Reasons And Fixes For Lime Tree Not Producing Blossoms Or Fruit

Blooms On Lime Tree
lime tree flowers
(Image credit: itman__47)

When a beautiful lime tree is not producing blossoms and fruit but still looks healthy, a lime tree owner can feel at a loss as to what to do. It is obvious that the tree is not unhappy, but at the same time it is not happy enough to produce blossoms. There are several issues that could be causing this. Let us take a look at the lime tree information.

Reasons and Fixes for a Lime Tree Not Producing Blossoms or Fruit

Here are the most common reasons for no lime tree blossoms or fruit:

Need for fertilizing lime trees

Proper care of lime trees requires that the lime tree get an even mix of nutrients. A lack of certain kinds of nutrients can result in a lime tree not producing blossoms and fruit. Fertilizing lime trees means that they need to get a good amount of nitrogen as well as phosphorus and an occasional boost to the acidity level of the soil. When fertilizing lime trees, phosphorus is particularly important to the plant producing blossoms.

Not enough heat

One piece of little-known lime tree information is that the trees need more heat in order to be encouraged to bloom than their other citrus cousins. If your lime tree is not producing blossoms this year but did last year, check the average temperature and the growth of surrounding shade objects, like trees and new construction. If it was cooler this year than last year or if new shade objects are blocking the sun, this may be why the lime tree is not producing blossoms. Making sure the lime tree gets as much sun as possible, perhaps with light reflectors, will help to fix the problem.

Pruning of the lime trees

Many times, in the care of lime trees, people feel they must prune the tree to keep it looking nice. If this is not performed exactly right, you could be inadvertently cutting off the blossoms. Lime trees produce buds on the tips of their branches and pruning those off may cause a tree not to produce blossoms the following year.

Improper drainage or watering

If you take care of lime trees, you need to know that they need proper drainage and consistent moisture to thrive. If the tree is too wet, it will first drop its blossoms and then drop its leaves. If the lime tree is watered unevenly, it will not produce blossoms and it will eventually drop its leaves.

It just happens

Sometimes a lime tree will just inexplicably stop producing blossoms for a year. It may be some small environmental stress that works itself out or simply the tree reserving energy for next year. Treat the issues where you can and then wait a year to see if your lime tree bounces back.

Heather Rhoades
Founder of Gardening Know How

Heather Rhoades founded Gardening Know How in 2007. She holds degrees from Cleveland State University and Northern Kentucky University. She is an avid gardener with a passion for community, and is a recipient of the Master Gardeners of Ohio Lifetime Achievement Award.