Hi Timmy, sorry to have confused you. I do not have a blood finger lime. I have a red one (from Logees), and a green one from McKenzie farms, although I think FW has them in stock now. Do you have a band?? We are a musical family and are always looking for fellow musicians! Not too far from you either...Annapolis.

Laura,

I'd be showing you my age if I told you stories about my band days! Thank you for your clarification. I didn't realize lime trees were this complicated. I really wanted to surprise my fiancé but I think I will have to bribe my grand-daughter to do some shopping on my behalf. It shouldn't be too hard as she'll have access to my credit card, right? Thank you honey, God bless.

Regards,

Timmy

You are very welcome!! I would get the red one from Logees if I had to pick.

^^^ me too! My red one from Logees is small but strong and cute!

Laura,

Timmy here. I busted up my good 'ol hip the day before yesterday and have been in bed, which gave me time to read through this forum. My finance is part of a Facebook citrus group back at her home. When she moves here, it is inevitable she will find this place. Is it lying by omission if I don't tell her about it? Joking of course, I think. I need to be prepared for since it seems everyone just loves to buy trees and I don't have much of a backyard, a small space and no surely she'll want to fill it with citrus and roses, then she'll have to winter them up. She doesn't have to do that now back at her home. Some of these discussions are filled with people comparing their latest citrus orders with each other, what types of trees and what more is on their shopping list. I have a question and I hope you won't be offended because I genuinely want to know, perhaps to prepare myself. Is there a sense of "Keeping up with the Joneses" when buying and having so many varieties, and the more you have the higher your citrus status? More than half of the orders people speak of are of types they haven't even tasted, so why the rush to have them? I am just curious to why someone would need half a dozen different lemon varieties. Please don't think I am personally picking on you, you are just my window to trying to understand since you've already been helpful to me.

Thank you honey, have a good weekend.

Timmy

Hi Timmy! No offense taken at all! I hope others will chime in as well. For me it is not about keeping up with anyone at all. Frankly, I think the biggest issue is that when I bought my first tree about five years ago, I had no idea about how many incredible and interesting varieties exist. There are so many that it becomes obsessive! I used to think there were only limes, lemons, oranges, and grapefruits....I've learned so much here - and yes, we do enable each other, but not from competition....from a love and obsession with these wonderful trees!

So prepare yourself for a jungle!!

Jumping in with my two cents worth :) I personally love gardening and love the satisfaction of producing great fruit. Citrus is my favourite fruit so I started with two in-ground mandarin trees to see how I would actually fare at keeping something alive (I was 15 at the time and had memories of my mother trying for about 6 years to grow an orange tree, but it never flowered or produced). I enjoyed it so much and over the last 10 years I have read up on different types of citrus to try and challenge myself in what I can grow. I've only started growing in containers this year because we have a small yard and hope to move into a bigger house in a couple of years and I would like to take my trees with me. I'm not keeping up with anyone, but I find some great satisfaction in the fruits I grow. As my husband has said, he is ok with this hobby of mine because it keeps me out of mischief hahaha

It's kind of like collecting stamps ;-)

Exactly, Laura!

TrinaJulie, I never particularly liked the taste of citrus. I always liked plants and so I bought a calamondin in 1978 because I liked the looks of it. My wife made a key lime pie many years ago and I planted some of the seeds and got two trees out of that, one of which survived to this day, some 30 years later. But one key lime died, so I went on line to find a better way to take care of citrus and discovered this whole wide world of citrus that exists online and especially here on this forum. I now have at least 35 trees and I just built a greenhouse to house them! So now, I am interested in how the various citrus fruit taste and try every different citrus I lay my hands on. I now I love citrus, especially mandarins.

Me too. I just love watching my trees grow. And each kind is so different to me even though they all have sort of similar leaves and flowers and growth patterns but each is actually so different as you watch them grow. Their fragrance is different, the size and shape of the flowers are different, the leaves shape, color and scent are different, the fruit shapes, skin texture, thickness, peelability, etc are all different and as I start reading to find out more about why there is such difference I get even more interested and want to try growing a different type. They are always going through cycles so there is always something interesting to watch for. And, when I started to read about them I learned so much more about their growth and about all the interesting types it just makes me want to grow another type. I think my neighbors think I am nuts I am so wrapped up with my trees and other plants. Instead of keeping up with the Jones for prestige it might work in reverse. I grow a lot of plants and many varieties but I think citrus may be my favorite now. Sounds like your fiancée feels the same. Look out, it may be catching once you too are surrounded by them. I hope you recover from your busted hip soon and are up and about in no time Timmy.

Cory

Yes Timmy, I hope you recover soon! I for one am so looking forward to tasting and cooking with my different citrus varieties!

Funny Vladimir, I never cared much for citrus either ...and I grew up in Cuba and Florida!!! Now I love anything citrus!

Definitely not trying to keep up with anyone. I lurked for a long time before I posted, because I thought my hobby was extreme (I believe I had 60ish trees already when I started posting). Then seeing I was not the only one gave me a sense of camaraderie I don't find anywhere else (people either don't believe me, or think I am crazy when they hear about my tree collection).

As for liking the fruit, or trying it, I do a ton of cooking and preserving so I can find use regardless of taste out of hand. Mostly though, I love seeing the trees grow. I like the chemistry involved with keeping them.

Timmy, well, your questions escalated quickly.. from asking where you can buy your fiancé a tree to then worrying that she'll become addicted : ) Love it!

I would also like to make a comment if I may. I don't necessarily have a full-blown collection of citrus, but with all my heart, I do love the few trees that I have. I do have an emotional attachment to them, almost like tree kids! When my family/friends and I get together, or when we catch up via texts, I share pictures of my kids, the beach, and my trees!

