Kaffir Lime
As low as
$54.95
Availability:
In stock
SKU
7214
Dwarf Lime with Delicious Fruit
Kaffir Lime, Citrus hystrix 'Kaffir', is a dwarf, fruit tree that produces highly prized citrus fruit. It thrives in potted environments, so would do well on your front porch or patio. The Kaffir Lime is also know as Kieffer Lime. Bring your tree indoors near a sunny window, and its intoxicating citrus scent will brighten your home during cold winter days.
As a patio plant or indoor houseplant, your Kaffir Lime is sure to bring a taste of the tropics to your home.
Your Kaffir Lime is a lovely little tree, with double-lobed, dark green leaves that catch the sun with their glossy sheen. The small, green limes produced by your Kaffir have a bumpy exterior, an attractive addition to an already exotic appearance.
Kaffir Lime is certainly a beautiful tree, but it is most sought-after for the exceptional fruit it produces. Both the leaves and fruit are highly aromatic with the lime itself possessing a fresh, tangy taste that is often said to be a one-of-a-kind lime flavor.
The fruit, leaves, zest, and juice are critical to a variety of culinary dishes, including Thai, Cambodian, and Indonesian cooking. Even the leaves are an essential ingredient for flavoring many dishes, and parts of the Kaffir are sometimes used for medicinal and insecticidal purposes.
It can be grown outdoors year-round in zones 9-10, but is best suited for indoors. It prefers a sunny window and moist soil.
Kaffir Lime trees are a popular item. Order now before they sell out and enjoy the benefits of growing your own citrus fruit.
- Grows Well in Containers Indoors
- Aromatic features
- Dwarf citrus tree
Buying Options for Plants
Nature Hills sells a large variety of plants with several options available. Plants are offered in both potted containers and as dormant bare root without soil. Here is a helpful resource to understand your options as you create a beautiful landscape with help from Nature Hills.
Ever wonder what a larger plant will mean for your landscape? Container Sizes are really all about the age of the plant!
Seasonally, Nature Hills offers hand selected, high quality bare root trees, shrubs and perennials. Bare root plants are sold by height from the top of the root system to the top of the plant. Plants may be taller than the height minimums.
- Popular sizes of select trees are 1 foot, 2 feet, 3 feet, etc.
- Popular sizes of select bare root plants is 1 foot, 18 inches, etc.
Nature Hills Container Size by Volume
Young Plants to 18 Months | ||
---|---|---|
Size | Volume | |
2"x2"x3" | Ranges from | .18 to .21 dry quarts / .198 to .23 dry liters in volume |
4.5" Container | Equal to | .655 dry quart / .72 dry liter in volume |
3.5" Container | Equal to | .67 dry quart / .74 dry liter in volume |
4" Container | Equal to | .87 dry quart / .96 dry liter in volume |
1 Quart | Equal to | 1 dry quart / 1.1 dry liter in volume |
5.5" Container | Equal to | 1.89 of a dry quart / 2.08 dry liters in volume |
4"x4"x5" | Ranges from | .8 to 1.1 dry quarts / .88 to 1.2 dry liters in volume |
4"x4"x6" | Ranges from | 1.0 to 1.3 dry quarts / 1.1 to 1.41 dry liters in volume |
4"x4"x9" | Ranges from | 1.1 to 2.1 dry quarts / 1.2 to 2.3 dry liters in volume |
4"x4"x10" | Ranges from | 1.7 to 2.3 dry quart / 1.87 to 2.53 dry liters in volume |
Plants 18 Months - 2.5 Years Old | ||
---|---|---|
Size | Volume | |
2 Quart | Equal to | 2 dry quarts / 2.2 dry liters in volume |
#1 Container | Ranges from | 2.26 to 3.73 dry quarts / 2.49 to 4.11 dry liters in volume |
5"x5"x12" | Equal to | 3.5 to 4.3 dry quarts / 3.85 to 4.74 dry liters in volume |
Plants 2 - 4 Years Old | ||
---|---|---|
Size | Volume | |
#2 Container | Ranges from | 1.19 to 1.76 dry gallons / 5.24 to 7.75 dry liters in volume |
#3 Container | Ranges from | 2.32 to 2.76 dry gallons / 10.22 to 12.16 dry liters in volume |
Plants 3 - 5 Years Old | ||
---|---|---|
Size | Volume | |
#5 Container | Ranges from | 2.92 to 4.62 dry gallons / 12.86 to 20.35 dry liters in volume |
#7 Container | Ranges from | 5.98 to 6.08 dry gallons / 26.34 to 26.78 dry liters in volume |
About Plant Sentry™
Plant Sentry is designed to protect both consumers and the nursery trade from invasive plant pests and diseases. Sites that display the Plant Sentry protection badge are protected from consumers buying and nurseries shipping material carrying invasive pests and diseases.
This proprietary eCommerce software prevents the shipment of a restricted plant to each state. The Plant Sentry system includes a shipment certification program. The Plant Sentry Compliance Officer works closely with NatureHills.com and each nursery or fulfillment center to ensure only compliant plants are sold to customers.
click Here to learn more

