Double lobed leaves with an aroma found in no other citrus, picked fresh year round for Thai and Southeast Asian cooking.
Approximate only. Minimum height important? Confirm with us.
Height guide & disclaimer
Height guide disclaimer: Height ranges are approximate only. As living products, plant heights naturally vary between individual plants, batches, and seasons. No guarantee is given that supplied plants will fall within the stated range. If minimum heights are required, you must confirm current batch heights with Evergreen Trees Direct prior to purchase. Variation in height is normal and is not grounds for return, refund, replacement, or compensation.
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Citrus hystrix, the kaffir lime or makrut lime, is grown for its leaves rather than its fruit. Each leaf is double lobed, one segment above the other, glossy dark green and intensely aromatic when torn. The tree is a thorny evergreen and the fruit is small, dark and deeply knobbled.
Mature size is 2 to 4 metres tall and 2 to 3 metres wide, with moderate growth in warmth. It is frost sensitive and suits subtropical to warm temperate gardens, wanting full sun, humus rich free draining soil and consistent moisture. In cooler areas a north facing wall or a movable pot makes the difference.
It belongs in any garden where Thai and Southeast Asian food is cooked, and it is a standard planting in restaurant kitchen gardens. A single established tree supplies more leaves than a household can use, picked fresh year round. The glossy foliage and neat scale also let it sit as an ornamental in a courtyard.
About Kaffir Lime
Citrus hystrix is a thorny evergreen citrus native to Southeast Asia, also sold as makrut lime. Its distinctive feature is the double lobed leaf, which looks like two leaves joined end to end and carries a citrus aroma unlike anything else. Leaves, not fruit, are the reason it is planted.
They are a staple of Thai, Lao, Cambodian and Indonesian cooking, shredded finely into salads or dropped in whole to flavour curries, soups such as tom yum, and stir fries. The aroma is released by tearing or bruising the leaf. Leaves freeze well, so a single tree covers a year of cooking.
Yes. Makrut lime is the Thai derived name for Citrus hystrix and is increasingly used in preference to the older term. Both names refer to the same plant, so nurseries and recipes using either one are describing identical trees and identical leaves.
It reaches 2 to 4 metres tall and 2 to 3 metres wide, and regular leaf picking naturally keeps it smaller and bushier. Growth is moderate and slows markedly in cool weather. Because harvesting is itself a form of pruning, most trees settle at a comfortable height without any deliberate shaping.
No, it is frost sensitive and cold damages the very foliage you are growing it for. It is reliable outdoors from the Sydney basin northwards and in warm sheltered gardens further south. In Melbourne and Adelaide, plant against a warm wall or keep it in a pot that can be moved under cover for winter.
The fruit is edible but has very little juice and a thick bumpy rind, so it is used mostly as zest in curry pastes rather than squeezed. Do not judge the plant by its fruit. Leaves are the crop, and the knobbly limes are best treated as a curiosity and a source of rind.
Water consistently and never let it dry out badly, mulch the root zone, and feed with citrus fertiliser in early spring and again in midsummer. Pick leaves from all over the tree rather than stripping one branch. Wear gloves for the thorns and watch for citrus leaf miner, which distorts new growth.
| Pot / bag size | Width | Depth |
|---|---|---|
| 30cm Pot | 33cm | 30cm |
| 40cm/45L Pot | 44cm | 41.5cm |
| 50cm Pot / 70L Pot | 55cm | 41.8cm |
| 100L Bag | 50.6cm | 52.8cm |
| 150L Bag | 66cm | 55cm |
| 200L Bag | 71.5cm | 60.5cm |
| 300L Bag | 88cm | 63.8cm |
| 400L Bag | 99cm | 66cm |
| 500L Bag | 122cm | 66cm |
| 750L Bag | 134cm | 69cm |
| 1000L Bag | 146.3cm | 71.5cm |
| 2000L Bag | 176cm | 82.5cm |
General planting reference from our existing size guide. Actual containers can vary by supplier and batch; confirm exact dimensions if required.
