Key Lime Tree for Sale

Planting and Care

by Mary Van Keuren | Gardener (30+ Years Experience) – last update on May 2, 2022

Planting instructions

If planting outside, site your Key lime tree where it will get plenty of sunlight, in soil that drains well. Unpot the sapling, and tease out any encircling roots, as they can girdle the tree and eventually kill it. Dig a hole that’s a little deeper than the root ball and twice as wide. Throw a few handfuls of well-rotted compost or manure in the bottom of the hole and place the tree on top. Hold it upright and steady, and fill in around it with good quality topsoil, tamping down as you go to eliminate air pockets. Water thoroughly. Place a 2- to 3-inch layer of an organic mulch, such as bark chips, around the tree’s root zone to conserve moisture, being careful that it does not touch the trunk itself.

Watering and nutrients

Your Key lime tree will benefit from about an inch of water a week. If you do not receive this from rain, give your tree supplemental watering, aiming the hose at the root zone to avoid wetting the leaves. When newly-planted, water your plant more frequently until you see robust new growth on the sapling. Fertilize your tree throughout the growing season with a fertilizer that is designed for citrus trees. Follow package directions for application times.

Pollination

Key lime trees are monoecious, meaning that a single plant will have male and female reproductive parts. What that means to you is that you are able to have a harvest even if you only have one tree. Insects such as bees generally do the work of moving the pollen from one flower to another, but you can help them along by using a small paintbrush to take up pollen in a similar manner and move it from flower to flower.

Pruning

Generally, once your Key lime tree is mature, the only pruning you’ll need to do will be to cut out dead, broken, or diseased branches when you see them. In addition, remove any suckers that appear near the base of the tree. A young tree may need light pruning for shape or to open up the canopy, but unlike some fruit trees, Key limes trees do not need an annual heavy pruning.

Pests and diseases

Key lime trees are quite hardy and have few pests or diseases. You may occasionally see scale insects or leaf miners, and citrus mites can damage young trees. Control insect infestations by releasing beneficial insects such as parasitic wasps, or, as a last resort, using insecticides. Neem oil may also prove helpful. Diseases include lime anthracnose, collar rot, and fusarium oxysporum. Key lime trees kept indoors are unlikely to experience any of these diseases.

Harvesting

It can be difficult to determine when limes are ripe for picking. Look for limes that are lighter in color and starting to turn from green to a more greenish-yellowish hue. Twist one off the tree — if it comes off easily it’s more likely to be ripe — and check if the fruit inside yields a good amount of juice. The fruit also turns slightly softer when ripe. Fruit that appears wrinkled is overripe and will be bitter.

Achieving maximum results

Growing a Key lime tree outside is a great idea for those in the Deep South and Pacific Northwest. But what about those in northern states? No worries: the Key lime tree adapts beautifully to container growing. Choose a container with good drainage holes that’s roughly twice the size of the tree’s root ball. Use a good-quality potting mix, preferably one recommended for acid-loving plants, and plant your tree as we’ve suggested in the directions for outdoor planting. You’ll get the best results if you keep your Key lime tree outside for the summer months. Bring your tree inside when temperatures get near 30 degrees Fahrenheit or when a frost is predicted. Place your tree in a sunny window, and turn it occasionally so that the whole tree gets sun. Wipe down the leaves occasionally to minimize dust, and mist the leaves to help it stay hydrated.

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