Allotments 4 All

we've got a small lime tree, never noticed before but it's got spikes on some of the stems, is this normal..I've only had it a year and never did much to it
any advice about these would be appreciated  ;D

I've seen that happen when I've grown lemon trees from a pip before.

All I can add is that I have a kaffir lime tree and it has spikes.

What are the leaves like?

just like big lime leaves, but on a small tree, will take a picture next time I'm there, probably saturday, weather permitting..maybe it just has spikes  ;D

Kaffir Limes have double leaves so it's not one of them. Have done a little homework since thinking of getting a lime. Looks as if several lime varieties have thorns.

thanks, barnowl..it'd help if I still had the label  ;D
I do remember it's not a kaffir lime  :)

A lemon i'm growing from a pip that had germinated inside the fruit has thorns/spines,it's about thre years old now.

As an illustrator I have picked and drawn wild limes in Oman, and they were very spiky.

All citrus trees are normally spikey, and very sharp, hard spikes at that!

I have an orange grown from a fruit that I acquired in a souk in the Sahara Desert in Morocco in 1994. I planted a pip in a pot that contained a houseplant and the subsequent seedling after 3 years in an unheated porch has grown outside ever since.

Last year I brought it into my new unheated conservatory for the winter and the only apparent advantage was less windscorching.

No fruit yet though!

http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments1_homepage.html

One of the sharpest, spiniest citrus I've ever come across is the Japanese Bitter Orange (Poncirus Trifoliata). Apparently too bitter to eat (though mine hasn't fruited yet), it's often used as a graft base for other citrus. It's a hardy creature in the UK too - and it makes a lethal barrier/hedging plant!

Found a good site for further citrus info:

www.homecitrusgrowers.co.uk