🍋 UF SunLime Finger Lime

Citrus australasica hybrid ‘UF SunLime’
Florida’s own finger lime, bred for big red fruit and an easier harvest.
Sun
Full sun to partial shade
Days to harvest
Grafted trees fruit in 2-3 years; fruit ripens late fall-winter; annual crops in Central Florida
Spacing
8-10 feet apart
Soil pH
6.0-7.0, well-drained
Zones
Zones 9-11 outdoors; container elsewhere

What it looks like

UF SunLime Finger Lime — Citrus australasica, red fruit, whole
Citrus australasica, red fruit, whole — Citrus australasica, the species (no verified photo of 'UF SunLime' itself exists). Photo: Amada44, Public domain.
UF SunLime Finger Lime — Finger lime with juice vesicles and seeds partially extracted
Finger lime with juice vesicles and seeds partially extracted — Citrus australasica, the species (no verified photo of 'UF SunLime' itself exists). Photo: Iifar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
UF SunLime Finger Lime — Finger lime fruit
Finger lime fruit — Citrus australasica, the species (no verified photo of 'UF SunLime' itself exists). Photo: Btcpg, CC0.

Why this variety

Florida’s own finger lime — and the strongest Florida case in this whole family. UF SunLime was released in 2021 by the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center, and unlike the Australian cultivars, whose Florida case rests on species-level work, SunLime was evaluated in Florida itself, from Homestead to Citra, producing annual crops with good color under Central Florida conditions. If you want a finger lime with a Florida report card rather than a Florida inference, this is the one.

The fruit is large and cylindrical, 2.7 to 3.1 inches long, rich red when mature, and the tree is HLB-tolerant — tolerant, not resistant, a distinction that matters, because no citrus variety is HLB-resistant and anyone selling you resistance is selling you something else. SunLime also has a less compact canopy than some finger limes, which makes harvest easier, and anyone who has reached into a thorny, dense finger lime canopy with bare forearms will understand why easier harvest is a feature, not a footnote. It is listed by Florida nurseries, with Florida-only shipping in the listings checked, which is convenient if you are in Florida and a sourcing headache if you are not.

For the species as a whole, see the Finger Lime guide; for the Florida-bred, big, red, easier-to-harvest form, this is your tree.

How to grow

Buy a grafted tree from certified disease-free stock, on a rootstock suited to your site — trifoliate orange is the usual pick where cold hardiness matters, sour orange where it thrives. Plant in the warmest, sunniest, best-drained spot you have, with the graft union above the soil line, and give it room: finger limes are thorny, so site the tree where those spines will not ambush a path, a hose, or a bare leg. A south or southwest exposure with a little reflected warmth from a wall or patio is ideal, and drainage is non-negotiable — citrus roots drown in standing water faster than almost any other fruit tree’s roots.

In Florida, citrus greening (HLB), spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, is the defining challenge for every citrus tree, finger limes included. There is no cure, and no finger lime is HLB-resistant, so start clean, scout new flush for psyllids, and keep the tree vigorous, because a stressed tree declines faster. Container growing works beautifully for finger limes in marginal zones: a big pot on wheels can live outdoors in the warm months and roll under cover for a freeze, which is the honest plan for most of the country outside zones 9 to 11.

Prune lightly — dead wood out, canopy open enough for air and for your hands at harvest, and gloves on, always. Finger lime flowers are small and white to pinkish, fragrant in their quiet way, and the trees are self-fertile, so one tree fruits on its own. Do not expect a seedling to behave like a named cultivar: seedlings vary, take longer to fruit, and may not match the parent at all, which is exactly why you buy the named variety grafted.

Water & feeding

Water deeply, then let the top few inches of soil dry before watering again. Finger lime wants even moisture while fruit swells, but it hates wet feet — soggy roots invite Phytophthora root rot, and a drowned finger lime is a dead finger lime. Young trees need more frequent water through their first dry season, and container trees need it far more often, because a pot in Florida sun dries out with impressive speed. Mulch to hold moisture, keeping the mulch off the trunk itself.

Feed with a citrus fertilizer split across spring and summer rather than dumped in one dose, and watch for micronutrient deficiencies — yellowing between leaf veins often means zinc or manganese, which Florida’s sandy, high-pH pockets love to lock away. Castings help soil life, but they do not replace the citrus feed; use both. Skip fertilizer in late fall, when tender new growth would walk straight into a freeze.

Common problems

  • Citrus greening (HLB) — yellowing, blotchy mottled leaves, lopsided bitter fruit, and slow decline, spread by the Asian citrus psyllid. There is no cure: buy certified disease-free trees, scout for psyllids, keep trees vigorous, and remove confirmed trees so they do not infect neighbors.
  • Asian citrus psyllid — tiny insects on new flush that spread greening. Watch new growth, encourage beneficial insects, and treat flush carefully if psyllids appear.
  • Citrus leafminer — squiggly trails in young leaves. Mostly cosmetic on an established tree; protect new flush on young trees and avoid pushing soft growth with late nitrogen.
  • Scale insects — bumps on stems and leaves that sap vigor and invite sooty mold. Inspect regularly and treat with horticultural oil.
  • Frost damage — finger lime is cold-tender and damaged below freezing. Move pots in before cold weather; in-ground trees in marginal zones need covering, and water before a freeze, since wet soil holds heat better than dry soil.
  • Root rot (Phytophthora) — follows poor drainage and overwatering. Plant high, drain well, and water deeply but infrequently.
  • Thorns — sharp spines up to about an inch long in the leaf axils. Prune with gloves and site thoughtfully; this is a plant that bites back.

Harvest

Pick when the large cylindrical fruit feels full and heavy, is rich red at maturity, and the skin gives slightly; cut and squeeze out the pearls. Taste is the test, and fruit holds on the tree for a while, so harvest as you need it. Use fresh on seafood, salads, desserts, and drinks; pearls lose their pop if cooked hard and keep only briefly refrigerated.

Nerdy fact: HLB tolerance means a tree can live with greening pressure and still crop, not that it is immune — and breeding for tolerance in Florida, where greening is the defining citrus challenge, is arguably more useful than breeding for a perfect fruit that collapses at the first psyllid.

Browse all plant & pest guides

Saving seeds

Florida’s own finger lime — and the strongest Florida case in this whole family. UF SunLime was released in 2021 by the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center, and unlike the Australian cultivars, whose Florida case rests on species-level work, SunLime was evaluated in Florida itself, from Homestead to Citra, producing annual crops with good color under Central Florida conditions. If you want a finger lime with a Florida report card rather than a Florida inference, this is the one. The fruit is large and cylindrical, 2.7 to 3.1 inches long, rich red when mature, and the tree is HLB-tolerant — tolerant, not resistant, a distinction that matters, because no citrus variety is HLB-resistant. Seed will not repeat this named release — finger lime seedlings vary in fruit size, color, and tolerance — so UF SunLime is kept true by grafting: buy a grafted tree from certified disease-free stock, on a rootstock suited to your site, with the graft union above the soil line. The full method is in the Saving seeds section of the Finger Lime guide.