Most Saturday mornings I tune into the ABC to enjoy my favourite talkback gardening host, Sabrina Hahn. Over the years she has accumulated a wealth of knowledge on all things gardening but her most frequent queries relate to lemon trees. It would come as no surprise then to know that this humble citrus is the most common fruit tree found in backyards, from Derby to Devenport and all towns in between.
Lemons and other citrus (including oranges, cumquats and limes) are recorded as having been cultivated as far back as the 14th Century. Here in Australia, they thrive in our free draining soils and hot sunny climes producing fruit consistently with minimum water requirements. The reward is even greater if they are given a regular feed of aged chicken manure, often marketed as dynamic lifter.
With the Australian climate being ideal for growing citrus it would make sense that this vast land would have its very own varieties. Not surprisingly it does, six species in total, spreading from northern NSW deep into the wet tropics near Cairns, across the desert into South Australia and up to the Top End near Darwin. All species are harvested by first nations people as a sweet tangy delight or to flavour wild game.
These native citrus species have long attracted the interest of CSIRO researchers and plant breeders especially with their ability to hybridise with other citrus species. By selecting wild plants with desirable traits including disease resistance and drought and salinity tolerance they have successfully bred citrus cultivars commercially marketed with fancy names like Rainforest Pearl and Outback Lime.
These hybrids have been developed using two species. Citrus australasica, (the finger lime or gulalung as it is known to the Bundjalung people), occurs as an understory shrub in northern NSW and southern Qld rainforests. Citrus glauca the desert lime is found in drier regions of NSW, Qld and SA and is referred to as wumbanyi by Adnyamathanha Traditional Owners and kandutal by the Pitta Pitta people from around Boulia.
These delightful little lime trees are becoming increasingly popular and as I recently found out, hard to source, as nurseries sell out quickly and often have a waitlist for new stock. Like all citrus varieties they are easy to grow with the additional advantage of suiting pot cultivation. The benefits of being bred specifically for Australian gardens mean they suit our conditions and are less likely to succumb to disease.
Whilst in Perth over Easter I was lucky enough to source a couple of plants, a new cultivar from C.australasica called D'Emerald and a grafted desert lime. I've planted the cultivar in a pot to hopefully mirror the success my mate Syd has had whilst I'll put the desert lime straight into the ground. I'll be very wary of termites as they seem to have a penchant for citrus up our way. Then it's a matter of wait and see!
Love growing citrus? I can recommend Sabrina's Juicy Little Book of Citrus by Sabrina Hahn.
