EasyBloom Forum

My Meyer Lemon is finally flowering with a prolific and scented bloom. I had to bring it in to avoid the Northeast frost. How long will it be before these become lemons? Any special tips for indoor growth? I also have two lime trees -- cannot tell their type -- which are also indoors and have a prolific bloom. However, after 6 weeks the lime are hardly noticeable even after I pruned several clusters to allow the rest to grow faster. Is this normal?

Hey Harry...I have a little potted lime tree (Bearss Lime to be exact). This is the type of lime that some people will call the bartender's lime since it is typically used to make margaritas. The fruits are generally good to be picked about 3 months after the bloom. With many Citrus you will know when they are ripe by their size, rind color and by tasting a fruit or two before harvesting more of the fruit. Unfortunately, limes do not change color, but they stay on the tree for a long period of time. If you notice that they are not changing size and that several months have passed since the bloom, then chances are your limes are ready to harvest.

I am impressed that you were picking off flowers to induce larger individual fruit growth. This is a fairly advanced maneuver and many gardeners may think it is counter-productive. My advice to you for your indoor Citrus plants is SUN, SUN, SUN. Give those little plants as much light as the geography of your home allows. I would strongly recommend placing them in a South facing window (if not a South, go for a West facing window). The Sun is low in the Southern sky in winter, and as it passes throughout the day, it will shine right into your Southern facing windows. Also, be sure to not over-water your Citrus. Citrus cannot not handle extensive moisture for long periods of time in the rootzone. Their potting soil should drain well. If the pots are sitting in trays to catch the runoff, be sure that the pots are not submerged in water in the tray for long periods of time. My lime tree is in a container, which sits in a water collecting tray. I drilled a hole in that tray and caulked some plastic tubing into the hole to drain off any excess water directly into a rain gutter.

Your Meyer Lemon usually takes 3 to 4 months to fully ripen, but this is in full sun. I would suggest that it may take a similar amount of time, but your fruits will not be as large (and possibly some fruits may abort; this is all assuming that you are unable to achieve close to full sun conditions in your home). Meyer Lemons will turn slightly orange when they do ripen.

I hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck and I hope your limes produce margarita quality fruits!!! Cheers...Robby

P.S. -- I wanted to mention that some people call the Bearss Lime the Bartender's Lime, but technically the Key Lime is the Bartender's Lime. Bearss Limes are still the go to lime for margaritas though.