Just a wild guess, but perhaps the tree is lacking in nutrients? Have you fed it fertilizers?

Good thought James...and it COULD be some nutrient deficiency but I fertilize with Citrus-Tone several times a year. It has a 5-2-6 NPK ratio and is made from: Hydrolyzed Feather Meal, Pasteurized Poultry
Manure, Bone Meal, Alfalfa Meal, Greensand, Humates,
Sulfate of Potash, and Sulfate of Potash Magnesia. In the past I have also added rabbit, alpaca, and horse manure when it was available. I also broadcast a sparing amount of epsom salt, maybe once a year for a magnesium boost.

Hmm, if not the fertilizers, I wonder if the dirt medium is the problem... When you planted this tree into the soil, which combination did you use? Probably not important, but do you think it's possible that the grass surrounding the tree is hogging all the nutrients?

James, folks usually suggest keeping the grass back when I post here and I understand the concept but I'm not willing to use an herbicide around my fruit trees and I have too many to weed by hand so I just let them duke it out. The Satsumas, kumquats, lemons, and calamondin do great in the same setting. The native soil is fertile since it's clay but it's not the well-drained soil the labels recommend. I make a big deal of digging a huge irregular shaped hole, breaking up all the clods, blending in several bags of peat and composted cow manure when I plant a new tree. In another post, I described a blood orange that isn't blooming at all so the lime isn't the only one with a fruit issue....I have experimented with recycled rubber mats to keep the grass back but they seem to encourage trunk fungal infections. I'll probably give the lime one more year and maybe increase my fertilizer regimen and may have to replace it with something else. I think I'm borderline winter lows anyway for limes in my area. We often get several nights into the mid to upper twenties in February. I have covered the tree on colder nights but it's getting too big to cover easily.

John, I am NO expert at fruit identification, but could it be some type of sweet lime? I know there are some. I have a sweet lime myself, but have not had fruit as the tree is young. Look up palestine sweet lime...I always forget the name of mine but Four Winds has them. Look on their website and see if you can identify it based on the different types.

Thanks Laura, all the citrus leaves are soooo similar! It could be a really mild lime. I usually keep the tag off the tree but I lost this tag. You know, the nursery that probably grafted that tree is right here in town so I might be able to get some info from them....it's a wholesale operation so they don't normally receive individual customers.

John, that sounds promising. What I would do is google the different lime varieties you are wondering about and look at the images of the fruits. That may help.

Hmmm, Citrus limetta is a sweet lime and the description could easily be my lime. I'm actually surprised there is a market for such a mild flavor but it actually is nice to be able to grab one off the tree and eat it without having to worry if you will have enamel left on your teeth...as you mentioned with the Nagami kumquats...and for lemons. This isn't what I had in mind when I planted the tree but it's the only lime I have.

Let us know if you confirm it. I can't wait to try mine!

Sweet limes are generally available at Hispanic markets (at least here in Tucson). You might want to go and pick one up and try it to see if it is the same.

It is very likely that you have a sweet lime. I have a New Zealand lemonade tree that will produce a fruit just like yours bland, mildly sweet. no acid, and eaten out of hand. I have eaten sweet lemon and they fit your description. You are sooo lucky to have a producing sweet lime.

6b Steve

No real lime is that size with seeds besides giant key. And I doubt you have that in Texas.

Sweet (bland) lime or not a lime at all, pretty much the only options.

I will wait to I get one. I was expecting it to be low sugar, low acid with a lemon flavor with out the bitter after taste of the other sweet lemons and limes.

My fruit fit the description of a sweet lime very well. I'm quite certain now it's a sweet lime.

I never found the tag but I did find a note to self on this tree....it's a Palestine Sweet Lime. It's blooming more this year....hoping for a bit more flavor...OK, a LOT more flavor...than last year! Research indicates it's a very low acid, mild flavored lime. I juiced one or two last year and tried drinking the juice..."watery" is the best description I have for it. It's nice to have the flowers and I'll watch for some flavor but, for the effort, I wish I had planted another satsuma :>)

I have eaten mill sweet lemons and watery is my best description of the juice.

6b Steve

I have read that sweet limes have there "best" flavor after they have yellowed like a lemon. Maybe try it and seem if it ends up being more desirable to you.

I tried some from a local hispanic market and my choice of description is insipid...

John,

You have a sweet lime; and no amount of care or chemical is going to change the flavor. You said you are surprised there is a market for it; the fact is there is NOT! It is more of a novelty thing; although there are some tiny niche markets that will buy them. I have a Spanish sugar orange at my farm... I didn't know what it was when I planted it; but no one eats them... same reason... sweet, but no zest or flavor.

I tried a few along this past year and none had flavor....thanks Sammers...will try to catch one very late in its maturity.

I think I saw the "insipid" description somewhere in my research. I read somewhere that the zest can be used as a flavoring. All in all, I think it's like growing zucchini squash. Why would we plant a zucchini in space that could have been used growing watermelons?

Johnmerr, I think the market must be made up of impulse buys like mine probably was....I'm guessing it went something like this (instead of carefully researching a tree we will spend LOTS of hours caring for)...On a nice sunny day at the local box store gardening center...."Oh cool!...a key lime, I'll plant a key lime...oops, the temp. hardiness is only 32C so that counts me out...but here is one...says Palestine Sweet Lime and it's good down to 30C....I love limes so I'm going to plant this one!"

"Why would we plant a zucchini in space that could have been used growing watermelons?"

I don't, I plant the real thing

6b Steve

Hopefully it helps trying it when yellow, they are apparently popular in India and south america. I just chalk it up to us Americans having a preference for very strong flavored citrus. If you grow up with something being one way like limes being very robust and tart getting a really mild lime is going to be weird and potentially disappointing. I would like to try one so I'll be on the lookout for some at the Hispanic grocery store I sometimes frequent. Good luck!

I LIKE SOMEWHAT INSIPID FRUIT. I* dislike having my taste buds blow torched out with every bit I take. I guess I must be one of these illegals that trump/pense are talking about

6b ( tired of over flavored fruit) Steve