Speaking of stands my fig tree is too tall for its east facing window so I prop it up at a 60 angle so that the leaves are in the window and get a head blast of sunlight as the sun rises in the morning. I then shift it to a south facing window around noon to catch the south sun. through a south Window. That way the fig tree shares the light with the much small kumquat trees in the window sill. This might be an option for you.. As of this writing though all of my plant are out side all day but I still have to bring them in at night to keep the roots at a good growing temperature. Good luck

Thanks for the responses guys. I mentioned I didn't think it was the water or fertilizing, but it certainly could be. Again, I'm a rookie and that was just my guess. Feel free to correct me - you all know much more than me so you're not going to hurt my feelings ;) My soil moisture test is pretty basic - I stick my finger in the soil about an inch down and if it feels completely dry I water it. I dump enough to submerge the rootball before it all soaks in. With this method I end up watering it every 2-3 days. Not very scientific I know but it seemed to be sufficient. The pot has some gravel in the bottom so drainage is pretty good. When I moved it outside we did get a couple pretty rainy nights so it probably did get a bunch of water those 2-3 days. Perhaps that is also a factor. I had assumed 2 or 3 overwaterings wouldn't be that bad given that it has pretty good drainage. I'm going to google the 'dowel method' now. Thanks for the tip. As for fertilizer I have to admit I only added it once at the end of the winter and it was some generic Miracle Grow plant fertilizer, nothing special for citrus trees. Go easy on me guys. I figured a generic fertilizer applied sparingly would either help or at worst no hurt too much. I'm going to order some citrus fertilizer soon. If the leaves are just falling off to make way for new ones I should see some newer, tiny leaves coming in right? It must seem like I have no idea what I'm doing... which is probably true it large part. I read some stuff when I got the tree and followed some simple rules. For a year the tree did so well I was convinced key lime trees were so robust you didn't have to do much at all. Clearly I was wrong.

I have one that came from Lowes, probably 4 years ago. I had never protected it in the winter until last year,(2 nights of 24*). This past freeze I moved it close to the house in a sheltered area and it still looks the same as it did three weeks ago, loaded with fruit and still blooming. One of my few bright spots. It was 21* four nights in a row here. So if I were you, I wouldn't give up on it. My experience with other frozen citrus is that it may take 2 months or more to start putting out new growth. Be careful not to overwater. john

I put a lot of whipped cream on my pie - I use 1-1/4 cups heavy cream plus 1 tbsp confectioner's sugar. If I do not have confectioner's sugar, I use 1 tbsp regular sugar plus 1/2 tsp cornstarch. The confectioner's sugar has cornstarch in it, which is why it helps the cream. Before whipping the cream, I store the bowl and beaters in the freezer for at least an hour, and I store the cream in the freezer for about 20 minutes before whipping it. Cold utensils and cream allow you to whip it stiffer without making it into butter. Mine keeps for several days refrigerated. I do not use Key limes to make lime pie, since I have a Bearss lime tree in my back yard (which has lots of limes right now), and I actually prefer the Bearss limes to Key limes, as they are seedless and larger. I also prefer whipped cream to meringue, but on a lemon chiffon pie, I use meringue. I always use what I like rather than what is traditional. Also, I use an 8" pie pan, if I have one - my recipe will not fill a 9" pan, but I use that if it is all I have. The recipe uses a can of sweetened condensed milk, and the cans are smaller now than they used to be. I also always make a graham cracker crust. I should probably make one of these pies, since I have so many limes now and need to use more of them.