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Key Lime

Citrus × aurantiifolia, Rutaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Adam's apple, bartender's lime, Mexican lime and West Indian lime.

Key Lime (Citrus × aurantiifolia), the whole plant.
Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us · Wikimedia Commons

Key Lime is toxic

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Toxic to people. Citrus bearing lemons or limes only: the fruit is a skin allergen and can harm skin exposed to sunlight. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it. RHS

What the sources say about its care

Light
Full sun, Partial shade
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Moist but well-drained or Well-drained
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H2 — 1–5°C 1–5 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Loam; pH Acid or Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
Citrus bearing lemons or limes only: the fruit is a skin allergen and can harm skin exposed to sunlight. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
Standing water and flooding do not suit the plant.
NC State Extension, filed as Citrus x aurantiifolia · read 13 September 2026
While growing in spring and summer, water generously and mist every day. Use a citrus fertiliser all year round as directed by the manufacturer; give little water in winter.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Feeding
Feed key lime lightly.
NC State Extension, filed as Citrus x aurantiifolia · read 13 September 2026
Use a citrus fertiliser all year round, following the manufacturer’s directions; water sparingly in winter.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Propagation methods include seed, root cuttings, grafting and layering.
NC State Extension, filed as Citrus x aurantiifolia · read 13 September 2026
In spring sow seed at 16°C; the seedlings differ from the parent type. In summer take semi-ripe cuttings.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
Prune only for shaping, removing dead wood, restricting size or thinning fruit.
NC State Extension, filed as Citrus x aurantiifolia · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Under glass, mealybugs, caterpillars, aphids, fluted scale, soft scale, glasshouse red spider mite and citrus red spider mite can occur. Diseases: usually none.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

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Close view of Key Lime (Citrus × aurantiifolia) foliage.
Close upAyuwadala, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Native range
as a cultigen from E. Himalaya
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Southeastern Asia
NC State Extension, filed as Citrus x aurantiifolia · read 13 September 2026
Tropical Asia
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Climate
subtropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
tree
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Shrub, Tree; habit dense, irregular, multi-trunked
NC State Extension, filed as Citrus x aurantiifolia · read 13 September 2026
Bushy (evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 72–156 in; width 60–180 in
NC State Extension, filed as Citrus x aurantiifolia · read 13 September 2026
Height 2.5-4 metres; spread 1.5-2.5 metres after 20–50 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers purple/lavender, white; blooms in fall, spring, summer, winter
NC State Extension, filed as Citrus x aurantiifolia · read 13 September 2026
Flowers white in spring and summer
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Uses

What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.

In Persian cooking it is dried and used as an ingredient. Its leaves are taken for colds and headaches. Lime oil goes into soaps, gum and sweets. Squeezed over freshly cut fruit, lime juice acts as an antioxidant that stops browning. The juice can be drunk or added to drinks, syrups, jams, jellies and baking, as a sauce for meat and fish, in marinades, and in sorbets, sherbets, ice creams and the well-known key lime pie.
NC State Extension, filed as Citrus x aurantiifolia · read 13 September 2026

Other Citrus

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.