Does anyone leave their potted citrus out in these temps? 40's

12 years ago

I was curious.

Does anyone ever leave their potted plants out in temps that average the high 30's to 40's? How do your trees fare in these conditions if so?

Right now we can't seem to break out of this cold weather pattern, I knew it after a nice warm winter, and I was wondering if they would be ok?

I don't care anymore if the leaves lighten up, or even fall off. I just don't want them to die in temps that cold. I would love to just throw them all out there as long as the temps don't dip below the freeze line as I do my Figs and other dormant plants that don't seem to mind the cold at all, and call it a day.

Oh I am pretty sure they will look that nice rich green color, but at this point, who cares, as long as they green up as temps start to average a lot higher.

I am tired of them being so cooped up and treating for pest week after week.

Thank you everyone.

Mike:-)

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Comments (9)

Andrew Scott
12 years ago
Hey "Meyer Mike", how are ya buddy?

I knoe not too many people here will probobly believe me but my keylime can handle 40 degree nights with NO DAMAGE! This tree has proven to be one of, if not THE most tolerant of cool temps. I was told at my local greenhouse that they wouldn't carry keylime. This was a few years ago, but now they are bringing them in.

I wonder if it's grafted on a specific root stock if it is more cold hardy? I have seen them for sale as rooted cuttings also. Mine is grafted, and again, I know I need to post pics of it. It has the most impressive trunk. I exposed those little feeder roots, and they are now pretty thick. I should make it a bonsai, if I knew how to train and prune it!

Andrew
fabaceae_native
12 years ago
Mine always experience low 40's/high 30's before I bring them in in the fall, and sometimes after I've put them out in the spring. Even a light frost for a short period should not be a major issue, especially if you don't might a bit of leaf damage...

Even very tender garden seedlings (chile, tomato, eggplant, etc.) can sometimes make it through high 20's if they are well watered. Once I left some out in a tray with some extra water in it, and the next morning the water in the tray was frozen solid, but the seedlings were fine. I think the temp that night got down to 27 or so...
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I too wish I lived further south, heck, even southern Illinois, a lovely area, all seasons..it's a zone up from my locatioin..z6. Kev, standards do well in pots. What size will you start with? As long as you don't overpot..overpotting equals more soil, more soil equals, too much water, and you know what happens when a plant is overwatered, unless it's a bog plant.. :) I agree about keeping citrus outdoors all night..If you suspect freezing temps, then perhaps it's best bringing indoors..no, not perhaps, if it drops down to 32F, I'd definately bring inside. Even established trees, grown in-ground, need roots cover when temps dip 32 and lower..which would be considerably harder on potted plants w/so=so space.. Oh I can't wait till citrus go outside..most plants..bet they can't either..Toni
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To the zone 6 grower in Massachusetts. I commented earlier regarding temps. I'm in the Twin Cities historically a zone 4 but which is now a zone 5. A reclassification not that many years ago. The seasons are basically the same as they've always been; winters vary from year to year and summers do as well but any variation doesn't change too much with respect to Citrus in Minnesota. The Sun will still be at the same angles at the same times of the year regardless of anything else. While we suffer those short winter days, the flip side of long summer afternoons and evenings, especially around the solstice where it stays light until 9:30 or 9:45 maybe. Those endless summer days in the north produce more lumens for growth then you might imagine. It's just a party that's over by Labor Day or there abouts. I've grown Citrus for years where I didn't use any indoor lighting and the trees do fine once inside; they just go semi dormant or segue into a slow growth phase depending on how so you bring down the mercury. Currently, I cultivate my Citrus with flowering and fruiting in mind and if I wasn't using a HID lamp to augment the ambient light, it would be difficult to either get Citrus to flower indoors or to continue the process of fruit maturation if the tree had already blossomed and set fruit during the spring or summer. I would say Massachusetts is not as cold in the winter as Minnesota but cold enough and more damp. You probably get more heat then we do in the summer. I'm guessing maybe you are able to leave your trees out a little later than here in Minnesota and perhaps can put out a little bit earlier in the spring. If you are having any issues with your trees during those indoor months, (without knowing anything specific about their indoor growing conditions), just go for a high intensity discharge lamp and that will probably cure whatever ails you as long as you have a good airflow and are able to keep temps in the 60's. If you want any plant to thrive in the low light and short days of a North American climate, continental or maritime, particularly a plant like Citrus or bananas (which require lumens upon lumens), supplement any ambient light through windows with Either an HPS or metal halide spectrum bulb. The equipment is cheaper and more modern in the technological sense than ever. And regardless of anything else if you sit under an HID lamp for 30 minutes a day and you live in a northern climate in the US you won't suffer any drop off in hormone levels and the winter blues will be non existent. Some people have bigger issues with the short days than other people with respect to Energy and mental outlook. My attitude is make your plants happy between the months of October but particularly between November and the beginning of March. And make yourself happy at the same time. Winters are far easier to endure thanks to my 1000 watt metal halide converter bulb. Even if you're growing citrus strains that don't require the big time heat during the outdoor months, you're still going to more easily achieve continuing growth, flowering and fruiting ( with manual pollination) if you are using an HPS or a metal halide grow system to supplement. Ive had frustrating years with inadequate light. Even south-facing giant windows in Minnesota require some help. Even the greenhouses in the area whether theyre private or commercial still use giant hid ballasts to crank out Lumens. It's virtually impossible to give plants too much light this far north even with the greenhouse. After all despite any weather variations, the Suns low angle here never changes date specific.
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How often should i water it during the winter months? It came planted in free draining soil. Should i just water when the leaves start to droop? Also it recently started to flower again. One bloom is not a very small fruit and there are a few buds that are still swelling and have yet to open. Do you think it will hold on to the fruit while inside for the winter? here is a pic of it when i first got it back in early April. It is still in the same pot but it has grew a little. Also when i was at a garden center this past weekend, they had the same kind of trees in the same pots but the trunks were much thicker that mine so i dont think i will worry about repotting for a while!
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I think I get the dormancy thingy..lol The same plants will drop their leaves and sense the time to do so when shorter days approach along with longer cold nights. In spring, they sense it's time to grow with nights getting shorter although they are subjected to the same cold temps but continue to grow, even in pots. Still though, they can not handle frost once leaves are in the works.+ I was afraid they would react poorly to cooler temps as they do in the fall, but I get it that spring is an entirely different experience for them)) Thanks a bunch Al and if I am wrong, let me know. I feel much safer exposing them to cold temps as long as it's not frost or freezing ones now that they are actively growing. P.s..I expose citrus on my cold porch to temps in the 40's all winter and they do well, so I figure why not figs? Mike
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greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
12 years ago
I left my citrus out in November and December, and they experienced several weeks of freezing.
When the temperature began to drop below 30ÃÂ°F, however, the leaves lost their shine and some of
the thinnest branch-tips turned black. That was when I moved the citrus into the cold-frame.

