How to Grow Australian Finger Limes
Вставка
- Опубліковано 5 тра 2018
- Yes you can grow Australian finger limes at home, and we show you how to do it.
You can grow finger limes in pots or containers, or in the garden. If you have the space, we suggest growing them in the ground rather than pots as you will get better fruit production and a easier to care for tree.
Finger Limes or micro-citrus grow naturally in Australia. It is the pulp that looks like small beads or pearls and is sometimes called citrus caviar that they are grown for.
When you squeeze the ripe fruit these tasty citrus beads come out and they can be used as a substitute for other citrus. Excellent as an accompaniment for seafood as well as for salads and desserts.
Try to choose a sheltered position, away from strong winds, some protection from very hot afternoon sun is also recommended.
A low phosphate fertiliser can be used, however at a much lower rate, around 20% at most. These trees do not need a lot of fertiliser in reasonable soils. A pH of between 6 and 7, similar to other citrus
The best time to fertilise is when flowering commences, and we suggest one application a year only.
A grafted tree will usually fruit after two years, however good fruit production will take around 5 years. The fruit has a number of uses, both in savoury dishes and in deserts.
The Australian finger lime is citrus fruit that is much in demand, the fruit is filled with small beads of lime that look a little like fish roe or caviar. They are now grown commercially, the fruit is rightly regarded by chefs and they fruit in autumn.
They vary in colour both skin and pulp.
Finger limes can reach over 5 metres in height depending on the soil.Commercial orchards prune these trees regularly however lightly to maintain a smaller, easy to harvest bushy shape.
They can also be pruned to to open up the shape, and this should be done when the trees are young, older trees with woody stems do not respond well to hard pruning and may suffer die back. It is recommended to prune away lower branches that touch the ground to prevent disease and fungal problems.
Pruning should be carried out in autumn.
When harvesting, ensure that the fruit is ripe as the fruits do not ripen further after picking.
It is important to water the trees from flowering on, a lack of water can result in poor fruit quality.
Although these are a warm to tropical climate plant they will grow well in temperate regions.
Why is my finger lime not fruiting?
1. They like humidity
2. They require watering regularly after flowering for fruit set.
3. They need a little fertiliser, BEFORE flowering and AFTER flowering, NOT during flowering.
4. They need plenty of sun.
5. They need to have the flowers pollinated, either insects or by hand
6. They do not like cold weather.
More Information
www.nurseriesonline.com.au/pl... - Навчання та стиль
Great video, thank you
Gee John, every video of yours I learnt something. Finger limes. Interesting fruit.
They are a unique taste, however, we still have a lemon and a lime as well.....
Cant find info on growing zone. I wonder if they'd do ok in Central Florida (9b). A bit wetter than Australia I'm sure....
It does grow in the sub tropical rainforests of Queensland, which can be fairly wet at different time of the year, and is it fairly adaptable in terms of climate zones. Good drainage is essential, so I think if you can provide that it should grow in 9b. You may need to remove the fruit for first 2-3 years until it established.
I live in malaysia, it's a tropical country that gets quite warm often. I note that some fruits have "chill hours" to signal fruiting. Do finger limes need chill hours? Mine has been growing aggressively in a grow bag but hasn't fruited. i tried to check the requirements online but the results not consistent. Thanks for your time on this
They should not need chill hours. Are they flowering at all?
Hello! I grow a little tree and got some fruits, but they grow very slow at the moment, just like stop growing. At the same time, there are new buds and flowers growing. It that something wrong with it?
Difficult to tell without seeing the tree. Fruits are naturally small compared to other citrus. It depends on climate and soil
Had quite a few flowers a couple weeks ago, and most of them started to form small fruits, however quite a few are falling off now. There's still quite a few on the tree but is this normal? I know citrus plants shed quite a lot of their baby fruits
This is quite common- finger limes are very temperamental and require absolutely ideal weather in order to keep their fruit.
@@JamesisnotdeadI have one in my unheated greenhouse west coast of Canada and it kept a few fruits over the winter
Quite quite quite quite quite
Hello Johnny A, i was wondering if lime finger can be grafted onto bitter orange?
Most finger limes are grafted onto other citrus rootstock, so I guess if you have th skills to do so it should work. HOWEVER, we are not experts on that. Let us know if you do it ... would like to see the results.
@@johnnyAGardening hi, i have managed to successfully graft finger lime onto bitter orange rootstock. The grafted branch now is around two inches!! Grafted made during end of May!
I grew some seedlings from the seeds I got from a finger lime. When do I transplant into a container? The seedlings are about 5 cm tall.
I would think around 10cm, they need time to develop a good root system. HOWEVER, if they do not have much room to grow, you may need to do it now.....
What time of year can you buy them in Western Australia?
Most good nurseries will have the plants for sale or will be able to get them in, try asking Guildford Town Nursery, usually very helpful,
Hi, mine had a bushy shape at the bottom. Then one long stem grew 2 feet tall. Almost all of the bottom branches died off. Now it has five branches, all less than 6 inches long at the very top. Should I cut it off at about 18 inches where it will be just a stem, and start over to create the bushy shape again, but at 18 inches instead of at the very bottom? Thanks.
