lime tree – Hydrangeas Blue

Repotting the Lime Tree and Corn Plant

With the cooler weather comes the time to do things outdoors. My winter is like a northern summer. I’ve been waiting for months for the heat to go away so the days will feel more normal. It’s just like suffering through a long, frozen winter and waiting for the warmth of Spring. Except in reverse.

January has brought cool breezes, lots fewer bugs, and breathable air. It rains less, but the plants are not burning under the sun, so watering is occasional. I still check on my plants and vegetable garden. The Lime tree seemed to be in need of help, and the pot it was in needed an upgrade. I bought a couple pots at Home Depot, but then decided to use one of my larger fabric bags. The Lemon tree is doing great in a fabric pot.

The Italian Oregano plant was in need of attention and got a new home in a deeper pot. I also added some bone meal for root growth.

White flower buds on lime tree — Little white buds on the Persian Lime tree!

new growth — New growth beginning on the lime tree in January

The Meyer Lemon has some pink flower buds, and the Persian Lime has little white buds and greenery popping out along the branches. Although freezing temperatures could hit, both my citrus trees can be brought indoors for the cold weather.

Pink flower buds on the lemon tree — Lemon tree buds

One other plant that was in need of attention was my corn plant. This one came with me down from New Hampshire. I had purchased some houseplants to decorate when my house was up for sale. The corn plant (this is what I call it, but I’m not sure what the real name is) is meant to be an indoor plant in the north, but here in Florida it does fine outside as long as it’s in the shade. The front of my house doesn’t get direct sunlight, so the corn plant is generally happy by the front door. But the pot was ugly and too small, so now it is in a bigger one. I think it is happy.

Sunday Morning Garden Photography

Taking garden photos to share on a peaceful Sunday morning.

Is there anything better than a quiet, peaceful (and fairly cool) Florida morning? Sure, lots of things, but today I enjoyed the cloud cover as I checked on my gardens this morning and took some photos with my iPhone.

The hibiscus is blooming profusely and I noticed today that some of the flowers are a lighter color than others. They look pink here, for some reason, but they are really light orange. I was too lazy to use my graphics program to fix the color – look at the photo below to see a more true version. …….Still, the beauty is apparent.

sunflower stalk — The Sunflower is Growing Tall

In New Hampshire I always had sunflowers growing in my garden during the summer. They sprang up on their own, known as “volunteers”. I just let them grow where they were and planted my vegetables around them. In the Fall, little goldfinches and chickadees would land on the big heads and eat the seeds.

Because I don’t feed the birds in Florida, no sunflower seeds will voluntarily grow after being buried under the winter snow, so this one I had to plant. In fact I planted a lot of seeds, but this one the only one growing. Animals (squirrels) probably ate the other seeds.

My rose bush is doing fine so far. I am seeing roses bloom continuously. Their color is stunning, but the flowers don’t last long.

I’ve never been able to grow my own watermelon, but I am trying again. This one seems to be doing well enough.

desert rose pink flowers — Desert Rose is Flowering

The Desert Rose, which at first was thought to be a Plumeria, is planted in the ground and doing well. Lots of bright pink flowers have bloomed and I am seldom watering it, as required.

Persian lime flowering — Little limes growing on the Persian Lime tree

The Persian Lime tree is blooming like mad and little limes have formed. Many of them will end up falling off, I assume, but I’m hopeful that some will grow to be edible size.

Other happenings in my small yard: I saw two black snakes (black racers) yesterday within the span of about 3 minutes. They are “good” snakes and not poisonous, but still creep me out as I watch them slither through the grass. Now I’m back to watching where I walk.

Later today I will pick the one zucchini growing on my single zucchini plant. The potatoes have been dug, and the carrots pulled. Time to plant some new things that may, or may not, be able to take the Florida summer heat. At this point, it’s all an experiment.

Have a wonderful day!

Wondering When my Persian Lime Tree Will Bear Fruit

Persian lime buds — Buds on the Lime Tree

A few months ago I purchased a lemon tree and Persian lime tree from a local nursery. Both are blooming and beginning to bear fruit. I planted the lemon tree in the ground, but decided to keep the lime tree in the pot. I’m glad I wasn’t in a hurry to put them both in the ground, because the lemon tree is not doing as well as the lime.

The Meyer lemon began budding almost as soon as it was planted. The tree itself is very small, so I expected no fruit from it. Surprisingly, some of the lemons are now getting to a good size, but many have already fallen off. I gave it a sunny spot, but failed to realize the amount of wind the tree would receive. The lime is more sheltered from the strong wind, on the south side of the house, and also gets a lot of sun. From what I’ve read, this is more to it’s liking.

budding persian lime tree — Potted Persian Lime Tree

Also, the lime tree (photo above), which was never removed from it’s original pot, began to grow like mad! It has doubled in size in the past few months, and is just now blooming. Because of the size, I have some hope of picking limes in the not too distant future. Fingers crossed! I’m holding of putting it into the ground because it’s growing very well where it is.

Because I am not familiar with growing either types of fruit, I searched online for Persian Lime Tree Care and found an article at the Gardening Know How site. In fact they have many articles with growing and care information. That being said, I always get my gardening information from more than one source – especially when reading online. In fact, this article “How Long Does it Take to Grow Limes?” at the Home Guides site, gives a lot more useful information. It tells me that fruit is harvested twice a year; May-June and November-December. This is the information I wanted to find.

Online articles can be written by experts, or by people who really have no idea what they are talking about. Some people write online simply to make money and are not all that interested in truthfulness. I prefer to find information on a blog written by someone with first hand experience. In other words, someone who cares enough to share what they know to be true.

At the present time, I am not a lime growing expert, but I hope to become one by growing them myself. As time goes on I will share MY first hand experience, but for now, I must count on others for solid information.

I’ll be sure to post about eating my first home-grown lemons and limes!