A New and Different Challenge - Citrus

[jvs]

My Daughter and Son-in-Law came up from Florida for Christmas amd they brought something different with them for me to try my hand at...
 
A Persian Lime Tree.
 
After reading about it for a short time, I can grow citrus trees here in Pennsylvania, if I do it in a pot and put it in a southern exposure window.
 
The challenge begins with finding a 30 or 36" pot, the right soil and fertilizer, and honing my pruning skills.
 
I think I can do it.   We shall see.
 
The tree is about 2 feet tall and is loaded with blooms and tiny Limes already.
 
If things don't work out, I will take to Florida with me next time and plant it in their yard.
 
 

[longwinters]

I have thought about some type of fruit tree/bush like that but don't have any decent size southern exposure window to try it out.  Sounds like fun though.  Next you'll have a lemon tree to go with it 
 
Long

[jvs]

Funny you should say that...  They were supposed to bring a Lemon Tree.  When they got here, they said  "here's your Lemon Tree, Merry Christmas". 
 
The next day I was looking at the tree a little closer and found a tag that says "Persian Lime".
 
When I brought up the tag, they were dumbfounded as the guy who sold it to them said it was a Lemon Tree.  I guess nobody checked the tag until I did.
 
I dont really care which one I got, as the challenge is the same...  To grow a Citrus Tree in Pennsylvania and have it produce.
 
I have seen them a couple of times locally, but this will be my first attempt at trying it.

[Ranger J]

I have a dwarf orange tree that is over 30 years old and a lime tree that is about 10 setting in my basement right now.  I put them out when the danger of frost is gone in the spring and bring them in when the fall weather gets cold.  They along with a fig tree and an avacado tree are growing in muck bucket size containers.  I get small crops of oranges and limes each year and several crops of figs.  The basement has a set of full length sliding doors so they get a lot of morning sun.  I have had the orange tree under just florescent lights in the past and it really seemed to like that.  A note on lime trees..they will grow thorns on the branches.  Each year when I take mine out in the spring and bring it back inside in the fall I end up looking like I have been in a cat fight.  and lost!

RJ

[jvs]

I just now placed the lime tree in the window, and I noticed it does have thorns.  I can nip the tips of them off once a year if need be.
 
Do you mist your trees regularly?  My daughter said the guy who sold them the tree said I should mist the tree on a regular basis.
 
I can tell you that you can probably plant your fig tree outside.  Being in Pennsylvania here, I know of a couple of people who have fig trees in their yards.  But they do have to wrap them in plastic and cloth every fall for them to survive thw winter.  So far there doesnt seems to be a problem even though the figs shouldn't grow at all in this zone.   Wrapping the trees seems to work for figs around here. 

[Ranger J]

I haven't bothered to mist the trees in the past.  Both of them are about 6 feet tall and they really suck up the water.  I will have to put about a gal. or so in each pot every couple of days .  I am in zone 5 here and have thought about planting the fig outside but don't have a good place on the south side of the house.

RJ