General signs of a plant, conditions for growing lime indoors, recommendations for self-transplanting and reproduction of citrus fruits, interesting facts, types. Lime (Citrus aurantiifolia) is a member of the Rutaceae family and belongs to the beloved Citrus genus. It is genetically similar to lemon. The real homeland of this fruit is considered to be the regions of Southeast Asia, namely the Malacca Peninsula. Lime penetrated the territory of the Mediterranean countries in the second half of the 1st millennium BC. This exotic fruit got to Europe only in the XIII century, where it was brought by the Arabs-navigators. But industrial cultivation of this representative of citrus fruits began in the 70s of the XIX century, the land of the island of Montserrat (this is the region of the Lesser Antilles) was chosen as the place of cultivation. Also, multimillion-dollar lime plantation gardens can be found in countries in the west of the African continent, in Brazil and Venezuela, in India and Sri Lanka, in Indonesia and Myanmar. But the market is mostly filled with fruits that come from Egypt, Cuba, Mexico or India, and the lime harvest is also brought from the Antilles.
The plant in these places is mainly planted at an absolute height of 1 km, where the tropical climate prevails. Lime is so unpretentious that it can bear fruit on sandy or rocky (rocky) soils. Since the plant is more adapted to humid and hot tropical climates, where lemon cannot be grown, lime is given the crown place. However, when the ambient temperature drops to -2 degrees, the plant is damaged and may die; it is not at all resistant to low heat indicators, unlike other citrus fruits.
It takes its name from the Persian word limu, which sounds like limu. In the homeland of its growth, it is often called "tipis" or "nipis", but in India, lime was called "degi". In European countries, you can find the following synonymous names for lime - "sour lemon", "lima" (lima) in Polish or Spanish, "lima" "or" limonell "(lime, limonell, saure limette) in English, and in Malaysia it pronounced as djerook neepis, the French call lime - lime acide, and in Hindi the name of this exotic is kaghzi nimbu.
Lime is a tree-like or shrub-like plant that can grow in height from one and a half meters to 4 meters. The crown of the tree is dense and there are small sharp thorns on the branches that reach 2 cm in length. The leaf plates can reach a length of 6 cm and a width of 4 cm. Their color is rich green or dark emerald. The petioles are not long and the lionfish are rounded.
Flowering lasts throughout the year, but the main period falls from May to June, the trees are harvested only from August to October. Flowers of small size, white, usually grow in the axils of leaves in groups of 2-7 units. In diameter, the bud reaches 2 cm.
Lime fruits are small, with a diameter of only 4-6 cm. Their shape is rounded or oval-ovoid. The skin color ranges from green to yellow, is very thin and has a glossy surface. Limes have fruits with acid (sour) limes and acidless (sweet) limes. The pulp also has a greenish tint and a specific aroma. Seeds in fruitlets are rare, and their number varies only up to 4 units.
Under natural conditions, a tree can grow for 50–70 years.
Agrotechnics for growing lime indoors
- Lighting and location. The plant prefers good diffused lighting, but it is worth shading from midday sunlight from 12 to 16 hours of the day. Window sills facing the east and west sides of the world will do. If the plant is in the southern room, then you can put the pot in the back of the room. And on the window of the northern location, arrange illumination with phytolamps. In total, the duration of daylight hours should be at least 10-12 hours per day.
- Content temperature. In order for the plant to please with its growth and fruits, it is necessary to maintain heat indicators in the spring-summer period not higher than 35 degrees. And with the arrival of autumn, the temperature can be reduced to 10-15 degrees. Such content will be the key to successful bud set and subsequent fruiting.
- Air humidity when growing lime at home should be constantly elevated, as in the natural environment. Therefore, in the summer, you will need to spray the "sour lemon" at least once a day with warm soft water from a spray bottle. It is better to take soft water without lime impurities, since otherwise a whitish spot will appear on the leaves. You can also rinse the tree crown under the shower, covering the potted soil with plastic. It is recommended to place humidifiers, containers with water next to the flowerpot, or place a pot of lime in a tray, at the bottom of which there is expanded clay or chopped sphagnum moss, and a little water is also poured.
