Lime

Calamansi

Calamansi (calamondin, Philippine lime or golden lime) is a small, round citrus of the Philippines and Southeast Asia, central to Filipino cooking. The fruit is tiny - about the size of a walnut - with thin skin that turns from green to deep orange as it ripens, and juicy orange flesh with a sour-sweet, orange-lime flavour: used green as a lime substitute in cooking, marinades, and drinks, and eaten whole with the skin on when fully orange-ripe. Trees are small, bushy, and precocious, flowering and fruiting almost continuously in warm climates, so in New Zealand fruit is picked over a long season rather than in one window. In NZ it is a collectors' and enthusiasts' tree for the warmest frost-free pockets or for containers, needing full sun, free drainage, regular citrus feeding, and frost protection. Fragrant blossom and bright fruit make it ornamental as well as useful. Fruit does not store long - use fresh or juice and freeze.

Finger Lime Black

Finger Lime Black is a dark-fruited selection of the Australian finger lime - the caviar lime of the Queensland and New South Wales rainforests - sold in NZ as a grafted novelty citrus. The plant is a distinctive small shrub or compact tree with tiny leaves and plentiful sharp thorns. The elongated finger-shaped fruit has near-black to deep-purple skin; inside are the celebrated spherical juice vesicles ('citrus caviar', pink-red in this selection) that burst with a sharp, tart lime flavour. Fruit is used as a gourmet garnish for seafood, oysters, desserts, and drinks, and commands premium prices. In NZ finger limes harvest in autumn (March-May), ahead of the winter lime season. Trees are slow-growing and slow to bear, best in warm, sheltered, frost-free positions or containers, and are showy ornamentals with bee-attracting blossom. Eat fresh quickly - the vesicles do not store long once picked.

Mexican

Mexican lime - the Key lime, West Indian or Egyptian lime - is the classic small, seedy, intensely aromatic lime of tropical cooking, famous as the namesake of Key lime pie. The fruit is small and round with thin green skin yellowing at full ripeness and pale, intensely acid, fragrant juice with many small seeds. The tree is small but vigorous and spreading, densely thorny, with fragrant white flowers, and in warm climates it flowers and fruits almost continuously through the year; in New Zealand the main picking comes earlier than Tahitian types (around autumn, per NZ guides). It is the least cold-tolerant of the common limes, needing a sunny, sheltered position free of moderate to hard frosts, and in most districts is best grown in a container that can be sheltered in winter. Fruit is the connoisseur's lime for drinks, marinades, ceviche, and baking, with unmatched aroma. Use fresh - small limes dry out quickly in storage.

Sublime

Sublime is a modern NZ-market lime selected for home gardens: a compact, highly productive tree bearing good-sized, juicy, seedless limes with thin, glossy green skins and a refreshing sweet-tart flavour. It is prized for reliable cropping over a long harvest season, giving home gardeners fresh limes for cooking, drinks, and garnishes across much of the year rather than in a single window. The tree stays small to medium (around 2-2.5 m), suits both open ground and containers on patios and in courtyards, and is rated hardy and easy-care for most NZ climates by NZ suppliers. Fruit quality and habit make it arguably the best all-round lime for small NZ gardens where a full-sized Tahitian is too vigorous. Grow in a sunny, sheltered position with free-draining soil; feed spring and summer, mulch, and shelter from frost when young. Self-fertile. Fruit keeps moderately well; pick as needed over the long season.

Tahitian

Tahitian lime - the Bearss/Persian seedless lime - is the standard commercial and home-garden lime of New Zealand: a vigorous tree bearing medium-sized, seedless fruit that is picked green in summer and colours to yellow if left into winter. The fruit has the classic sharp, clean lime acidity and aroma for drinks, cooking, and garnishes, with the convenience of no seeds. Trees are the most robust of the Tahitian group yet still need substantial frost protection in NZ winters, fruiting best in warm, sunny, moist positions in the upper North Island or in containers elsewhere. The main NZ harvest falls in June-August. Self-fertile. Of the common limes it is the most dependable cropper in NZ's marginal lime climate, which is why it anchors the mid-season point of the NZ lime harvest scale. Grow in full sun with shelter, water generously through flowering and fruit development, and feed with citrus fertiliser. Use fresh; limes keep only briefly.