Key Lime Bush

There are limes, and then there are limes. The most famous of all, and the most delicious, is of course the Key Lime, renowned for drinks and cooking. Also called Mexican lime and Bartender’s lime, it has evergreen leaves, fragrant white flowers tinted with purple and small green fruits that pack the most incredible lime juice on the planet. The Key Lime Bush is that variety, formed into a compact, bushy shrub, rather than as a tree. It can be grown in the ground in hot zones, and in a pot everywhere, keeping it outdoors in the summer and indoors in the winter. Ideal for smaller spaces, and for pots, this bush form brings you all the tang and flavor of the best lime variety for home growing, in a useful form you will find easier to handle than a big tree.

• The world’s most famous lime tree
• Easy to grow as a potted tree anywhere in the country
• Grow outdoors in summer, indoors in winter
• Can grow outdoors all year in hot zones
• Produces fruit for half the year.

Grow the Key Lime Bush in full sun when outdoors, and in a bright, cool place when indoors. Feed and water regularly outdoors, but keep drier through the winter months. It can also be grown outdoors all year round in zones 9 and 10. Plant in any well-drained soil. Little pruning is needed, and flowers formed indoors should be hand-pollinated with a small brush. Trees should be mostly grown outdoors, only brought inside when temperatures are below 45 degrees. Not only does outdoor life give you a strong, vigorous and productive tree, it also allows natural predators and birds to deal with the pests issues that can develop on an indoor tree. Grow in a bright spot, and in full sun outdoors, if possible.