I’d never be able to grow as many limes as we consume, but a little part of me wanted to try growing some anyway. So we found ourselves out at the Triple Tree Nursery in Maple Ridge a few weeks ago, poking around in the fruit trees and looking at little citrus trees.
Truth be told, I’d have grabbed a kumquat if I could’ve found one of those, but there were none. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tree for sale.
While we were nosing about the little citrus section, in the farthest back corner, perusing several types of oranges and grapefruits and a few little tiny Persian lime trees, a woman came along and was picking through the orange trees. She asked what we were looking for and, when we told her, she turned into a fountain of knowledge on limes and oranges.
She admitted to having about 14 citrus trees. She told us that they can be brought inside for the winter, but that she overwinters her lime tree in an unheated greenhouse, doesn’t use tap water unless it has sat to dechlorinate, that she uses a really porous and sandy soil so the roots don’t sit wet, and always lets the top inch or two dry out before watering. She told us that the trees always drop several of the tiny limes before the ones that will continue on set, and to not get too worried about that. She said they are fussy and don’t like big changes, and that they will protest by dropping fruit and leaves. But that they are resilient and always come back. She said that she has had one drop all of its leaves and she just bagged it and left it for a few months….and it came back, growing a foot last year.
She really did fill us with information.
And she was right about some of the tiny fruits dropping…and that, of the clumps, one or two will muster on. Because here we have a little gaffer trying to grow.
Sometime…four to six months from now, we will have at least one lime….hopefully.
And if this one doesn’t make it, there are new flowers that have developed now that things have started to heat up.
