Bill, the lime tree, comes inside each winter. Most years, he serves double duty as Christmas Tree and air freshener. This year my folks gifted us with a noble fir from their neck o’ the woods and Bill was off the hook.
He spends his winter days dropping leaves and making buds. I don’t know enough about lime trees to know if this is normal behavior or not, but it’s worked for him these past years. He’s a Persian Lime, so his fruit is less tart than some varieties, larger than store limes, and on occasion it is sweet enough to simply eat. Usually we relish his hard work by adding it to drinks (fresh juice, sparkling water) or squeezing it atop Pad Thai or grilled chicken.
He is still working on one final lime from the fall season, and has gone bananas (or would it be limes?) getting ready for this year.
Each flower bud starts ever so shy and tiny and then swells like a popcorn kernel. Before bursting forth into a five-pointed snowy star, a single droplet of nectar forms to attract any willing pollinators.
The nectar shines in the sunlight with hope and promise.
Although with no pollinators in the house, I’m not sure it’s a necessary function for harvest as he has already set a few dozen limes and more buds are breaking.
What, if anything, do you bring indoors for the winter months?
plumdirt 
I brought Kale, Swiss Chard, Scented Geranium, Lemon Verbena + banana tree int his year. I just have become lazier over the year with house plants. I take my time in the winter to rest…..It would be neat to have a citrus fruit tree, but we just get too cold here in zone 5.
I name my plants, too….use to have an umbrella tree I called Monica many years ago-lol. Funny how we name them, but you do develop a relationship with your plant pals:-)
I used to take over the front entry with plants coming inside. This year the rest of the fair weather friends (avocados and succulents) have to make do with quick trips to the dark garage.
Does the banana tree grow bananas? We had banana bushes once that smelled marvelously but weren’t meant to grow fruit.
lol..I don’t know:-) in zone 5 they hardly get much time in the ground, but you never know in a warmer climate/it is just its name:-) Here is some info on it, it is pretty in the summer..
http://msucares.com/news/print/sgnews/sg03/sg030630.html
Thanks!
I love the Yearly Adventures of Bill…
I don’t bring anything inside. They just die on me anyway… 😉
Permanent house plants die on me as well. DH has a palm thing in the bathroom he cares for (successfully.) Anything I’ve tried has either died or gone outside to attempt recovery.
It’s rather like the Ghost of Christmas past at my house. The only thing I regularly bring in are poinsettias from years gone by. I don’t have the space any longer to temporarily bring in the 5 ficus trees, so I got a pop-up green house that works pretty well.
I saw that greenhouse of yours in a post and found myself turning green 😉
I’m green with envy at your being able to have a lime tree year round. 🙂
We’ve been eyeing a lemon or a kumquat next, we’ll have to see!
I love Bill. Whoa, so how big do the limes get?
Satsuma-sized, maybe slightly bigger? They’re also rounder.
Dang, that’s awesome!
We love our Meyer lemon, “Lemony Sunshine” too! My kids are working on a story about her right now, her behaviour sounds very similar to Bill, too bad they can’t meet!! We hand pollinate the blossoms that pop when she comes inside using one of my daughters paint brushes, works like a charm.
I bet that’ll be a wonderful story!