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David E. Ross · 06-02-2008, 02:30 AM posted to rec.gardens

On 2/5/2008 2:45 PM, wrote:
I do not know too much about my Lime trees because they were planted
by a previous owner. However, I have 2 of them. My tree in the front
made lots of Limes this year. My tree in the backyard didn't make any
Limes, however it produced one orange. An orange. Probably
originating from the orange trees in some of my neighbor's yards. We
live in Florida. I ate the orange, it was really very tasty. But what
happened to all of the Limes? I don't get it. We did have some frost
this year and I had some plants that died. But why would the lime tree
still be able to produce an orange? Maybe someone can help me with
this Lime tree. Thanks.

If the tree in back really was a lime, it might have been grafted to
orange root stock. Then, if growth above the graft point died, only the
root stock remained alive to produce new growth (oranges in this case).
That is the second most likely explanation.

The first most likely explanation was suggested by Hare-Scott. You had
only one lime tree. If your neighbors have orange trees, it's possible
a seed from one of their fruits sprouted in your yard.

What definitely did not happen is that pollen from a neighbor's tree
caused the lime tree to produce an orange. Even when there is
cross-pollination, the fruit always reflects the plant on which it
grows. The results of cross-pollination appear only in plants grown
from the resulting seeds.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/