Four short reads for a Central Florida lime. Tahiti is the grocery fruit. Key is the pie fruit. Freeze numbers, bloom, and rainy-season disease come from UF/IFAS. A pot you can roll is the patio plan. Planting steps live on Grow.
Tahiti versus Key
HS132 files both under acid fruits. Persian (Tahiti) is nearly seedless, June–September band, postbloom fruit drop. Key (West Indian) is everbearing, seedy, cold sensitive, with scab and anthracnose named against it. CH093 is the Tahiti tree: ~20 ft in the ground, 90–120 days bloom to fruit, peak crop June–August. CH092 is the Key tree: rarely taller than 12 ft, yellow peel at harvest, 10–15 seeds. The bag is Tahiti. The pie name is Key.
Pot culture
Per citrus guidance: a container-grown citrus tree can be planted any month. Leave it in the pot and it is one you can move. Tahiti lime guidance freeze line for Tahiti: leaves below 28°F, wood below about 26°F. Key lime guidance for Key: foliage 30–32°F. The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Orlando in 10a (30–35°F average extreme minimum). Hypothesis: that average does not cancel a 26°F night, so a drained pot on a dolly is the patio tree. Drainage holes are required. A dwarf claim that is not on the nursery tag is not a size guarantee.
Blooming and fruit set
Per Tahiti lime guidance: some Tahiti bloom all year, heaviest February to April in Florida. Fruit 90–120 days from bloom. Peak crop June–August. Pollination is not required. UF/IFAS citrus guidance names postbloom fruit drop on Persian lime—rainy-season fungus on petals, then the fruitlet drops. Per Tahiti lime guidance: do not water the foliage during bloom; copper on flowers makes postbloom fruit drop worse. Avoid drought from bloom through fruit sizing.
Florida humidity
Summer rain and heat size the fruit. The same wet months are when UF/IFAS Tahiti and Key lime papers watch greasy spot, melanose, and postbloom fruit drop. Key lime anthracnose is a Key problem; Tahiti appears immune (CH092). Full sun and air movement are the first controls. Hypothesis: humid Orlando nights keep leaves wet longer, so keep sprinklers off the canopy even on a patio that dries fast in afternoon sun.
Tahiti is the grocery lime and the hardier of the two. UF/IFAS lime guidance puts Tahiti leaf damage below 28°F. UF/IFAS lime guidance puts Key foliage damage at 30–32°F. For a patio you can roll inside, either can live in a drained pot; Key is the tighter freeze bet.
What is the rainy-season risk on a lime?
UF/IFAS Tahiti and Key lime papers watch greasy spot, melanose, and postbloom fruit drop in the rainy months. Key lime is highly susceptible to anthracnose; Tahiti appears immune. Keep sprinklers off flowers and foliage.
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Dooryard lime
Tahiti versus Key
The lime people name from pie is Key, also called West Indian or Mexican (Citrus aurantifolia). The lime in the grocery bag is almost always Tahiti, also called Persian or Bearss (Citrus latifolia). Citrus Culture in the Home Landscape (HS132) lists Persian lime at zero to one seed with a June–September note and flags postbloom fruit drop. Key lime is listed everbearing, three to eight seeds, cold sensitive, with scab, anthracnose, and aphids against it.
UF/IFAS citrus guidance says container-grown citrus can go in the ground any month and is more likely to live. Leave that same tree in a pot and it is one you can roll into a garage on a hard night. UF/IFAS Persian lime notes:Tahiti trees grow best in the warmest areas of Florida. UF/IFAS Key lime notes:Key lime is limited to warmer southern sites, with some warm pockets farther north. The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map places Orlando in zone 10a (average annual extreme minimum 30–35°F). That average is not a freeze-proof. Hypothesis: a drained pot you can actually tip onto a dolly is the patio plan here, because a 26°F night still sits inside CH093 wood-damage range.
Bloom and fruit set
Per Tahiti lime guidance: some Tahiti bloom occurs all year, heaviest in Florida from February to April. Fruit takes 90–120 days from bloom to maturity. Greatest production is June, July, and August. Tahiti lime does not require pollination to set fruit. The home-landscape citrus guide Table 1 still names postbloom fruit drop as Persian lime’s listed problem—young fruit after bloom, not a dead tree. Per Tahiti lime guidance: drought stress from bloom through fruit development is the period to avoid. Water the basin, not the flowers.
Florida humidity
Central Florida heat and the summer rain band are why a bearing lime can hold fruit in odd months. The same wet season is when UF/IFAS Tahiti and Key lime papers watch greasy spot, melanose, and postbloom fruit drop. Key lime is highly susceptible to anthracnose (withertip / blossom blight); UF/IFAS lime guidance says Tahiti appears immune to that one. Hypothesis: humid Orlando nights keep foliage wet longer than a windy south-Florida grove, so those rainy-season notes still apply on a patio tree. Full sun and air movement are the papers’ first controls. Overhead water on flowers is the miss.
Questions
Is the grocery lime a Key lime?
Almost never. UF/IFAS citrus guidance lists Persian lime (Tahiti) as nearly seedless with a June–September band, and Key lime as everbearing, seedy, and cold sensitive. The bag is almost always Tahiti.
Can a lime live in a pot on an Orlando patio?
Yes, as a freeze plan. HS132 lets a container-grown tree go in any month. UF/IFAS lime guidance puts Tahiti leaf damage below 28°F. UF/IFAS lime guidance puts Key foliage damage at 30–32°F. Hypothesis: a pot that rolls is the honest patio plan, because a USDA 10a average does not cancel a 26°F night.
When does a Tahiti lime bloom and set fruit in Florida?
Per Tahiti lime guidance: some bloom all year, heaviest February to April. Fruit 90–120 days from bloom to maturity. Peak crop June–August. Pollination is not required. Postbloom fruit drop is the named fruit-set risk.
Does Florida humidity help a lime tree?
Heat and rain size fruit. Wet foliage feeds disease. UF/IFAS Tahiti and Key lime papers flag greasy spot, melanose, postbloom fruit drop, and Key anthracnose in the rainy months. Hypothesis: humid nights keep leaves wet longer, so those notes still apply here. Keep sprinklers off flowers.
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Orlando Lime Zone