Persian lime tree care is not as challenging as it sounds. As a gardener if you master the best practices of caring for Persian lime trees, you are good together.
Persian lime (Citrus latifolia) is commonly referred to as the seedless lime, Tahiti lime, and Bearss lime. The Persian lime is a hybrid developed by crossing the Key lime (Citrus aurantifolia) and lemon (Citrus Limon).
The Persian lime is the most widely cultivated lime species, so much so that all the limes you might find at your local grocery are Persian limes. Persian limes turn yellow when they ripen but are often sold while still green.
A full-grown Persian lime tree is almost thorn-less. In addition, Persian lime fruits are about 2.4 inches in diameter and slightly nippled at both ends.
Although Persian lime fruit is often sold whole, Persian lime fruits can be dried and preserved. In many Persian cuisines, the Persian lime fruits are used as the dried fruit. Persian limes up advantages ancestors, the Key limes, are larger, thick-skinned, less acidic, seedless, hardy, and longer shelf life.
Persian limes were first grown on a large scale in Persia, modern-day, Iran and southern Iraq. The largest markets for the Persian limes are America, Europe, and Asian markets. As of 2014, Brazil was the major exporter of fresh Persian limes to Europe over 70% and Mexico supplying most of the remainder, making Brazil and Mexico, the largest producers of Persian limes.
Persian lime tree care
Similar to other limes, Persian lime trees are vulnerable and sensitive, like all lime trees. Persian lines like warm and humid climates, fertile well-drained, slightly acidic soils, and are extremely sensitive to cold. Read on for an in-depth analysis of best practices in Persian lime tree care.
Best soil for Persian lime tree care
Persian lime trees, like all other limes, like well-draining, fertile soils. If you are growing Persian lime trees in gardening pots, you can buy a potting mix.
Alternatively, suppose you are growing Persian lime trees on the land. In that case, you need to plant the tree in mounds to increase drainage around and prevent water from standing near the Persian lime tree’s roots.
Persian Limes, like all limes, don’t like stagnant water or poor aeration Russian around the roots. That is to say, limes don’t like ‘cold feet.’
Add compost to increase your soil’s fertility and drainage. Most importantly, if your soils are not as fertile as required by the Persian lime tree. Some gardeners add perlite and sand to increase the drainage of clayey soils.
In case the majority of soil on your land is clay, you can mix sand in the mounds that you create before planting.
Growing Persian lime trees
Persian lime fruits are seedless. Therefore, it is impossible to grow them from seeds. The most common ways of growing Persian lime trees are through cloning, grafting, and air layering.
Even though these propagation methods are highly technical, but a farmer can replicate laboratory processes of cloning, which includes growing, cutting, and air layering and grafting on the farm to propagate their Persian limes.
On the other hand, if the whole procedure of growing your lime from scratch isn’t something you are willing to do, buy a young Persian tree from your local nursery. Nonetheless, below are detailed steps on how to propagate your Persian lime trees.
The major ways Persian limes are cloned is by growing from cuttings or by air layering.
How to grow Persian limes by cutting for proper Persian lime care
Persian lime trees can be grown by cuttings following the procedure below.
1. Soil/ dirt prep.
The majority of farmers use a simple recipes for soil. For instance, the one part garden soil and one part perlite for the dirt base.
Mix one part garden soil and one part perlite in a container and just enough water to make the mixture moist.
You need to ensure that your dirt mix is light and airy.
2. Gardening pot prep
You can either purchase a gardening pot from your local nursery or make your own. If you decide to make your pot, ensure that the pot is well-draining.
3. Get the cuttings
Select branches that are between 4-6 inches long and have buds on them. Remove all that leaves on the branches except the last two leaves.
It is important to remove the leaves because foliage requires extra nutrients to maintain. Removing leaves allows the plants to focus on root development.
Shape the last two leaves. You can even do a diamond cut or flat cut. Whichever cut you prefer is up to you.
Another pro tip in cutting prep is to cut at the nearest nodes because the nodes are where potential growth can occur. By cutting near the node, you encourage root development at that node.
4. Planting the cuttings
Before you plant cuttings, you can add the rooting hormone you can get at your local nursery.
Then prepare a planting hole using a chopstick or whatever you have and plant the cutting in your dirt hole.
5. Create a greenhouse environment
You can create a greenhouse environment around the setup you’ve planted by using a Ziploc bag or any clear bags you have and locking down with a rubber band.
After locking down the plastic bag, carry the setup and put it at a window in your house with morning light.
When the roots develop, you can transfer the cutting to a growing pot or garden and watch as it grows into a lime tree while you take care of the Persian lime.
How to grow Persian limes by air layering for proper Persian lime care
Air layering is a method of creating genetically identical clones to the parent plant. Air layering is particularly important in Persian lime tree propagation because they are seedless. Follow the steps below to air layer your trees.
The best time to air layer is when the plants start showing new growths.
1. Select the right branch
The best brunch to choose is about a year old and a half an inch thick.
Also, make sure that the branch you choose is healthy and free of any pest attacks.
2. Select the point of at which you will cut and make two deep cuts
You can identify any nodes on the branches that you’ve chosen and made two cuts. One just below one of the nodes and the other just above the next node.
3. Peel off the bark to expose the cambium
Peel off the bark between the two cuts and scar the cambium. After making the two cuts in the previous step, the bark should peel off easily.
