Sunrise Lime

Botanical name: Citrus × ‘Australian Sunrise’ (CSIRO hybrid: fingerlime × calamondin)

Other names: Australian Sunrise lime, Sunrise fingerlime hybrid

A small, tough Aussie citrus that fruits fast and tastes like sweet marmalade straight off the tree. Pear-shaped golden fruit with thin edible skin. Use whole fruit for fresh zing, candied slices, marmalade, chutney and drinks. Compact, fragrant, and handles Perth heat and wind better than most citrus.

Features

• Ideal prune height: 1.5–2.0 m

• pH range: 5.5–6.8 ideal; tolerates to ~7.5 (improve alkaline Perth sands with sulphur + compost)

• Sun: full sun; light afternoon shade in hot, reflected sites

• Minimum pot size year 5: 40–50 L

• Time to fruit: ~2–3 years (grafted)

• Harvest: late winter to spring; can spot-crop again in late summer

• Notable: self-fertile; edible skin; very aromatic; heat and drought tolerant once established; great in pots and hedges

Growing and care

Plant in a sunny, wind-sheltered spot with free-draining soil. In Perth’s alkaline sands, dig in compost, aged manure and a handful of elemental sulphur; mulch 7–10 cm deep. Feed little and often in spring and late summer. Keep evenly moist in heatwaves, then let the top few centimetres dry. Mulch feeds soil microbes; they unlock nitrogen, iron and trace minerals that keep leaves dark green and fruit full-flavoured. Prune after harvest to shape and keep fruiting wood young. Protect soft flush from citrus leafminer with oil films.

Why this plant

Big flavour from a small, hardy tree. Fruits early, handles Perth conditions, and the whole fruit is usable—zero waste, maximum taste. Perfect for pots, courtyards and edible hedges.

Keywords

Sunrise lime, Australian Sunrise lime, Citrus hybrid, fingerlime cross, dwarf citrus Perth, edible hedge, marmalade lime, pot citrus WA, heat tolerant fruit tree, Perth alkaline sand gardening.