Spanish Lime, Quenepa (Melicoccus bijugatus)
Quenepa trees have the potential to take your tropical fruit orchard to new heights. Quenepa (Melicoccus bijugatus), Spanish Lime, Genep or Mamoncillo is a close relative of the Lychee and Longan. This gentle giant can grow to a larger-than-life height, but can be pruned and maintained for container growth. Quenepa fruits grow in clusters with lime green rinds. People from Colombia, Venezuela, French Guiana, and Surinam may remember the Quenepa with a fond familiarity.
Quenepa will feel most at home in deep, calcareous soils, but is heat loving and adaptable to any suitably warm and sunny climates. Harvest the clustered, green fruits of Quenepa in late summer. Cracking open the Quenepa rinds will reward you with an orangey, glistening oasis, quenching your thirst when you need it most.
Plant Type:
Tropical/Subtropical Fruit Tree
Harvest Season:
Summer, Fall
Flowers bloom in mid-late spring, bearing fruit mid-summer through fall. There is no color change when the fruit are ripe. Tasting is the most reliable method of identifying ripeness. The fruit are more tart than sweet when not ripe. The rind becomes somewhat more brittle when ripe.
Mature Size:
Typically grown and maintained up to 6-12 ft tall with a canopy spread of up to 4 ft. Can grow up to 40 ft in native landscape or if allowed.
Soil & Moisture:
Rich well-draining soil with lots of water, especially during hotter months.
Light Requirements:
Full Sun, Part Shade
Self-Fertile:
Yes and No. A few cultivars are self-fruitful. However with seedlings, both male and female trees are usually needed and even self-fruitful cultivars do better with a second male nearby. At this stage in the plants growth, there is no way to tell the gender, so we recommend getting multiple plants for the best chances of future fruit!
Growth Rate:
Medium, Slow
Zone Hardiness:
Outdoors 9-12 with frost protection until established; Patio/Greenhouse 4+
Young trees are hardy only to 32°F. Cold hardiness gradually improves with age, and very old trees may withstand 20°F, although small branches and leaves will be killed.
Propagation:
Our Spanish Lime is grown from seed and capable to fruit in about 5 years.
