Finger Lime varieties

Rhys starts with ...
I was wondering if anyone could give me any info about the differences between the finger lime varieties at Daleys? A lot of the info under each variety seems generic to finger limes rather than that specific variety.

Do they have different climate preferences?
Is there much difference in taste, or mainly colour?

Also, given there is a "Grafted" and "Cutting Grown" ones, does that mean the rest are seedlings?

Thanks

PS: In case it's relevant, i'm looking to grow one in a pot in Newcastle

Rhys says...
Thanks for that...great to hear you've grown one so successfully in Sydney, given i'm hoping to grow mine in Newcastle. Which part of sydney are you in...do you get any/many frosts?

The recipes sound great by the way

Diana says...
This breeder in northern NSW has descriptions of the taste of different varieties. I have seen the pink ice variety in Brisbane nurseries, it is supposed to be tart.

I only have a standard one, but a lemony one or 'sour apple' sounds good.

Diana.

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Rhys says...
Thanks for that Diana...do you know how/if the varieties on the Gourmet Limes page correspond to the Daley's varieties available?

Jennyfurcat says...
Hi Tcairns,
Sorry I have taken a while to reply. I am happy to post you some seeds. My fruits have very few seeds, say 1 seed every 10 fruit, so I do not have many. Will send in a couple of weeks. Let me know your postal address or personal email to reply to.

Jaejae says...
Just wondering if there is a variety of Finger Lime that is not spiky? Or if there is a variety that is the least spiky/thorny? I would love to grow one in my backyard, but do have to consider my four young children!

Jaejae says...
Thanks Denise - I'll see if I can source a Russell River lime. I like the idea of growing a seedling finger lime. I might try growing a few and then donate some to our primary school for their native or kitchen garden. I'm excited!

Phil@Tyalgum says...
I will look around the markets for you, and the trees grow wild in this part of the country. Not sure if they are in season but happy to check them for you.

Phil@Tyalgum says...
Hey thanks bud, I guess you have my address then mister. If you have spare piper nigrum or vanilla I've always wanted to try them here, but can't wait to see what you select!

Phil@Tyalgum says...
Thanks Mike, whatever you choose will be most welcome here.

Phil@Tyalgum says...
Mike there is a large seed in the package I think which reads "Matissua or Matissia" not quite sure, but I'd like to know a bit more about it if you have time to e-mail me, just to give all my plants the best chance of survival. Phil
wilkenna@bigpond.com

Phil@Tyalgum says...
Sure thing, would like to know about the rice paddy herb but I think I have the rest in and labelled properly.

JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
Hi Phil and Mike,
Rice paddy herb can be eaten raw in salad, as garnish in seafood soups. It has a lovely flavor. In Vietnamese cooking it is a must in sweet and sour soup, sawtooth coriander is another one.

JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
Hi Mike,

Good to hear that you still have some sawtooth coriander, please keep them for me.
Trang means white so cai trang mean white stalk pak choi and the green stalk is bok choi. I am very confused about these two vegies.

Speedy says...
Re.the 'different' names Bok choi/ pak choi...they're really the same name just spelled differently with roman alphabet.
The translation, as far as I know, just means 'white vegetable'
Pak, bok , bai are all various Romanized approximations of either Mandarin or Cantonese word for 'White'

and choi, choy, cai = vegetable

Chang or Chiang translates as green I believe.

also have to remember that when writing down these names in roman alphabet, it can only ever be an approxamation of the sound spoken in Mandarin or Cantonese.

some western ears may hear it as 'Pak',for example when others may hear 'Bok' and write it down as such.

what we know in Aust. as Pak choy, Bok choi are just different varieties of Brassica rapa var. chinensis.

the different spellings being applied the different vars. has only occured since they've been grown by westerners.

That's the way I see how they've come about.... I may be wrong though :-)
can anyone verify please?

Mike says...
Speedy I am sure you are correct.I am just going by the naming conventions of chinese,japanese,thai and vietnamese seed companies in their translations to English.I have been also been told as much by a chinese person.The validity of latin names in botany for highly domesticated plants with multiple varieties is often limited beyond the genus level.

Mike says...
Mary now I'm back to square one and choi sum and wong bok I would just call them something different.I think I need to send you and Lucy some seed packets.Do you have space for the chinese vegies? I have some eye-popping corn (not pop corn) also with chinese writing from hongdua and lianwen seeds.Do the words/names you zhi,gao chan and kang bing mean anything?

Mike says...
Thanks Mary it will be disease resistant rather than medicinal properties.

