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.