We need to know if this was a grafted plant. If it was the and the long shoot comes from below the graft then thats the rootstock, and you will get different fruit.
If it is grafted, and or the shoot is from above the graft then you can prune back to shape. Heavy pruning is problematical as it can kill he plant so we would not prune back to the base.
Prune to above a healthy node.
@@johnnyAGardening Hi, it's a seedling.
Then if you must prune look for a healthy node and probably prune in spring.@@ladyskywalker967
Mine should be dead as it is in a chook pen and I live in Tassie so it is cold it is not looked after but has some fruit on it do not know what it taste like yet
citrus trees love chook poo.
Can you help me I have a finger line Three it’s almost 4 here but it’s not give fruit what I have to do please can you help me
Sunshine, warmth, good drainage and a little citrus food.
Hello, do you think I can grow this in the northern hemisphere if I bring it inside? Northern USA here.
Honestly, I think it would be to cold unless you grew it in a heated greenhouse.... Trying to overwinter indoors would be very difficult, if not impossible.
@@johnnyAGardening Okay, thank you so much for the feedback. It's a very interesting plant to me either way. Thanks for all the information.
@@johnnyAGardening what about if it was tried to grow in an area like Arizona? Mostly dry desert out here. Only get frost over night a few times a year so could cover them to prevent frost damage
@@kylefoxall4723 These are citrus australasica and citrus australis (and around 4 other species) , they are actually from tropical and sub tropical rainforest areas of Australia so they need dappled shade, warm climates and moisture. You would need to create a micro climate for them to grow well.
If you can find it, Citrus glauca is the desert lime and may be better suited. Australian Plants, in California MAY be able to help..
Hi there I need a little advice and hope you can help. I have one in the back yard for a few years from Bunnings however they never fruit, what could be the problem?
Its a little difficult to say without knowing where you are located. So in the notes below the video I have posted 6 factors that can finger limes not to fruit. I will try to elaborate on those over the next week or so.
Hi, do you know if i can grow it in California?
Depending on where you are in CA YES. Try Jo O'Connell of Australian Native Plants Nursery at Oak View CA
Do i need 2 finger lime trees for fruit? Only have 1
One should be enough, its the pollinators that do the rest.
How long can you keep the seed??? I plan to grown them in mid year next year but i already order the seed 😱😱
The seeds do need to be fresh for good germination, so that may be a problem. Also, from seed, these plants can take 10 or more years to fruit, which is why most are grafted.....
Wowww good to know thank u so much 😊
What PH do finger limes like?
A pH of between 6 and 7, similar to other citrus.
Great thanks :)
It
I wonder if you could give these plants a bonsai esque treatment since they can be container grown.
Have not seen that with Finger Limes, however it could be an interesting project.
@@johnnyAGardening I suppose the only way to find out is to give it a try.
That is exactly what im trying to do right now.. Year and a half old, potted atop a large subsoil disc and its just started producing fruit. It took quite a while for the root system to establish itself but its solid now and doing great.
@@Terminal-Thought-Experiment With what species/variety?
Australian finger lime.. Not sure what variety.
I could probably take some pictures..
Hi
I am from Pakistan can U supply plants to other countries of this variety
Sorry we do not sell plants
I ordered some seeds that is supposed to fruit the green, red, & yellow flesh. Can you tell me the name difference in color?
They differ in acidity with the red ones being less tart, see www.ozfingerlime.com.au/varieties for a good description
This is actually a pretty bad idea. These can take forever to grow to maturity (seriously, from seeds you won't see fruit at all, maybe your kids will). What John should have mentioned is that it's best to just spend the little extra and buy some stalks and graft these to a mature citrus plant.
Hello I’m Denny Lee from Singapore, please your willing send us the seeds of the fruit
Sorry we do not have access to the seeds,
I think he changed plants when showing the blooms.
Hello Pearl, no the video is all from the one plant over a few ( 3 - 4) months
I got one of these 3 years ago and it has barely grown and no fruit yet.
Difficult to tell without seeing where it is growing, most likely a lack of warmth....
@@johnnyAGardening Probably, seems like the more light it can get the better. I've cut some brances of near by bushes to give it more light.
@@turbinegraphics16 Interesting to see if that works, a little citrus fertiliser could also be beneficial, (where are you located ?)
turbine graphics 16 - You need to mix bonemeal, super phosphate, potash and spread it on top of soil, then water.
Alternatively crack an egg or two on the soil and then cover with soil, and water.
This was so awesome, thank you! I really want to try to grow this, a dwarf finger lime fruit, from seed, then graph it next to my american persimmon bonsai. Is there any way you or someone could send me a few seeds? It would mean so much. Just think about it and get back to me please! Thanks!
Sorry Clifton we do not have any seeds. If you decode to buy them they need to be fresh, ALSO the best varieties are grafted, NOT grown from seed.