Hi All. I have quite a specific problem and there really isn't much I've found on the internet which might help me so here goes....
I have a Kaffir Lime tree in a pot which I've had for a few years. I'm in the UK and keep it indoors over winter where it shrinks back a bit and looks a bit unhappy. Come summer time I put it outside and it springs to life again. I've had it for a few years and have worked out what it needs and it was my pride and joy, as I like to cook Thai food. Ironically, I went travelling to Thailand for a few months at the end of last year and the one job my sister (who I gave a key to house house) had was to water it, but she didn't. When I came home it was in such a bad state and I was convinced it was dead. I kept it indoors until about 6 weeks ago and put it in a cloche in my garden and pruned it back. I've fed it a few times with citrus feed and it hasn't shown any sign of re-growth until this past week. I now have some tiny green shoots near the base. I have read that Kaffir Lime trees are commonly grafted onto normal Lime root stock and it looks to me as though the growth is below a graft line. The new growth looks like single leaves and I did notice last year that I had single leaf growth at the base.
So I still have no sign of growth above the line but it doesn't 'feel' dead up there. There is flex and strength in the branches and it's not all twiggy and frail, despite looking like it is. I was thinking I might prune back again above the line and see what happens. Does anyone have any suggestions or should I just accept the inevitable and buy a new one?