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Enter the length of your boundary, then choose how closely you want to plant.
Enter your boundary length to see how many trees you need.
Measure only the boundary you intend to plant—exclude gates and gaps. Spacing is centre to centre. Quantities are rounded up for one row, allowing roughly half the spacing at each end. Site conditions and pruning affect the final hedge.
Citrus hystrix, the kaffir lime or makrut lime, is grown for its leaves rather than its fruit. Each leaf is double lobed, one segment above the other, glossy dark green and intensely aromatic when torn. The tree is a thorny evergreen and the fruit is small, dark and deeply knobbled.
Mature size is 2 to 4 metres tall and 2 to 3 metres wide, with moderate growth in warmth. It is frost sensitive and suits subtropical to warm temperate gardens, wanting full sun, humus rich free draining soil and consistent moisture. In cooler areas a north facing wall or a movable pot makes the difference.
It belongs in any garden where Thai and Southeast Asian food is cooked, and it is a standard planting in restaurant kitchen gardens. A single established tree supplies more leaves than a household can use, picked fresh year round. The glossy foliage and neat scale also let it sit as an ornamental in a courtyard.
About Kaffir Lime
Citrus hystrix is a thorny evergreen citrus native to Southeast Asia, also sold as makrut lime. Its distinctive feature is the double lobed leaf, which looks like two leaves joined end to end and carries a citrus aroma unlike anything else. Leaves, not fruit, are the reason it is planted.
They are a staple of Thai, Lao, Cambodian and Indonesian cooking, shredded finely into salads or dropped in whole to flavour curries, soups such as tom yum, and stir fries. The aroma is released by tearing or bruising the leaf. Leaves freeze well, so a single tree covers a year of cooking.
Yes. Makrut lime is the Thai derived name for Citrus hystrix and is increasingly used in preference to the older term. Both names refer to the same plant, so nurseries and recipes using either one are describing identical trees and identical leaves.
It reaches 2 to 4 metres tall and 2 to 3 metres wide, and regular leaf picking naturally keeps it smaller and bushier. Growth is moderate and slows markedly in cool weather. Because harvesting is itself a form of pruning, most trees settle at a comfortable height without any deliberate shaping.
No, it is frost sensitive and cold damages the very foliage you are growing it for. It is reliable outdoors from the Sydney basin northwards and in warm sheltered gardens further south. In Melbourne and Adelaide, plant against a warm wall or keep it in a pot that can be moved under cover for winter.
The fruit is edible but has very little juice and a thick bumpy rind, so it is used mostly as zest in curry pastes rather than squeezed. Do not judge the plant by its fruit. Leaves are the crop, and the knobbly limes are best treated as a curiosity and a source of rind.
Water consistently and never let it dry out badly, mulch the root zone, and feed with citrus fertiliser in early spring and again in midsummer. Pick leaves from all over the tree rather than stripping one branch. Wear gloves for the thorns and watch for citrus leaf miner, which distorts new growth.
Evergreen (foliage year round)
Citrus hystrix – Kaffir Lime is expected to grow 30cm to 50cm per year in warm conditions.
Citrus hystrix – Kaffir Lime works in an:
Citrus hystrix – Kaffir Lime is an Evergreen (foliage year round) Tree
Mature Height: 2m to 4m
Mature Width: 2m to 3m
Citrus hystrix – Kaffir Lime is expected to grow 30cm to 50cm per year in warm conditions.
Citrus hystrix – Kaffir Lime is expected to grow 30cm to 50cm per year in warm conditions.
They are considered to have a:
Is Citrus hystrix – Kaffir Lime frost tolerant?
Citrus hystrix – Kaffir Lime is Frost Sensitive – May suffer damage from frost, best in frost-free or protected spots.