- Fertilizers for lime. When the tree begins the stage of active growth (from the beginning of the vein to October), it is necessary to feed to ensure the beauty of the leaves and fruiting. You will need to apply a specialized fertilizer for citrus plants every two weeks. Or alternate complex mineral solutions with organic fertilizing. An organic solution can be a mullein-based solution. If wintering takes place at low temperatures, then feeding stops, but the content in the autumn-winter period at room heat will require fertilization once a month in a moderate dose so that overfeeding does not occur. Fertilizers are applied the next day after the soil is moistened, so there will be less chance of burning the lime roots. And the solution is added to the pot until it flows out of the drain holes. Some growers advise to feed lime with "fish soup" to enhance fruiting. For its composition, 200 gr is required. boil fish waste or unsalted small fish in two liters of water. Then this mixture is diluted with cold water in a ratio of 1: 2 and filtered through a gauze cloth. With such a solution, fertilizing should be carried out once a month, when the tree has reached at least a meter in height.
- Watering the plant. Moistening the soil is required if the topsoil dries out. If you squeeze the soil from the surface with your fingers, and it crumbles, then this is a signal to moisten it. During wintering with low temperatures, watering is slightly reduced. It is impossible to allow the complete drying of the earthen coma, but it is not worth pouring the soil either. Water for irrigation is taken only soft (distilled). You can use river water collected after rain or melt snow during the winter months. The water temperature should fluctuate between 20-24 degrees.
- Transfer and composition of the substrate. When the lime is young, it is transplanted every year. This is done in the late winter months or early March. But over time, in a grown tree, it is better to change only the upper layer of the substrate. The roots, which have become visible from the drainage holes, serve as a sure signal for changing containers. In the bottom of the new pot, holes are also made, which are needed to drain excess moisture, then a layer of drainage material (expanded clay or pebbles) is poured, and then the soil is laid. The transplant is best done by transshipment without damaging the lime root system. When transplanting, the root collar of the plant should be at the same level as in the old pot.
When transplanting, the substrate can be taken purchased for citrus plants; it must be loose and nutritious with good air and water permeability. Or compose a soil mixture yourself, based on the following options:
- sod, leafy soil, humus soil, river sand (all parts are equal);
- peat soil, leaf and sod soil, coarse sand (parts of the components are equal).
Self-Growing Lime Tips
You can get a new sour lemon tree by grafting, grafting or planting seeds.
For vegetative propagation, you will need to cut a branch from the top of the stem with a length of 10-15 cm, with 4-5 buds. 3 leaf blades are left on the handle. You need to cut straight so that there are no chipping, you can do this with a garden pruner, at an angle of 30-45 degrees. Next, it is necessary to process the cut with a rooting stimulator and plant it in moistened sand. Cuttings are placed under a plastic bag or cut plastic bottle. The latter is better, it is installed with the neck with the stopper up, so that later it would be easier to moisten the soil and air it. The place for the pot is selected warm and with good lighting, but without the influx of bright sunlight at noon. After a month, the twigs take root and they can be transplanted into separate small pots with a diameter of 7 cm. It is necessary to accustom to the air in the room gradually.
The lime pit needs to be washed and dried a little, about 2 hours. Then it is planted in a pot, at the bottom of which there is a drainage layer and a substrate based on coarse sand and universal soil for flowers is poured. Next, the container is placed under a glass or plastic bag. This will help create a greenhouse environment for germination. It is necessary to periodically moisten the soil with a spray bottle and ventilate the seedlings. It is important to remember that in order for the seeds to germinate successfully, it is necessary to maintain the heat readings within 25 degrees.
When several months have passed and the first shoots appear, several shoots can develop from the seed (this is a feature of citrus fruits). When a pair of young full-fledged leaves develop on the sprouts, then you need to choose the strongest plants, and cut off the rest. Care for the remaining seedlings is required especially carefully. When young limes get stronger, then you can dive into separate containers with a container diameter of no more than 7 cm. A drainage layer is also poured at the bottom of the pot, and then moistened soil is laid.