MaryT says...
Speedy those were the days when farmers were largely illiterate (still true to a certain extent in China), seeds were saved from the best of the crop and passed on instead of patented and sold.

Freyr says...
Hi !

I am looking for seeds of any australian citrus ( finger lime, round lime etc ) or any hybrids.

Unfortunately I cannot buy plants, for I am in europe ( Austria ).

I can swap rare european seeds or will pay.

Best Regards !

freyr@live.at

Freyr says...
Thanx for trying to help !

I guess they need cross polination to get seeds ...

Regards

freyr@live.at

Jennyfurcat says...
Hi Freyr,

I have scraped the pulp from the last of my Finger Limes and will freeze it. I have found just a few viable looking seeds which I am happy to post to you.

My tree is 3-4 metres tall, and produces hundreds of fruit. They ripen for a month or so mid-April to mid-May.

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Freyr says...
Does that pic show your tree ?

It is a wonderful plant !

Did you plant it or found it wild growing ?

Freyr says...

Oh ?

Thanx for Info BJ !

Freyr says...
sure, but cannot buy plants ...

daleysfruits tells one can order bare root plants .. but I see no link or email to order or ask if they send to europe ...

Linton says...
Finger Lime varieties.

I've read bad reports about the Rainforest Pearl which I believe is a hybrid cross with something else and they are not worth the money.

The main thing is to get a grafted one and all of the cultivars which Daleys have are very good. The only difference is in the skin colour and flesh colour. I got a Tasty Green from them which is supposed to be the best tasting, and I've ordered the Ricks Red and Yellow just to have some different colours.

M Nash says...
I bought a "BWP Citrus Secialists" pink from bunnings on trifoliata stock.
They came in green and red also.
Dont know it that is Rainforest Pearl but the plant is hardy and fruited straight away after planting out.
Hope I didnt get a lemon LOL.

Freyr says...
Hi !

If someone has any seeds of native australian citrus, then pass it to me please.

Best Regards !

Brain says...
this reply is probably for Freyr ... who's interested in finger limes. The best idea I can come up with is

http://www.homecitrusgrowers.co.uk/AusNativeCitrus.html

This person is from UK and he's grown a few finger limes there, so being in Austria, it might be easier to get some seeds or cuttings from the UK as it's a shorter geographical distance.

I'm not sure if there are any nurseries willing to send from Australia to Austria, and the freight time of approx 2 weeks will surely not be good for the plant.

Alternatively, you can try to get some seeds on ebay. I don't know if this is a fact but finger lime seeds seems to do a little better than your average citrus seeds, where it needs to be moist to remain viable. From experience, I got 15 seeds and I don't know if they are fresh or how long it's been on a shelf, as they arrived dry as a bone. It took me another 5 days to plant it out (so at least 7-8 days) and the gemination rate is about 40%. So if you get 20 seeds, even at 10% gemination rate, you will end up with a plant or two. Also, gemination may take up to 3 months or more. After a month, I thought all mine are a goner and left it, and surprise surprise, with another 2 month of passing, some geminated. I suspect it needed the right conditions, i.e. I planted in late Autumn and come out in spring. Also, if you managed to geminate some, you really have to baby them. I lost a few to dry conditions and trunk/collar rot. :(

So the key is, get fresh seeds and get them send express and plant right away. Wait and hope!

Also of note, according to researchers, finger lime seeds is monoembryonic, meaning it is not true to type (of its parent).

Good luck.

kegbrewer says...
This thread seems to have been quiet for a while so here goes... Planted my grafted Collette from Daleys 01Mar15 sunny position in the ground and NOTHING happened until a few days ago. Finally some new leaves and stems and a few tiny flowers. There was also a bit of a flourish at the bottom. Judging by the different leaf design it was from the root stock so got removed. Anyway, found a 11 page pdf from NSW Gov which is printable. Although it's directed at farming, there's much there that would explain forum questions from past years, especially from overseas.
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/320272/growing-australian-native-finger-limes.pdf

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Kegbrewer says...
Hi Peter, did mention Collette and that's the only finger lime I have. The only other fruit tree is a ~30 year old Tahitian Lime which is still cropping very well. Tired of the bird battle with peaches and apricots so no longer have. See you have Red Tamarillo. Any finger limes yet?

Brain says...
I also have a Collette and they are extremely slow to get established. But once settled, they do all right - albeit on the slower growth side.

Brain says...
Also note, it took about 3 years to flower, and I have these rice grained size fruit. Which sadly doesn't appear to want to get larger. Also, they prefer the shaded spot.

The finger limes are bit of a mix bag, have another 2 unknown varieties which seems to do ok in full sun, and putting out water sprouts.