Planting guide

When to plant lime

Warmth-loving citrus; Tahitian limes are the most reliable for home gardens. In Melbourne it goes in Oct–Nov.

Start as: Potted plant
Ready in: 2+ years to the first crop
Spacing: 350 cm
Depth: 0 cm
Sun: Full sun (6+ hours)
Water: Regular
Effort: Some care
Frost-tender: Yes, plant after the last frost

When it goes in

● means lime can go in that month, ○ means wait. Worked out from each town's climate zone and season, the way planting guides do it. Pick your town for the full list for that month.

Australian towns and cities
Town	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sydney	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Melbourne	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Brisbane	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○
Perth	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Adelaide	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Gold Coast	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Newcastle	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Sunshine Coast	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○
Canberra	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Central Coast	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Geelong	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Wollongong	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Hobart	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Townsville	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○
Cairns	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Toowoomba	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Darwin	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Ballarat	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Mandurah	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Bendigo	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Launceston	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Mackay	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○
Rockhampton	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○
Coffs Harbour	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Blue Mountains	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Bunbury	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Bundaberg	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○
Alice Springs	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Mildura	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Port Macquarie	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○

Around the world
Town	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Auckland	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Wellington	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Christchurch	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
London	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Manchester	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Edinburgh	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Dublin	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
New York City	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Los Angeles	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Chicago	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Seattle	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Austin	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Toronto	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Vancouver	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Cape Town	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Johannesburg	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	○
Singapore	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Mumbai	○	○	○	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Paris	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Berlin	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○

How to plant lime

Plant a grafted tree in very well-drained soil or a pot.
Shelter from cold wind and frost.
Water regularly and feed with citrus food.
Pick when green and glossy, or leave to yellow for juice.

Lime varieties

Classic varieties are the reliable, widely grown ones. Adventurous ones are heirlooms, odd colours and rarities.

Tahitian Classicheavy-cropper · 26–39 wksLarge seedless juicy limes
Makrut Classicpot-friendly · 26–39 wksFragrant leaves for Thai cooking
Mexican Adventuroushot · 26–39 wksSmall, tart and aromatic limes
Rangpur Adventurouscolourful · cold-hardy · 26–39 wksOrange-skinned, tangy lime-lemon hybrid

Where to buy seedlings

Search on QP Seedlings Search on Amazon

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Shops shown are for Australia. The chooser picks shops for your country.

Good companions

Marigold, Nasturtium, Chive

Lime by month

Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov · Dec

More to plant

Lemon · Apple · Fig · Avocado · Banana · Mango

Not sure lime is right for your space? Answer a few taps and see everything that can go in this week.

Find what else you can plant now