Introducing the Key Lime Tree

One of the first images that sprang to my mind when I found out I was moving to Central Florida were Citrus trees. More specifically Orange Citrus trees gently swaying in the well tended groves in a gentle breeze.

So it seems natural that one of the first purchases I was determined to make when the gardening bug bit me was a small Citrus Tree, a Key Lime Citrus Tree..

Why a Key Lime Tree you ask? Why not one of the Orange Tree's from your dream image?
The answer was simple, My Wife’s Key Lime Pie.

Like many of my early plants, the tree started off by adorning one of the many display stands at the local Home Depot from down the road. It was a small tree with plenty of leaves, although there was no fruit on it. It looked healthy enough and more importantly at the time, it was small enough to fit in the car. We also purchased a large green fiberglass pot with a removable rubber plug and plenty of soil. The color of the pot was deliberate; one of the challenges of maintain a garden of any kind when living in a townhome (certainly in Florida) is the inevitable HOA (Home Owners Association) and all of the rules they enforce regarding the appearance of the development they rule over. Given that I wanted to put the tree and its container in a nice sunlit spot outside the front of the house, I wanted to do so in a tasteful manner that would allow the tree to blend in.

Thankfully it did blend in and as expected this January the tree started to flower again and before long the tree was covered in little white buds. However misfortune struck, a freak cold front came through unexpectedly in the night and all but a few of my beautiful buds fell to the ground. In the end just one of the few remaining buds left managed to fully flower and produced a fruit. I picked the fruit yesterday, juiced it and in honor of the first fruit of 2012 planted the seeds, I thought it would be interesting to plant the seeds and see if I could grow a tree from scratch.

I took one of my plain, small, pre-soiled plant pots and ensured that the soil was well watered. Then I placed a two seeds in each half of the pot and lightly covered with more soil. Finally I placed the pot in a spot where it is sheltered from any wind and rain but can receive at least six hours sun a day.

Meanwhile I’m glad to say that the parent tree again blossomed again in March and now near the end of May, here we are waiting for the fruit to finish ripening. My taste buds can’t wait…..