Citrus hystrix carries small fragrant white flowers through spring and summer, followed by dark knobbly green limes. Flowering is secondary to the foliage, which is the reason the tree is planted, but the blossom is still a useful nectar source for bees.
Does Citrus hystrix – Kaffir Lime flower?
Flowering Period:
Flower Type:
Flower Colour:
White
No
Citrus hystrix – Kaffir Lime is Native to Citrus hystrix is native to tropical Southeast Asia, through Thailand, Laos, Malaysia and Indonesia, where the leaves have been a cooking staple for centuries. It is also widely sold under the Thai derived name makrut lime.
Fragrant spring and summer blossom draws bees, native bees and hoverflies into the garden. The dense thorny canopy is also valuable cover for small birds, giving them a protected place to shelter and forage for insects.
Citrus hystrix – Kaffir Lime will thrive best in:
Citrus hystrix does best in a humus rich, free draining loam at a slightly acidic to neutral pH, with organic matter worked through to hold even moisture. It resents both waterlogging and drying out, so drainage and mulch matter equally. On heavy clay, plant on a raised mound. In pots use a premium citrus mix and repot every three or four years to keep leaf production strong.
Is Citrus hystrix – Kaffir Lime Drought tolerant?
Kaffir lime has only limited drought tolerance and dry stress shows immediately as leaf drop, which costs you the crop. Keep soil evenly moist through the warm months and mulch well. Established trees will ride out short dry spells but should not be left unwatered through a hot summer.
Enquire for current heights
Enquire for current heights
Heights are approximate and vary between individual trees.
We take pride in supplying A+ grade advanced trees. When stock at our farm is not yet ready, we work with our trusted trade suppliers to source the best available trees for your garden.
Trachelospermum jasminoides 'Balls' is Star Jasmine grown and clipped into a dense evergreen sphere. The small glossy leaves sit tight on a woody framework, holding a clean rounded outline year round. White pinwheel flowers open in spring and carry a strong sweet scent right across a courtyard.
Ball specimens hold at about 1 to 1.5 metres tall and wide with light clipping. Full sun to part shade suits them, in any free draining soil. Growth is slow to moderate at 30 to 50 centimetres a year. They handle coastal exposure, light frost and dry spells once the roots are down.
Repeat them along a driveway, either side of an entry, or in pots on a terrace where a formal shape is wanted straight away. They read as structure in a planting scheme without the height of a hedge, and because the form is already trained, a new garden looks settled from the day it goes in.
About Star Jasmine Balls
They are Trachelospermum jasminoides, the common Star Jasmine, grown and clipped into a dense evergreen sphere on a woody framework. Instead of climbing, the plant is trained into a self supporting rounded shape. The foliage is small, glossy and dark green, and the plant carries scented white flowers through spring.
They hold at roughly 1 to 1.5 metres tall and 1 to 1.5 metres wide. Growth is slow to moderate at 30 to 50 centimetres a year, so a light clip once or twice a year keeps the ball tight at whatever size within that range suits the setting.
Full sun to part shade both work. Full sun gives the densest foliage and the heaviest flowering, while part shade produces slightly softer, more open growth and fewer flowers. Avoid deep shade, where the ball thins out and loses its outline. Morning sun with afternoon protection suits hot inland gardens.
Yes, and pots are one of the main uses. A container 50 to 60 centimetres wide with a quality free draining mix will hold a ball for years. Water more often than you would in the ground, especially in summer, and feed in spring and again in late summer. Refresh the mix every few years.
Yes, the foliage is held year round. The glossy dark green leaves take on a bronze tinge in cold weather and green up again in spring, but the plant never goes bare. That is what makes it useful as permanent structure in a scheme, particularly in winter once perennials have died back.
Flowering runs through spring, roughly September to November, and often carries into early summer in warmer districts. The white pinwheel flowers are small but produced in quantity, and the scent is strong on still evenings. Flowering is heaviest on plants in full sun that were not clipped hard just before bud set.
