Kaffir Lime Seeds

A friend of mine gave me a couple of Kaffir Limes in order for me to attempt to grow a tree from seed. I did an internet search on Kaffir Lime Seed Propogation and I didn't learn a heck of a lot of information. I'm in Zone

10 (I believe) in the Tampa Bay area so they should do okay, that way. But what is the best way to start these? Do I soak the seeds? If so, for how long?

Anyone have experience with these?

kili

Reply to
kilikini
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On a whim, I split open a Kaffir Lime and scatterd the seed in potting sol several years ago. Many seeds germinated and I had about 10 plants. Most of which are still going, potted and moving in and out of doors in Northern WI and Central Iowa.

Nartker @ AOL.com

Nartker

Reply to
Nartker

Good news! Next question, have they ever given you fruit?

kili

Reply to
kilikini

(1) split the limes from pole to pole to extract the seeds. This results in fewer seeds cut in half. You will likely get 25+ seeds. They are seedy little devils (2) plant as soon as you can. Fresh seed is far more likely to germinate than old seed. (3) just about any potting soil, 1/4-1/2 in deep, kept moist and warm will, in my experience give upwards of 75% germination. (4) You can probably grow them just fine in the ground where you are. They have survived 25deg F. with only 5in or so of tip burn here. (5) My oldest seed-grown plant is about 8 years old. It has never bloomed. It is in a container, though. Not a great loss as the leaves are the primary part used in cooking. (Yes the zest is nice, too)

Good luck.

Reply to
B.Server

Thank you so much for your help. Now that I know the details, I'll get some soil today to start planting. I can't wait!

kili

Reply to
kilikini

You'll have to wait about 15 years for fruit. You might try here call first to see if it's in stock.

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are in St. Pete so they are near to you. Jene's Tropicals if the links don't work

Reply to
Tim Miller

Is friend a poster in alt.binaries.food? :-) He sent me a couple, too. It was mighty hard to get them started in my frigid house last winter, but once I got them warm (baggie with planter mix on a m'wave plate on top of the cable box), many sprouted. They came along nicely after it got warm outside, but apparently drowned in hurricane downpour in late summer. I'm afraid to tell him about this. Yes, just shuck them out and plant. No soaking required. Good luck.

Reply to
Frogleg

Bought a kaffir lime in a market in London in 1979, and planted the seeds. One came up. It's a very small tree, but still going strong, the leaves are useful for cooking oriental food. However, it's never flowered. It's in a small pot and lives indoors in the winter.

Slightly off-topic, brought home seeds of something called a "mandarin lemon" from slices of fruit that came in a cocktail in Costa Rica. Planted them and one came up, and was flowering within five years. The fruits set, but are very small.

s.

Reply to
someone

Frogleg, of COURSE it's our friend from ABF. LOL. Small Usenet world.

kili

Reply to
kilikini

How should they be cared for indoors in the winter?

Thanks.

Reply to
Gary Flynn

strong,

I treat it as a normal indoor plant. It lives on a south-facing window-sill, with sun from time to time when it occurs (not a lot of that here in U.K. in winter). I feed it every two weeks with a water containing Citrus Winter Feed. (No, I'm fibbing - I look at it once every couple of weeks and if it looks like it's wilting, I give it some water).

Seriously, I do treat my citruses rough. I feed them every month or so with Citrus Winter Feed, but aside from that, I only give them a bit of water through the winter. Our house is quite cold, about 65F, normally.

In the spring I repot them into bigger pots if they require it, with new soil, and accustom them to going outside in the garden.

My three other citrus trees were planted from supermarket fruit seeds in

1973, when we were indigent and living in a crappy one-room bedsit - a grapefruit and two orange trees (I think). They're still with us, they live in our living-room through the winter with very little natural light and go outdoors in the garden in the summer. They're all very healthy and the oldest tree is about 3 feet tall.

s.

Reply to
someone

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