Myers lemons will turn yellow when ready . They typically ripen around November and can hang on the tree until you want to use them . They have thin skins , lots of juice and are not as sour as regular lemons . A Myers is more of a bush than a tree and can get quite large . I have hundreds of lemons on mine !
Sorry I cannot help you with your LImequat - never had one .

Thanks, Gatormom! I thought they would turn yellow, but wasn't sure. The little limequats are about the size of a ping pong ball. Very round. But still quite green, which (since they have "lime" in the name) might be normal. I have no idea.

Marcia

The limequats are like key limes. They need a bit of yellow to them when they're ripe. In fact they may turn all yellow but I can never wait that long. I love to squeeze one into the water I'm drinking. One of these days I may try a pie if I get enough to ripen at the same time.
Don't try them when they're all green. I did that once and it wasn't juicy at all.

Thanks, CM! I didn't know that. The reason I got the fruit cocktail with limequat instead of key lime is that the nursery said it would do better up here than the key lime would. I guess it is pretty similar. I'm looking forward to the day I can make a limequat pie with them. Key lime pie is my favorite dessert in the world, I think.

Marcia

I don't know if the limequats would "cook" the pie mixture like key limes, but I always cook my key lime pies for a few minutes anyway to make sure no bad stuff.

Good point, Kristi. I believe I've read where people have used regular limes but I don't know about limequats.
Are they sweeter than key limes? Publix has a key lime/mango pie that is delish, but I imagine they cook it slightly, too. Don't know for sure what their recipe is.

Marcia

Ladies,My two lemon trees are loaded with lemons. One tree produces lemons the size of large pears the other tree produces lemons the size of large tangerines. I have not been able to id them. all of the lemons are green with a slight yellowish. My wife has not been able to wait for them to ripen.She has been making lemonade which are so yummy. They
are very juicy But I am looking forward to the ripe ones.
Marcia, did Maks pucker when he tried the lemon?
Cute little guy.

Felix

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia...... regular limes in a Key Lime pie????? What next you use green food coloring too?

Hey, Mini...I didn't say *I* used them. I have actually never made a key lime pie in my life. But I know that many people DO use them, is all. And I never eat a green key lime pie, so no worries in that regard!

Marcia

Marcia--The nursery person was right to recommend the limequat over the keylime because the limequat is much more cold hardy, similar to the Meyer lemon (which is actually a sour orange).

A limequat is a cross between a keylime and a kumquat. The limequat has the looks of the lime and the cold hardiness of the kumquat. As for taste, it can be used in place of a keylime--so make those pies! The taste will be slightly sweeter, a trait picked up from the kumquat. Kumquats turn yellow when ripe just like the keylime.

I like cocktail trees too only I graft my own. I have an orange tree and also a pummelo tree that each have 5 different varieties on them. They haven't gotten large enough to start fruiting on the new branches yet, but it'll be interesting when they do. I have to tag each branch so I will know what variety it is.

Christine

Thanks for all the info, Happy. I'm glad to be learning more about my little trees. I've never grown any citrus before, so it's all new to me. I do want to keep them small for the patio. Like maybe in a whiskey barrel eventually. Hope they will do okay like that, at least for awhile.

Marcia

Great forum! I was born and raised in Central Florida, and our yard was full of fruiting trees - guavas, pears and Japanese Plums, a Kumquat tree, oranges and grapefruits. I miss the scent of Orange Blossoms, so when my husband found a blooming Limequat tree, he bought it for me. It had one fruit on it, so I also was looking to see what it looks like when ripe.
I have a couple of helpful comments, and a question:
There may be more than one variety of Kumquat, but the ones we grew which I sometimes buy here in NC, are bright orange, about 1 1/2" long, and extremely sour inside. We always ate the skins, which are sweet and delicious. They make a good marmalade, and are pretty when added to orange marmalade, as the skins make cute little circles.
I have 44 baby fruits on my Limequat, and its a very small bush. We fertilized it with fish emulsion, and when it bloomed, I took a small paint brush and gently tickled the insides of each blossom with the brush to pollinate as soon as the blossoms opened. Each has to be pollinated by another bloom, so you need at least two. I was surprised to see that every one "took".
What is the minimum temperature a Limequat will tolerate? I'd like to leave it outside as long as possible.

We start eating our limequats as soon as we can squeeze them and find they are getting soft. If they get enough water, they will be juicy. Months before they turn yellow.

Fully ripe Meyer Lemons will be yellow with an orangish tinge to it.
That said, we've never had the patience to let the fruits ripen all the way, because, when they're just beginning to turn yellow they make an amazing Pisco Sour.
My husband (Chilean) claims that South American lemons are green, not yellow. I've decided it is because they are too impatient to wait for them to fully ripen!
Either way, I like these lemons a lot!

Marcia
I thought you were back for a second there!

Where the dickens are you?
We want an update on your tree . . .

Susie

alys esmond

My wife is from Chile and she says they use yellow lemons for pisco sour. What we call limes, they call limon de Lima.

All4 ~ You are right about there being more than one variety of limequat. There are 3 varieties but the Lakeland limequat is the only variety worth growing. Limequats are a cross between a key lime and kumquat. The other varieties look more like the kumquat parentage. These fruits are just slightly sweeter than a key lime and can be used to make keylime pie, like you mentioned. As for temps, I grow mine in a protected area because young trees can get damaged from temps like what we got a couple of winters ago.

Christine

I am new to citrus trees and recently aquared a Floridian Limequat. I have been growing it in a pot on my porch and it's only produced 5 limes. Is their any way to get it to produce more? The weather has changed to the colder side at which time it appears the limes stopped growing.

Hi - this is a very old thread. You can get more attention for your questions if you start a new topic.

Potted citrus naturally won't produce as much as when it's in the ground, unless the container is very large, but also if it's new-ish, it won't produce much until it gets bigger.

There is a Citrus forum with a number of more expert folks than I...

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/citrus