Clip lightly with hedging shears once after flowering and again in late summer if needed, taking only the new growth to keep the outline crisp. Water deeply in dry weather, mulch the base, and feed in early spring. The sap is milky and can irritate skin, so wear gloves when trimming.
Westringia fruticosa, Coastal Rosemary, is an Australian native evergreen shrub from the headlands and dunes of the east coast. It builds a dense rounded bush of fine grey green leaves held in whorls, with small white to pale lilac flowers. Despite the common name it is not the culinary herb.
Mature plants sit at 1.5 to 2 metres tall and 1.5 to 2 metres wide, growing 30 to 60 centimetres a year, and they clip smaller without complaint. Full sun to part shade and sharp drainage are the requirements. Salt wind, sandy soil, drought and light to moderate frost are all handled.
It is a standard on coastal projects, road verges, council garden beds and exposed banks that need erosion cover. Plant 1 to 1.5 metres apart for an informal screen, or 80 centimetres for a clipped hedge. A single plant fills a 40 to 50 centimetre pot on a courtyard or balcony.
About Coastal Rosemary
Westringia fruticosa is an Australian native evergreen shrub from the headlands and dunes of the east coast. It forms a dense rounded bush of fine grey green leaves held in whorls, with small white to pale lilac flowers. Despite the common name it is not culinary rosemary and is not used in cooking.
Mature plants reach 1.5 to 2 metres tall and 1.5 to 2 metres wide. It clips readily to smaller dimensions and is often maintained at around a metre as a hedge or a low mound. Growth is moderate, roughly 30 to 60 centimetres a year, so it holds a trimmed shape well.
It is one of the best shrubs available for exposed coastal work. It grows naturally on sea cliffs and copes with salt laden wind, sand and reflected heat. It is used constantly on beachfront reserves, dune stabilisation projects and seaside gardens where little else holds a tidy shape.
The main flush is spring and summer, roughly September through February, with scattered flowering at other times of the year in mild districts. The flowers are small, white to pale lilac and sit among the foliage rather than above it. Clipped hedges flower less than plants left to grow informally.
Space plants 80 centimetres apart for a tight formal hedge, or 1 to 1.5 metres apart for a dense informal screen. On banks and batters used for erosion cover, 1 metre in a staggered grid gives full ground coverage within about two growing seasons.
Yes. A pot 40 to 50 centimetres wide suits a single plant for a courtyard, entry or balcony. Use a free draining mix, because the roots will not tolerate sitting wet. Container plants need watering more often than those in the ground, plus a light trim to hold their shape.
Trim lightly two or three times a year, taking the soft new growth and avoiding cuts into bare old wood, which reshoots poorly. Water through the first summer, then only in extended dry spells. On most soils it needs no feeding at all, and it resents heavy watering and poor drainage.
Westringia 'Wynyabbie Blue' is a hardy Australian native shrub grown for its lilac blue flowers, which are larger and more freely carried than those of the common white forms. Narrow grey green leaves sit in neat whorls on a dense rounded frame that holds its shape through the year.
Expect 1.5 to 2 metres in height and width at maturity, at 30 to 60 centimetres a year. Full sun brings the heaviest flowering, though part shade is accepted. Drainage matters above everything else, after which it takes salt wind, sandy or gravelly ground, drought and light to moderate frost.
Mass plantings on batters, median strips and coastal frontages are where it earns its keep, and it clips into a low hedge of about a metre without losing its flowering. Plant 1 to 1.5 metres apart for an informal screen. One plant fills a 40 to 50 centimetre pot neatly.
About Wynyabbie Blue Coastal Rosemary
Westringia 'Wynyabbie Blue' is a hardy Australian native shrub grown for its lilac blue flowers, which are larger and more freely carried than those of the common white forms. Narrow grey green leaves sit in neat whorls on a dense rounded frame. It is evergreen and holds its structure all year.