Shipping
To obtain a more accurate shipment time-frame, simply enter your zip code in the “Find Your Growing Zone” box to the right. Our plants are grown all over the country and lead time on items may be different because of this. Once your order is placed, you will also receive the specific shipment time-frame information as part of your order confirmation. Once an item ships, you will receive shipment notification and tracking numbers, so you can follow along while your plant travels to your doorstep.
Due to winter weather we have put a hold on shipping to the areas shown below in grey. You can still order now
and we will ship the plant to you during an appropriate time for your zone.
*If you have found your zone already, the table above will highlight your zone.
Color | Zone | Times |
---|---|---|
3 | Spring 2019 | |
4 | Spring 2019 | |
5 | Spring 2019 | |
6 | Spring 2019 | |
7 | Spring 2019 | |
8 | Now | |
9 | Now | |
10 | Now | |
11 | Now |

Shipping Rates
At Nature Hills we handle, package and ship the products you order with the utmost care to ensure healthy delivery. Shipping and handling charges are calculated based on the tables below. Please note that some items include an additional handling surcharge, these will be noted on the item's product page.
From | To | S&H | |
---|---|---|---|
0 | - | 19.99 | 14.95 |
20 | - | 49.99 | 17.95 |
50 | - | 69.99 | 19.95 |
70 | - | 99.99 | 24.95 |
100 | - | 129.99 | 29.95 |
130 | - | 130+ | Approx 25% |
Click here to see our full rates
Delicious Kaffir Lime Sparks Controversy
The Kaffir Lime has a long history of varied usages, from perfume, to shampoo, to insecticides, and as a key ingredient in many countries' culinary preparations. Still, with its long-appreciated history, its name remains controversial to this day.
The Kaffir Lime is known by many other names and spellings. Kafir lime, Caffre lime, Kieffer lime, Makrut, Magodo, or simply Thai lime. Noteworthy is the fact that the name Kaffir is a terribly offensive word in many parts of the Middle East and Africa.
Citrus hystrix was first named Kaffir in 1824 by Augustin Pyramus Candolle, a renown Swiss botanist, who at the time headed the University of Montpellier in the southeast of France.
Candolle received seed from the famous Garden of Mauritius, an island off the coast of Madagascar. The plants from which the seeds originated from were thought to be from Thailand or Sri Lanka, where an ethnic group known as the Kaffirs lived.
The name, it is said, originates from an Indian Arabic term that conveys otherness and exotic provenance. The origins of the name continue to rage in horticultural circles.
The Kieffer (alternative spelling) Lime, as some have chosen to call it, now represents an important part of Thai, Indonesian, Chinese, Philippine, and Vietnamize cooking. The leaves are the primary part used in many dishes. They can be fresh, dried or frozen. The powerful essence from the rind is also used for many applications as well. In Creole cooking, the zest is infused into rum to add flavor.
For the chef, growing the Kieffer lime tree may be the best alternative to trying to buy the leaves and or fruit. Both can be quite difficult to find and can be quite expensive. The trees are easy to grow and are widely adapted.
PLANT HIGHLIGHTS

Growing Zones 8-10 (Patio 4-11)
Brand | Nature Hills Nursery |
---|---|
Botanical Name | Citrus 'Kaffir' |
Foliage | Green |
Mature Height | 7 - 10 feet |
Mature Spread | 2 - 3 feet |
Soil Type | Widely Adaptable |
Sun Exposure | Full Sun |
Fruiting Time | 1 - 2 years |