Difficulties with Lime Cultivation
Of the pests that can annoy the lime, they isolate the scale insect, aphids, spider mites or mealybugs. These insects appear on the plant in the following ways:
- the underside of the leaf is covered with brown or gray-brown dots;
- leaf plates are deformed, turn yellow and fly around;
- a sticky coating appears on leaves or branches;
- bugs are formed, which are colored black or green;
- in internodes or on the back of the leaf, they form like cotton wool lumps.
If you do not take any action on the treatment of pests, then due to the sticky sugary bloom, a sooty fungus develops, which covers the leaves and branches with a dark black formation. It can be easily removed with a soft cloth or brush.
To prevent further damage and control harmful insects, you should manually remove them and leaves and shoots using soap, oil or alcohol solutions. After that, you still need to spray the lime with the same means. If these measures do not help, then a thorough treatment with insecticides, such as "Aktara" or "Aktelika", is carried out.
A lesion with gommosis can also occur, with it, the base of the trunk begins to cover cracks with the release of a sticky liquid and, as a result, the bark of the tree dies off. The cause of this disease is a deep planting, strong moistening of the substrate or watering with cold water. In this case, it is required to disinfect with a 3% solution of copper sulfate and coat the trunk with lime paste or a paste from the same sulfate.
If the plant is under scorching sunlight, its leaves are covered with a light-colored spot. When the air in the room is too dry or a bush stands next to the heating devices, the tips of the leaves dry out.
Interesting facts about lime
The content of vitamin C in lime fruits is not inferior in quantity to its counterpart lemon. In the old days, it was customary for English sailors to take lime fruits on long voyages, since it was famous for its excellent remedy against scurvy, because of this, seafarers were jokingly called "lime-eaters" or "limey".
Also, lime fruits can stimulate appetite, flavonoids that the fruit contains, help fight colds, cardiovascular problems and diseases of aging, and in general are able to rejuvenate the body.
Drinking lime juice can help you lose weight as well as lower blood pressure. There is evidence that it has a positive effect on alcohol and nicotine addiction. If a person suffers from depression (spleen), then he is prescribed to drink a course of lime juice. Often, juice is smeared on the skin with insect bites or used for various skin irritations or erysipelas.
However, it is not recommended to use this fruit for those people who have gastrointestinal problems, gastritis, colitis or acute nephritis, stomach or duodenal ulcer.
It is also interesting that lime juice is used as a raw material for citric acid production.
Lime types
- Sweet lime (Citrus Tanaka). The fruits of this citrus can be up to 8 cm in diameter and have a sweeter taste than ordinary lime. Its aroma is more intense, and the acid is completely absent, since the sugar contains only 6%.
- Musk lime or kalamansi (Citrus Kalamansi). The taste of this fruit is very sour and somewhat resembles something between lemon and tangerine. This variety is widely used in the Philippines.
- Lime "Rangipur" (Citrus limonia Osbeck). The fruits have a diameter of only about 5 cm. They differ in the peel and pulp of a dark orange color.
- Lime "Palestinian". The fruits of this variety have a sweet taste that is moderately pronounced. Their shape is round. It is often used to make a soft drink called limeade.
- Lime "Kaffir" (Citrus Kaffir / limau purut). This plant can reach 3 m in height and has a bushy form of growth, it will have to constantly pinch the shoots. Leaf plates are often used in Asian cooking. There is practically no juice in the fruits, only the zest of the fruit is used in cooking to give food a strong and incomparable aroma. Used in the cooking of the peoples of Thailand, Indonesia or Cambodia.
- Lime "Mexican" (Citrus litifolia) or it is also called West Indian. Can reach 4.5 m in height. Has a bush growth. The fruits are very juicy with a strongly acidic taste, reaching a diameter of 5–6 cm. This particular variety is used to make oil by pressing or steam processing.
- Lime "Bearss". It is also called Tahitian lime or Persian lime. The variety is widespread. There are practically no seeds in the fruits. The plant can grow up to 6 meters in height.
- There is a variety Palestinian lime (Citrus limettioides) in which the fruits have a yellow peel. It tastes sweeter than regular lime.
- There is a plant with sweeter fruits - Iranian limetta (Citrus limetta) … However, these fruits are practically not found in Russia.
A hybrid of lemon and lime is called limon lime or there is limonquat (lime and kumquat), which are obtained by amateur breeders at home.
More information on lime in this video:
