Mike that is great and exciting news!!! Its a lime that is grown for its leaves right? For cooking? If it flowers it must produce fruit? Congrats! Mrs. G

Mike,

Congrats. I have one kaffir in Guatemala... maybe the only one in the country; it has one fruit and I expect it to get yellow in about March or April, at which time I will harvest it and get the seeds. Most, and certainly the best kaffirs are grown from seed; and I want to try using them to repel the ACP when it gets to my area; it is a long term project. My one tree is grafted to Macrophylla, which seems to be mostly incompatible; I grafted 15 buds and only one survived. Anyway, since it is on Macrophylla, I am hoping it will get big and produce lots of fruit.

Yay Mike!! I'm very excited for you! Congrats :o)

You can make a dead plant bloom,lol...You have that special gift!

Fabulous, Mike! You'll have to snap a few photos so we can share the joy :-) Have you used the leaves at all to cook with? I love Thai food, and have considered adding a Kaffir lime as a container tree for the leaves.

Patty S.

Hi Patty,
I know your comment was directed at Mike but I hope you don't mind if I put in my two cents. I have 2 Kaffir limes (about 2 year old - east coast age so decently small) and the leaves are VERY aromatic and the taste/smell is very distinctive. It tastes like flowers to me, personally. Have you tried it? I have a Curry recipe that calls for Kaffir lime leave that is one of my favorite recipes. I don't have a link but I can take a picture of it when I go home and post it (if I can figure out how to post it large enough).

Great job, Mike, we're all waiting on pics, buddy ;-)

I've cooked with Kaffir lime leaves, and they are great. We make a Laotian curry called Kapoon (Khaub poob) and toss in a huge bunch of leaves still on the branch. The flavors come together so well....onion, ginger, carrot, spices, red curry paste, coconut milk, fish sauce, bamboo shoots and bamboo blossom.....mmmmmm......

Josh

Hay Mike How about a pic. The Kaffir Lime happens to be one of the citruses I have not seen.

Steve

Hey, thanks everyone!.

Remember when I was talking about this when I said I have never seen a Kaffir flower before...I guess I can believe this myself now!

Steve, I will take a pic when I get home tonight..Been so busy and tired...I will do my best.

Josh..What's up pal? Man do you have a way with making food sound like it tatses so good! Even HOT peppers..lol
A pic coming soon.;)

Patty..I have never tried using them to cook...If someone posted a simple recipe I would give it a shot.
You should try one..I can tell you it will grow like a weed on you..Wow, such FAST growers..Mine was about a foot and a half tall until it fell over last summer and broke right down to almost the graft line and then a squirrel attacked it leaving much to be desired..
The size of it now is just growth since the almost end of summer..It has not grown for a couple of months bt decided to pop buds..

Marrme....Please, a recipe..Would love one..Gotta love them trees from 4Winds I tell you..I hope I get another soon..

John..Oh, it should grow pretty big especially for there..I hope it does well.

Pug..Hello! Thanks for visiting:-))) You are way too funny..lol

Garret..Giddy for thnat one moment posting....It's hard to muster up energy these days when thsi winter has been such a drag..Thanks for your comments..
I think it's grafted..I will double check..

Mrsg47..Thank you.

My Kaffir lime bud fell off before I could take a picture! :( Probably this nice spring weather combined with a flash 20 deg cold (they're by the window). I think there's another one coming, though. I'll take one quick if it does show. Anyways, here's the recipe I was talking about:

SERVINGS: 3 - 4

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup red curry paste
1 pound very lean (93 percent) ground beef
2 cups green beans cut diagonally into 1- or 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons very thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves rinsed and patted dry (optional)
DIRECTIONS

In a large measuring cup, combine the fish sauce, water and sugar and mix well (the sugar does not need to dissolve completely). Set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the curry paste and stir to combine, then add the groundbeef and stir until well coated with the curry-oil mixture. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until the meat shows no trace of pink and appears crumbly. Add the beans and the fish sauce mixture to the beef mixture and stir to combine. Cook, covered, for 7 to 8 minutes or until the beans are crisp-tender. Add the kaffir lime leaves, if desired, and stir to combine. Divide among individual bowls and serve hot.

Oh, when you slice the kaffir lime leaves, make sure that they are REALLY REALLY tiny and a little bit goes a super long way. Otherwise, you'll get very overwhelmed. Happy cooking!

Marrme..You are too kind! I shall have to try this since my family loves this kind of food...Once my fruit matures if it does, it's a go..Thank you so much..

Do I have to manually pollinate the flowers or are they self pollinating?

MIke

Once the fruit matures, grating the skin is the best way to get the flavor! I have other recipes with Kaffir lime that I haven't tried yet. I can email them to you as I find them if that's ok. When you harvest the leaves, I would cut off the branch instead of individual leaves, the trees seem to respond better that way.

I usually manually pollinate just to be on the safe side but I haven't successfully grown the lime past the size of a key lime (or a large egg) so I'm not sure if what I'm doing is correct. They also don't flower at the same time so I usually cross pollinate with my meyer or my perpetually blooming calamondin.

Hey Mike,

I couldn't figure out how to send you an email so I hope you see this.. I'm not sure if this thread is dead.

Here are some recipes on my next "to try" list with Kaffir lime leaves, the soup (last link) is absolutely heavenly! Also, in case you didn't know, Lemongrass is extremely easy to plant/grow, very prolific, mosquito repellent and very yummy.

http://thaifood.about.com/od/thairecipes/r/limechickenstir.htm

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/chicken-with-kaffir-lime-pesto.html

http://thaifood.about.com/od/thairecipesstepbystep/ss/tomyumsoupstepbystep.htm

This Thread ain't dead until Mike posts a picture of his flowers!!! ;-)

Josh

We have no pics of mike. We have no email of mike. When I click on a picture mike post from Photobucket, it opens up on my own account. It doesn't even state the his account is private. Many of us think that mike doesn't even exist.

Best of luck with the weather and thanks for all the help you've given over the years.

LOLe Steve

This post was edited by poncirusguy on Sat, Mar 1, 14 at 15:59

I'm back in spirit..lol

Been sick these days with a nasty cold....Just finished coughing after a week of it...I need a stroll in the hot sun with my shirt off just one day....I feel like I have been living in a cave..Thank God for citrus trees to lift our spirits!
Well the tree is only a foot high or so and in a 6 inch pot, but it's my pride here in Siberia..

Josh, thanks pal!

Marrme..Thank you very much..I will post my e-mail for you..Nice.

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Hey, Mike, glad you're back from the dead ;-)
You sure do grow nice Citrus out there in Siberia. And, man, how do you keep those plants so green?! I really need to dial in my fertilizing! Great shots of those flowers.

Josh

Ahhh, haha, that explains a lot. The mystical Meyer Mike. :)

All my new flush is not handling the sudden drop in temperature.. alot of my new buds and flush dropped off. So sad.. can't wait until spring.

Mike - I just picked up 3 bags of perlite. Agway isn't opened here until end of March so I'm afraid I'll have to wait to gather the rest of my supplies. I'll let you know when I have everything! Thanks for all your help!

I've a question about the leaves. I've planted a few from seed and although they are a lot more fragrant than my other citrus the leaves arn't the usual figure 8.

Mine are about 2-3 years old but not huge just a few inches high and wide (though starting to pickup now).

Could they be a hybrid? Does they usual grow true from seed?

Mike, great pics can't wait until mine blooms! Is this a tree from seed or grafted?

Madferret, if the leaves aren't like that then it's not a kaffir lime. Are you sure the seeds you planted were from a kaffir lime?

Kristopher

They were from eBay so the answer is maybe not, they look more like the grapefruit Seedlings I have, but more spinet and more pungent aroma.

Sounds like you got ripped off on eBay. It happens unfortunately :(

Kris

I suppose the best way is to post pics. I'll post some later.

Here's some old pics in the mean time.

This post was edited by madferret on Mon, Mar 3, 14 at 8:41

As I understand it, kaffir lime seeds CAN grow to be hybrids if cross pollination happens with nearby other citrus trees (orange, lemon, other limes, etc). When this happens, the leaves may look/smell/taste similar to Kaffir lime leaves but is usually not a true Kaffir lime. That just means that the flavor or scent that you get may not be as potent as the original. With the hybrids, I *think* that there's a chance that as the tree grows, it may convert to the classic Kaffir double lobe leaves, but your plants look like they're a bit pass that point.
Have you tried germinating all your seeds? If not, there may be a chance that you may have a seed that will grow to be a Kaffir lime! I hear that you can get a whole bunch of varieties of citrus trees from seeds from the same harvest. You could get lucky!

You've got me wondering now...

I did have a squeeze of some if the leaves and some are definitely more pungent than others (and that if my grapefruits). The leaves look slightly more lobed than those in the pics. One lobe is smaller, some are really spiney too.

I guess I'll have to see what the fruit turns out like in another 10 years or so... ;)

Anyway enough thread derailing. I've still got a bunch of citrus plants and that's all that really matters right? :D

Good luck to all in the USA. I believe you've had some stupidly cold weather over there.

Haha, yes, the important thing is that you now have a bunch of nice healthy citrus plants! :)

You keep calling it pungent, to me it smells more like a minty flowery scent. Perhaps that's the mix. Good luck! Please post a picture every once in a while, I'm very interested to follow up!

Josh..Thanks pal...With all the info we share, I guess we can't go wrong like I use to..I appreciate that and you here.

Marrme....Lol....I do have a tendency to dissappear then come back...I think I will have to be feeling much better so I can help out more often...Thank you for the other recipes..Yum it sounds like...Did I ever give you my e-mail on another thread? If not, I will-00)

Hi Madferret!! Good to see you are around these days...Don't dissappear like I do, ok?
You must be having a fantastic mild winter because we have ours plus yours combined into one..lol -3 tonight!
Yes, you saw that -3 degrees! What a pain in the rear end to keep my greenhouse warm this winter..Yet I manage to keep it above 50 thus far..

Thanks Mike.

Yes it's been strangely frost free here. I could literally count the times I've woken up to frost.

I've had some plants that should've died off keep going like mad. I've even had some winter salad leaves.

And don't worry I'll be sticking around again.

Here a pic of 1 of my kafir lime.

Very nice! Yes, the leaves aren't quite as lobular/fat. But as long as you're enjoying them! :)

Mike - I don't think I have your email. Thanks!

We still don't have an email address for you and your Photobucket account from which you display your picture here, You appear to be a ghost. When I click on you picture I should open your image in Photobucket and be able to see it at full resolution for real detail. You have emailed me but I cannot respond. But I still wonder if you exist.

Just in case you do exist, thanks for all the help you have given me over the decades. The advice has helped me far more with my non citrus plants the most. If you can grow citrus you can grow anything

Steve

Steve talking about all the help I gave you in our past lives...? lol

You see to be doing a great job with your plants, I must admit, your figs especially....I hope I get lot's of fruit this year..If you have any ideas for a big fig crop, please share.

Booooooo

Mike

Since this was a thread where all the participants seemed to own at least one kaffir lime plant, might it be too much of a favor to ask for some seeds and some advice about growing them in Maryland, USA ?

Steve, I forgot about your thank you...I never realized that I helped you that much))

Anirbn,

I'll tell you what, if you are in a state where it's legal to sen you some, I will send you the whole fruit, seeds and all...Just keep reminding me as time goes by..I'll check to see if I have fruit since it's been quite some time that I actually looked at mines..lol I just water and walk away..

Anirbn, I live in MD also and have a kaffir lime, but no fruit yet. I ordered mine from Harris in case you want to buy a tree instead. It is quite nice, but I've not had it a while. This is an old thread...Mike, how's your kaffir lime these days?

I have fruits as well but I doubt I can ship it . n u must have a tonne of patience though this is one tree I wouldn't mind starting from seed as well since leaves are pretty much what's used.

If I somehow managed to get seeds, do you think I could get them to sprout at this time (may be keeping indoors by a window inside a ziplock bag) ?

Wow Mike, thats so very generous of you. I will indeed remind you. I don't think there is any problem with sending fruits to Maryland, so we may be okay on that front. Once again, much appreciate it.

Anirbin, no problem..I will be taking pics of my trees in the next couple of day and then I will know what I have...

when I sprout seeds in the winter I put them in closed containers and put them in my heating duct. They come up really quick.

6b Steve

Dear Mike, any updates yet ? I apologize for the bug. Take care.

I have a keffir which is fruiting but I have not taken the fruit off just yet. The way they look makes me name the tree "wrinkle".

Chris, NICE job!!! Can you take a pic of the whole tree?

Anirbn, My mom fell and hurt herself badly after she got out from a week in the hospital, so I totally forgot too. My bad.

It started getting lighter in coloring..It was loosing it's vivid green look because the temps have gotten so cold. But I stuck it in the house and it seems to be coloring up again/. I will take a pic tomorrow..) I have been trying to grow it Bonsai style since I don't need it to be big and take up room. So it's pretty small..

Dear Mike, I hope your mom feels better soon. I apologize for the bother. Take care.

Chris, that looks fantastic !! Did you grow this from a seed ?

Bonsai for the kaffir lime may be a good idea. I don't need THAT many leaves and it is getting a bit large. I'll let it chill this winter and then perhaps trim in the Spring. Nice tree Chris!!

It's a grafted tree. I have never tried to grow citrus from seeds (I grow my veggies, peppers, and tomatoes from seed)

anyone find any use of the fruit if nothing else it's certainly is a unique looking fruit

Hi, my Kaffire lime is budding!!! Is it a good sign or bad? Few artical I read says, because the plant is stressed, it's budding out!!!