Week of November 22, 2020

The Florida Garden has been a wonderful opportunity to grow many families of plants that don’t exist in the North. That said, there are a few plants growing in the Garden that are at the very northern limit of their range. One is LIMES. Our garden limes are the first plants we cover during a frost, including one in a big pot dragged inside. Limes of course provide acidity to drinks, cooking, and of course Key Lime pie. Their green fruit or pastel yellow juice add color to our dishes. The Florida Garden currently has one of each of four varieties. An early planting was a Persian lime, which grows under the overhanging trees along the driveway. It has pretty glossy leaves but is yet to fruit after six years or so. A Persian lime is a cross between a Key lime and a lemon, and is not very frost tolerant, having once died back to its base despite my frost cloth. Also tender is my Key lime which lives in a large pot that can be dragged into the garden closet. It has been very productive over the years. A third lime is a limequat, also living along the driveway. A limequat is a cross between a Key Lime and a kumquat, and is the most frost hardy of the limes. It is quite productive of fruit and difficult to distinguish from Key limes with which it can be used interchangeably. The fourth is a newcomer planted just last week, the finger lime. It has small, dark green leaves, thorns (like the other limes) and will grow into a small bush. It has fingernail-sized, dark green fruit said to be highly sought after for their lime flavor. My Florida limes will continue to attract my worry as the winter frosts are on the way.