It reaches 1.5 to 2 metres tall and 1.5 to 2 metres wide at maturity, growing 30 to 60 centimetres a year. It clips comfortably to around a metre if you want a lower hedge, and it will hold that height indefinitely given two or three light trims a year.
From spring right through autumn, roughly September to May, with sporadic flowers in winter in mild districts. The lilac blue flowers open in flushes rather than all at once, so there is usually some colour on the plant. Flowering is heaviest in full sun on lean, well drained soil.
Yes. Once the roots are established it needs very little water and copes with extended dry periods, which is why it is used on unirrigated median strips and road verges. Drainage matters more than watering, since the plant will die in soggy ground long before it dies of thirst.
It is. Salt laden wind, sandy soils and reflected heat are all handled, and it is planted routinely on foreshore reserves and beachside gardens. In very exposed frontal positions the plant stays lower and denser than it would inland, which generally suits the situation anyway.
Use 80 centimetres between plants for a clipped formal hedge, or 1 to 1.5 metres for a dense informal screen. For mass planting on banks and median strips, 1 metre in a staggered pattern gives full coverage within about two growing seasons and shades out most weeds.
Trim lightly after each flowering flush, taking soft growth only. Cutting back into bare old wood leaves gaps that will not fill in, so stay on top of it rather than letting it get away. Water through the first summer, then rarely. Avoid rich soils and heavy fertiliser.
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Citrus hystrix, the kaffir lime or makrut lime, is grown for its leaves rather than its fruit. Each leaf is double lobed, one segment above the other, glossy dark green and intensely aromatic when torn. The tree is a thorny evergreen and the fruit is small, dark and deeply knobbled.
Mature size is 2 to 4 metres tall and 2 to 3 metres wide, with moderate growth in warmth. It is frost sensitive and suits subtropical to warm temperate gardens, wanting full sun, humus rich free draining soil and consistent moisture. In cooler areas a north facing wall or a movable pot makes the difference.
It belongs in any garden where Thai and Southeast Asian food is cooked, and it is a standard planting in restaurant kitchen gardens. A single established tree supplies more leaves than a household can use, picked fresh year round. The glossy foliage and neat scale also let it sit as an ornamental in a courtyard.
About Kaffir Lime
Citrus hystrix is a thorny evergreen citrus native to Southeast Asia, also sold as makrut lime. Its distinctive feature is the double lobed leaf, which looks like two leaves joined end to end and carries a citrus aroma unlike anything else. Leaves, not fruit, are the reason it is planted.
They are a staple of Thai, Lao, Cambodian and Indonesian cooking, shredded finely into salads or dropped in whole to flavour curries, soups such as tom yum, and stir fries. The aroma is released by tearing or bruising the leaf. Leaves freeze well, so a single tree covers a year of cooking.
Yes. Makrut lime is the Thai derived name for Citrus hystrix and is increasingly used in preference to the older term. Both names refer to the same plant, so nurseries and recipes using either one are describing identical trees and identical leaves.
It reaches 2 to 4 metres tall and 2 to 3 metres wide, and regular leaf picking naturally keeps it smaller and bushier. Growth is moderate and slows markedly in cool weather. Because harvesting is itself a form of pruning, most trees settle at a comfortable height without any deliberate shaping.
No, it is frost sensitive and cold damages the very foliage you are growing it for. It is reliable outdoors from the Sydney basin northwards and in warm sheltered gardens further south. In Melbourne and Adelaide, plant against a warm wall or keep it in a pot that can be moved under cover for winter.
The fruit is edible but has very little juice and a thick bumpy rind, so it is used mostly as zest in curry pastes rather than squeezed. Do not judge the plant by its fruit. Leaves are the crop, and the knobbly limes are best treated as a curiosity and a source of rind.
Water consistently and never let it dry out badly, mulch the root zone, and feed with citrus fertiliser in early spring and again in midsummer. Pick leaves from all over the tree rather than stripping one branch. Wear gloves for the thorns and watch for citrus leaf miner, which distorts new growth.
