Indoors has been a bit of a challenge for me so far - the only place it has worked out is my kitchen bay window in front of the sink. No heating ducts and higher humidity and cooler at night. Outdoors is preferred with some cold frame use for higher summer heat. I have been at it for almost a year now. more to come this year! gregn
I grow in a large greenhouse, that was originally build to grow starts (seedling plants) for our farm, that were then transplanted into the fields using a mechanical transplant machine. Some years ago we converted the entire farm over to growing Hard Red Winter Wheat. At that time I converted the greenhouse into my citrus "grove" greenhouse. I currently grow 75 different citrus varieties. 72 in containers and 3 in the ground. The greenhouse is located in Colorado USA at an elevation of 5,440 ft. (1658 Meters). - Millet
Just starting as an outdoor citrus grower. I planted a Meyer lemon up against the southwest wall of our house 2 weeks ago. I've also put in a weather station in the back of the house to allow me to monitor the temperature, as I'm in a marginal growing area. Technically I'm in Zone 8b (USDA), but my house is at sea level and 100 yards from the Pacific Ocean. I've been here 10 years and the temperature on my back deck has yet to go below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. We have not had a temperature below 25 degrees F over the past 2 winters according to my max/min thermometer, and we only had about 10 or 15 days/nights of frost last winter. My back garden gets full sun and is wind protected. I think it's likely a Zone 9a or b micro-climate where I planted the lemon tree, but I expect I'll have to cover it for 5 or 6 nights each winter. It's at the top of a gentle slope down the side of the house and gets good drainage I'd be interested in advice from any other forum members who have had experience growing citrus trees in a marginal climate.
LeapFrog, I have 7 varieties of citrus, - all in the ground. I also have some in planters. This is the first full year in the ground so we will have to see how it goes. All my citrus is considered 'hardy' types except for two.- my Meyer lemons (4) and a Oro Blanco grapefruit. I am also trying to get some other early Satsumas. Good luck and let me know how it goes. Greg
Well my Meyer Lemon has been in the ground for about a month now and it's looking really happy. Lots of new growth starting, and tons of blossoms. Here are a couple of pictures of it, and one of my Trachycarpus fortunei. And that's a 3 year old Musa Basjoo in the background of one of the pictures.
Looking good, leapfrog. The concrete wall behind the tree probably helps in giving it that little extra bit of heat. It'll likely make a difference in the winter.
Thanks, Junglekeeper, I'm a little nervous about the winter. At least till it's had a few years to climatize. What do you think about a mini greenhouse like the one in the link below (plant house #2 I was thinking), for those half dozen or so nights of significant frost in this location (20 to 28 degrees F)? http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/flowerhouse-plant.shtml
I don't grow citrus outdoors and so have no practical experience to draw from. However a covered structure does sound reasonable and is in fact suggested in some literature. A string of conventional (not LED) Christmas lights inside the covering will also provide a little extra bit of heat. I think one has to be careful with a tent-like covering to make sure there's sufficient ventilation to allow heat to escape during those sunny winter days. Another idea is to use a covering of hay as insulation around the base of the tree.
