs. and Mr. Schaffer, you really are excellent English teachers, I wasn’t listening. Also, this is what happens when I drink coffee while writing. Perhaps I should have taken some L- Theanine with that coffee to focus… Anyway, I would normally delete this, but I’m not going to…your welcome… or maybe more likely…I’m sorry!?! But I will take some L- Theanine before I do the Keylime webpage. I will not study grammar though so…sorry not sorry? hmm
ANYWAY…Plant a Persian Lime you’ll love it, green… yellow… sliced… juiced…preserved in a jar with salt…sugar coated and dehydrated… dried and powdered…they are delicious!
Other Great Citrus Trees available at S & J Nursery for the Northeast Florida, Jacksonville | St. Augustine Area Gardens