I very often go to nurseries to daydream and browse, and I want to give you hope in that the majority of the time, I do leave empty handed. Not to contradict what anyone is saying here (totally not my intent), but I have a couple of reasons for not wantingso many trees. One, I don't want to take on more than I can handle (again, like tree kids!). Actually, more than half of my trees have been gifts, which is why I have more than anticipated. It is time consuming to constantly check and treat for pests, to fertilize, etc., so I would rather *try* to take really good care of the few trees that I do have. Honestly, I don't know how my fellow citrus forum'ers manage SO many trees! But, they all do just fine and I love their collections. You wouldn't believe how much joy I get out of simply looking at all of their trees here online. Second reason is that my family and I try to travel as often as we can. Next summer we'll be gone almost an entire month off-island and I will be "training" my neighbor a couple of houses down. He's a teen and I'll be paying him well for his attention to them, but I am so nervous. In the citrus world, a month away from paying close attention to your trees can mean devastation, especially with pests. My climate is a pest enabler : (

Chris, aww, I'm sure people don't think you're crazy! I love people who love plants, animals, nature, etc. It says SO many wonderful things about who they are. Besides, being addicted to trees is such a healthy hobby. One million times over, would I rather have a friend who is "crazy" to have hundreds of trees than to one that doesn't own a single one!

Amen Figs!!! I have an uncle who stays at my house when we travel and holds down the fort.

That is awesome Laura! I need to find myself a regular, trusted caretaker : )

Agreed, it's really just a passion like any other, and variety is the spice of life as they say.

For me there is just something intoxicating about having the appropriate different varieties for cooking. I also way overdo it on tomatoes and peppers, I probably grow 20-30 different varieties of each every summer. Major overkill but they are all so beautiful and delicious in their own way. Don't even get me started on how many different types of lettuces and greens I grow too....

Hobby....you should make the lemon bars I made yesterday...OMG...they were incredible! I followed the recipe to the letter and even strained the curd...silky and wonderful. You should have seen my guest's eyes when they took a bite!!

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-heavenly-lemon-bars-with-almond-shortbread-crust-recipes-from-the-kitchn-191597 

Laura, that link is no good.

Let me try again...

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-heavenly-lemon-bars-with-almond-shortbread-crust-recipes-from-the-kitchn-191597

That one should work. I just tried it. I highly recommend that recipe...it just melts in your mouth..and the shortbread crust is crunchy and perfect.

Another big thanks, Laura, for posting the lemon bars recipe! It looks like a great way to use some of this year's crop....but, in reading the recipe, I remember a pet peeve of mine. Just how much zest comes from "5-6 lemons"? I think we can assume they mean the typical store-bought lemon but how does one convert to meyer, lisborne, ponderosa lemons? A rhetorical question for sure, Who would say it's a bad thing to experiment for a while until you get it just right?

Yeah, I hear you. I can tell you that I used the zest from the two lemons I used and that was perfect.

That recipe looks great Laura, I will try it with my eureekas that are ripening up now!

I am so excited to try my ripening kiyomi tangor- it will be my very first non calamondin/kumquat/sour orange/meyer/bearss ever!!

Hobby, please post when you get the fruit!! I think I have a mandarin ripening as well, but it's got a ways to go...

Nice, we're about to hit the big time now like the proper in-grounders- can't wait ;)!

This is a nice community, just look at this conversation! It is nice to read your thoughts, thank you everybody for answering my question and making me hungry! Chris, my mouth dropped when I read you had 60 trees before you even started posting! To the fig farmer in Hawaii, I need to start taking my fiancé on the road with me so that like you, she will not be home enough to care for so many trees! Figsinhawaii, if you would be a dear, I would love for you to come back and post some pictures of Hawaii please, the beach, mountains, sunsets, scenery, and your fig farm! I'm back on bedrest and you would be bringing back some beautiful memories. Not to mention, I'm sure we all wouldn't mind a virtual break from our winter here. I have been around the block and I have never seen water as clear as the one in Kona in my entire life, even compared to the Belize reef and the Caribbean waters. Please tell me you fish. Let me know if you need that trusted caretaker for your trees..............

Steel, you know I was thinking the same thing! I was going to ask Figs to post all kinds of pics for a Christmas Cheer..I wish I could care for her trees while she was gone, heck she may even pay for my tickets to come out if she gets truly attached to her trees and needs to escape when she needs someone to care for her trees the way she likes..Ha

It is nice here. Pretty much everyone works together and is pretty much on the same page, and if not, we work with that too..we try, we may not be a perfect site, but the best that I know of...Thanks for your kind words and I am glad to have met you. Thanks for posting and being a part..Don't let me hold you up on taking your fiance out starting tonight..

Where are you from?

Timmy, I hope you feel better and are back on your feet soon! I am sure Figs will post pics for you! That's probably why I have so many trees...I hate winter here in MD and I feel happy in my citrus forest when it is grey and cold out there.

I know this is an old thread but as it has come up recently I remembered Timmy looking for a blood lime some time ago and I think its been decided that the Austraian Red Lime from Logees is the same thing as a blood lime. If you look at the pictures and descriptions they appear to be the same, it seems the blood lime is also refereed to as a red lime and that appears to be what Logees is selling. So Timmy if you are still on the hunt for one you might be able to get one from Logees once they aren't back ordered anymore.

and to make it more interesting, there is indeed a red lemon called limon rosso. I have six in the incubator and so hope they will take.

https://flora-toskana.com/en/xxl-grosspflanzen/732-citrus-limon-rosso-rote-zitrone.html