I've heard that if a baby ostrich doesn't hatch out of the eggs fast enough after it starts to break the shell then the shell will harden and the baby won't be able to et out and will eventually die.. I wonder if that happens with chickens, too?? When my baby ducks were hatching I peeled off just a little of the eggs where their head was to encourage them to try to get out. They all 12 hatched out ok and were healthy. What color is your little guy, what kind is he? Genny...

Like I said in my previous post, I don't know why outdoors would be different. I know about WLD from previous experience, and from knowing a lot of people who grow citrus commercially and have been growing them for dozens of years. Leaf activity, eg photosynthesis, reduces the colder it gets. So if it is cold outside, roots won't function, leaves won't function...it is essentially dormant. Perhaps this is why WLD does not occur outdoors. As stated, I don't have the reasons, I just know from experience the roots do not function below 55.4F. Whether or not you choose to believe this is your choice. A link to any site would not be suitable, to prove for or against, but if you want to know more, do a google search for winter leaf drop with citrus and read peoples experiences. From there, whatever you choose to believe is entirely your prerogative. Best way to know for yourself is to experiment, Buy a citrus, sit it in a cold south facing room (below 12.5C but above 5C) and see what happens. I keep all of mine indoors from September onwards when it starts getting cold, and I have a lot of foliage growth and blooms. I have quite a bit of fruit on the go too. I have only had to deal with one scale problem, an isolated incident that was managed after one oil application.

There is no way for us to tell you why your tree died. Perhaps someone knowledgeable might be able to come up with some hints by visiting and inspecting the site and attempting something of a tree 'autopsy' on the premises. There are several diseases of citrus which are systemic to the tree and might not be symptomatic to the foliage. RoundUp typically need to be sprayed on the foliage in order to do damage, but can harm young woody plants if applied to the trunk. Mature trees should be fine.

Had you hardened off the plant and do you intend to harden off your other plants? It really is a good idea. I'm in a zone 5 as well and won't be putting out plants until the end of May. If you put that plant in the ground on one day, covered it with a milk jug that night and found it dead the next day, I think it's probably b'c the ground was cold, perhaps the plant wasn't hardened off, humidity could have built up inside the milk jug and cold and moisture can lead to wilting of plants. I've had that happen before but as long as the night temps weren't that close to even frost I'm not sure I understand why it would die as opposed to just the foliage wilting. Carolyn