We cannot ship citrus to; American Samoa, Arizona, California, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Texas, Virgin Islands as per USDA Regulations. Aromatic kaffir limes (Citrus hystrix), with their glossy foliage and wrinkled fruits, give many Thai, Indonesian and Cambodian dishes their delicious flavor. The young leaves can be finely shredded for salads, while mature leaves are torn or tossed whole into stir fries, curries, soups and more. From zest to juice, and leaves to rinds, kaffirs add a lemony-spicy taste. While it's possible to find fresh kaffir limes or dried leaves for sale, it’s fun to grow your own dwarf tree. These members of the citrus family are sometimes sold as Thai or kieffer limes and known botanically as Citrus hystrix. Dwarf kaffirs, which can grow to 5 feet, will perish in freezing weather. But even if you live where the winters are cold, you can enjoy your tree indoors if you provide the right growing conditions. Kaffirs need 8 to 12 hours of full sun each day. 5 to 6 hours of direct sun a day (a south or southwest window is ideal), and supplement that with full spectrum or fluorescent plant lights will also work. (Plants need regular periods of light and darkness, however, so don’t run the lights all the time.) If your tree is a 1-year-old plant, start it out in a 6- to 9-inch container. Two to 3-year-old trees can go into 12- to 14-inch pots. Use a container with drainage holes, or drill some in the bottom, and choose a potting mix that drains easily. If you can’t find a potting mix made for citrus, use an outdoor mix rather than ordinary garden soil or one formulated for houseplants. Houseplant mixes hold water and keep citrus roots too wet. Some gardeners prefer to make their own mix by combining two parts of cedar shavings to one part compost and one part sand. Give your kaffir lime a spot with good air circulation, but avoid drafts from heating and cooling vents.