In the Spring, my citrus experience brief overnight lows of 30ÃÂ°F, but they tolerate this much
better since the sun is stronger and the weather is part of a warming trend.

I would not subject my citrus to months of wet, cold weather, though. That wouldn't be wise.
Also...just because this winter was warm - or if you had some early warm temps - don't make the
mistake of thinking that you'll always be able to put your trees out this early.

Josh
Andrew Scott
12 years ago
Hey Josh,
Your so right for saying that people shouldn't think that they can put plants out early just because of an early spring!

For me, each spring is diffrent. It usually isn't this early, but then again, they were only out for a few weeks. Now that I have well over 100 potted tropicals, I just have to decide if I want to move all those pots in and out all spring!

I also found that my citrus could handle a light frost. Like I mention in my post a few weeks back, I left 2 mango trees, and 5 citrus outdoors...that morning, I noticed frost on the grass. I had about a 30 sec. panic attack! I flew out the door, and I could all ready see the damage. The citrus didn't suffer at all. The buds, and flowers didn't drop, in fact, only 2 new branches were damaged. The temps that morning was around 30 degrees.

I am having trouble right now because I didn't repot my citrus and the poor roots have been exposed to the wet wood shavings. I am hoping to have them repotted in a few days. Only my 'kishu' looks bad, but right now all that has happened is leaf drop. My 600 watt HPS dried the soil out in about 4 days...that's pretty bad.

Andrew
mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
12 years ago
Hey guys. I have no problem leaving mine out in the 40's. Our lows have been in the 50's for weeks now so mine are pretty much out for g ood. Mike I would say that as long as it warms up during the dayand isn't rainy I wouldn't think twice about it.

Mike
houstontexas123
12 years ago
in the fall, once we get sustained temps in the low 40's i bring them under the porch. if its right around 31-34 degrees i cover them up. prolonged sub 32' i bring them inside.
greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
12 years ago
Howdy, everyone! Thanks, Andrew ;-)

You hit on a key point when you mentioned that you hadn't re-potted your citrus....
Citrus in well-aerated mixes, as you know, are less likely to suffer from the damaging
effects of cold + wet roots. I did an out-of-season re-pot on my variegated Pink Lemon
because I was worried about it spending another Winter in that sandy/peaty nursery mix.
That Pink Lemon is much more sensitive to cold than my Moro, that's for sure!

Josh
mandarin1
12 years ago
I've never left them out in temps below 50, only because I didn't know you could? I'm struggling with a different issue, because due to dumb luck or using Organicide (sp?) for the first time, had no bugs all winter. Now I don't want to put the mandarin ouside at all!
Gardener972
12 years ago
Depends on the citrus. My Satsuma went through 3 days in a row of below freezing temps winter before last. The low was about 19 degrees. I thought for sure it was a gonner but I only lost one small branch and some of the ends of small branches. I pruned it way back and it came out nicely.

Does anyone leave their potted citrus out in these temps? 40's

Comments (9)

Andrew Scott

fabaceae_native

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