Key lime tree in a pot

I have a key lime tree in a 14 inch pot and it's doing very well. But I assume it needs a bigger pot to get big enough to produce fruit. My question is how big? I just put it in the 14 inch pot this past spring and after I did that it grew atleast a foot. It seems very very healthy. I don't know what kind it is. Somebody gave it to me at a RU.

I am sure that your question will raise several opinions but this has been my experience with container citrus. It really is not the size of the container that your lime can be planted into but rather how was the tree gradually transplanted from container to container as it grew. The biggest mistake is jumping to too large a pot. Over sized containers easily become waterlogged, and then the plant suffers from lack of air. If the tree doesn’t grow fast enough then the container soil can become sour, water logged and contaminated with soluble salts. If the growth of the tree exceeds the container size then the roots become deformed from compaction from an earlier container and will stay deformed no matter how big a container you go to. You will get a feel for this as you examine the roots while repotting.
Citrus need containers from 15-25 gallons for most of us but I have seen them grow in much larger containers. A local nursery has a huge 15 year old orange tree growing in a 150 gallon container. The tree is at least 12 feet tall with a trunk diameter approximately 8 inches. This container tree is set up to be moved around with a fork lift truck.
Oldude

Thanks Oldude for your answer. It was very helpful. This key lime was in a 6 inch pot for atleast a couple of years. DH finally helped me repot it about a month ago. It was very root bound. But the fact that it's grown atleast a foot since then I hope means that the roots are healthy still. Can I keep it in this pot until I see roots coming out the bottom or do I have to take it out of the pot to see the roots? It sounds like when I do repot I need to go just 2 inches bigger?

I am an organic gardener partly because of the salt build up problem with synthetic fertilizers. Since this is the only citrus tree I have, I don't know much about them so I am wondering if I need a different fertilizer for it. Also do you know anything about companion planting for citrus?

My container citrus are grown in (coconut husk chips) CHC and peat. It’s just about impossible to over water when grown in CHC ,and it will last about 4 to 5 years. I also use vigoro citrus and avocado fertilizer because it has micro nutrients.
I have not done companion planting but I read somewhere that guava and citrus make good companions.
Oldude

Hmmm. Interesting. I have seen coconut husk chips in nurseries, but never used them. What else grows in them?

I guess I need to do some research on guava. I know nothing about them either.