Yes ! Leapfrog it is looking good. My Meyers are just in the bud stage right now and the early saint anne satsumas are nearing the end of the bloom with very little manderins starting to form! All my plants are small - like yours. There is a guy in Chilliwack, who was featured in a local newspaper article who has a mature lemon tree that produces 300 lemons a season. ( I dont know the variety...) You should stop by Fruit Trees and More run by Bob and Verna Duncan - @724 Wain Road in Sidney. Those guys have forgotten more than i know! They are THE experts. They have tried allot of sub tropicals - Avocados, hybrid citrus, satsumas, grapefruit (where i got my oro blanco), Guava, pomegranates.... I like those little cold frames on the link! The prices are reasonable too. I bought a couple of "tomato greenhouses" from Canadian Tire - they were $39 each. You can check them out on their web site. My Musa Basjoos range from 24" to 15 feet. I will try and get some pictures to post. Greg
Thanks for the advice Junglekeeper and Greg. Junglekeeper: Yes I had read somewhere on this forum about using Xmas lights for some additional heat, and the mini greenhouse has a porthole for a power cord. There is also a door that is supposed to permit ventilation. Even though the mirco climate zone where my tree is located is in USDA Zone 9a (min. temp 20 to 25 degrees F), which is the same as central Florida, there is a significant difference. When we get a cold spell in the winter it isn't just cold overnight. It can stay in the 25 to 30 degree range for a few days and nights. We don't have the daytime warming that sub tropical climates get because we are so far north. So this means that the radiant heat during the day, even with full sun, would not create the same day time warming problems on sunny winter days. Having said that, I would think that I would take the cover off the tree during daylight hours as long as there wasn't a significant wind chill. I wouldn't even use the mini greenhouse for most of the winter as typical winter weather here is rainy and in the mid to high 30's overnight, 40's during the day. Greg: I think the reason my Meyer lemon flowers are already in full bloom is that I just bought it a month ago and it had probably wintered in a heated greenhouse. I will definitely look up Bob and Verna Duncan. I have an Italian Honey Fig (Ficus lattarulla) that loves this climate, but avacados and pomegranates would be a challenge!
I have 2 satsumas ( Brown's Select), 1 mandarin (Ponkin), 1 Kumquat, and 1 Lemon (Lisbon) all growing outdoors. I have not had to cover these in the past few winters here in Pensacola, FL. Although we have had a few frost, temperature is rarely below the upper 20's.
100% outdoors. I have smallish Key-type limes, Bearss and Meyer Lemons, Citrus variegata, and Satsumas. I'm at 1 degree south latitude and roughly 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) above sea level.
Yeah, like I need a bigger workload! :D It would be useful, though - a lot of citrus related questions come through here.
Got an Improved Meyers & an Eureka lemon. Both in greenhouse (the Eureka just was moved outside with the nice stretch of sunny weather in Burnaby). Will be moved into an attached Sun room for the winter probably.
My citrus is still growing - mostly outside and some in the ground. My Meyer lemons (two of them in the ground) are now over 7 foot tall bushes and have outgrown their winter enclosure. My trifoliate orange , which is very easy to grow here, is also about 6 feet tall and sent out blooms for the first time this spring. The flowers fell of before fruit set. A Harvey lemon is just starting to bloom now - to bad its too late in the year. In order to be successful to grow citrus here in a climate like Vancouver, you pretty much need a cold frame (to increase heat and humidity) and winter protection to have success. I am hopeful that some trifoliate hybrids, once mature, will take our winters with little or no protection Greg
Just picked up a couple of Calamansi trees from Tiny Tom's Tangerine Farm this weekend. They're looking great and one is big (4' tall) and the other smaller (2'). Both will be kept in the sunroom this winter.
hello everyone, I've been combing the old posts and you guys are an inspiration. I've decided to try somewhere between 4-6 citrus varieties here in Richmond. I'm looking for hardy, but taste overrules almost everything. I'm also lazy, so I don't want to be carting these things around, a cover and old christmas lights will have to do. I was thinking of Meyer Lemon Bearss Line Croxton Grapefruit Juanita Tangerine I would also like an orange or maybe a mandarin. Any input would be appreciated. David
Satsuma mandarins are fairly hardy if memory serves - they'd have to be babied until they were established, but after that should be relatively maintenance-free. Oranges are harder - they like the heat, and anything that tastes halfway decent won't be hardy enough for the treatment you're describing.
Hi Lorax, Thanks for your reply, I had given up on this thread! So far I've managed to find a mandarin, bearr's Lime, Myer's lemon and a weeping naval orange. They are potted up and put in a nice sunny hot location. I'm still looking for a blood orange and a grapefruit but I"m waiting to hear from someone who just went down for a buying trip. Way too early to tell if my plan/scheme is going to work. The plants are on "flying dragon" rootstock so they won't be getting very big. I may just have the oomph to put them in the greenhouse this winter. David