4. Wrap a ball of soil around the exposed cambium
Make a ball of soil mixed with moss, sand, and wood ash around the area you have peeled the bark.
5. Wrap the soil with a clean plastic sheet.
Use a clean plastic sheet to cover the soil around the bark and secure the sheet’s ends with a strong cotton thread.
After about ten weeks, you might begin to see roots developing through the plastic sheet.
6. Prune the rooted shoot off
Using sharp pruning shears, cut off the shoot that has rooted and transplant with the root ball to a gardening pot or garden.
The advantage of the air layering is that just like in cloning, the young plant has the same maturity as a parent plant, so in about a year, your new plant will be able to fruit
How to grow Persian limes by grafting
Grafting is one method that farmers used to propagate Persian lime fruits.
In the most basic sense, grafting uses a Bud from the desired lime tree, placing it on a rootstock secured with grafting tape.
Watering Persian Lime tree
Persian lime trees do not need constant watering to flourish. Once to twice a week and whenever the soil appears dry would suffice.
When watering a lime tree, you need to consider the tree’s size, the ambient weather, and the soil type in which you are growing your Persian lime trees. The limes are grown.
If the weather is dry and hot, you may need to water daily; however, if it just rained, you do not need to water; otherwise, you may cause your lime tree root rot and, consequently, death.
It is crucial to water slightly more if your limes are blooming and flowering because the plant expends more water in fruit formation.
Fertilizing Lime tree
Persian limes are heavy feeders. It would be best to fertilize the tree by sprinkling the fertilizer in a ring around the Persian lime tree.
You can use organic or inorganic, natural or synthetic fertilizer; the major thing is to follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
It’s always better for mature Persian lime trees to fertilize about three times a year, once in late spring, early fall, and summer.
Pruning Persian Lime tree
Persian lime trees can get by without pruning, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. While you may not lose much by foregoing a prune doesn’t mean you won’t gain from pruning.
Remember to use sharp, disinfected pruning shears when you prune your Persian lime trees.
Persian Lime tree pest and disease
The major pests that Persian lime trees face are Citrus aphids, scale insects, and mites.
There are major diseases that affect Persian lime trees. For instance root rot, Citrus canker gummosis, viral and bacterial infections.
The pests can be controlled by horticultural spray like Neem seed oil. If the pest infestation persist, you can use pesticide insecticide and fungicide.
It would be best to spray the tree with copper-based fungicide in mid to late summer to prevent red alga and citrus canker.
Care for in-door grown Persian lime trees
In addition to the lime tree care elaborated above, extra care is required for Persian potted lime trees, as explained below.
1. Hand Pollinating
There aren’t many pollinators indoors. Therefore, the gardener’s hand-pollinated indoor lime trees to Foster fertilization for fruit production.
The farmer can hand pollinate by rubbing off please from the tree and rubbing into the stigma gently with a Q-TIP brush.
2. Repotting
After 2-3 years, you may need to repot your Persian lime tree whenever you realize that your lime tree has outgrown its pot.
Steps to take in repotting an indoor potted Persian lime tree.
- Select a larger pot and feel it with a fertilized potting mix. After that, leaving about 4 inches to the brim for free to leave watering space.
- Create a hole in the middle enough to accommodate the Persian lime tree’s root ball that you are repotting.
- Then, transfer the root ball from the old container, prune the roots and replant in the new larger pot.
- Backfill the potting mix to get rid of any air bubbles and tamp down the soil.
- Water generously until the entire root area is just moist and not soggy.
Follow the above procedure to repot your indoor lime trees.
3. Moving the potted plant
While growing Persian lime trees indoors, remember to rotate the plants and move them relative to the sun.
Throughout the seasons, the sun moves, and so should you move the gardening pot as well.
4. Acclimation
You will need to gradually change the conditions before making abrupt sharp changes even though they may be beneficial.
For instance, when you plan to move the plant as the sunniest position of the patio changes with seasons, first move it to a slightly to slightly sunnier spot before taking it to the brightest otherwise, you might shock the plant.
FAQs
Persian lime trees like full sun. They need at least 8 to 12 hours of full sunlight, so be sure to place your Persian lime tree in the sunniest spot in your garden or your patio.
If you’re growing your lime in a pot indoors, remember to rotate the pot do that, so all the sides of the plant receive sunlight.
The length of time that a lime tree takes to produce fruit depends on the quality of the soil it is growing in, whether or not pests attacked it, and the climate it is growing in. However, keeping all factors constant, a Persian lime tree takes anywhere between 2-3 years to bear fruit.
Persian lime trees love lights. About 8-12 hours of full sunlight.
If you live in a zone where you don’t have much sunlight, It would be wise to invest in an LED grow light.
Basic lime tree care is the same. This is regardless of whether you grow the lime tree indoors or outdoors. It is important to water your lines occasionally but avoid overwatering.
Lime trees indoors are affected by pests, especially the stubborn scale, and you might want to occasionally use a horticultural oil spray to keep the scale in check.
You might want to fertilize your indoors limes about through thrice a year to keep the lines nourished with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer.
Conclusion
Persian limes are not only a pleasure to consume but growing and caring for them can be just as satisfying.
You can follow the above procedures and processes to grow your Persian limes.