You should look into going to the Southeast Citrus Expo sometime. Google it. They have a lot of hardy varieties on display and at the end you can taste and collect seeds. Talk to the growers. They also sell plants depending on where it is legal to do so. Where do you live?

I'm near Atlanta, GA. The expo looks very interesting, but I can't take time away from my three young kids to attend. (And I don't think they'd have the patience to attend it themselves.)

I hear you! I went to the Expo once before i was married. It was really fascinating. But I made a few connections and had some kind folks ship some fruit up here, so that a number of us could taste them. I liked the Citrangequats and the Karaji mandarins of all that was shipped. Lemandarins were also interesting! I think in zone 7B you can't be too picky about what tastes good. LOL!

If you can make it to the State Botanical Gardens in Athens (zone 8a) you just might be able to try Thomasville Citrangequat this time of year. I was very impressed with the tree they have there when I visited a few summers back. It was nice and mature, loaded with the green fruit at the time.

TC always gets singled out for good flavor, and it is apparently very productive. Also, the unripe fruits are said to make good lime substitutes, which is especially important since they might not ripen fully before your coldest temps hit.

In USDA 7b (if real) you can try Satsuma....just planting it in the south-wall of house you zone becomes 8a......you should protect it the first 2-3 winters, but when adult it can withstand 15° F or even less....alternatively you can buy a Poncirus's Hybrid, one of the best if Citrangenquat ("Thomasville")....it should resist 5°F when adult...it makes fruits that can be used as lemon when unripe and as orange when ripen.

The botanical gardens in Savannah also have a large citrangequat there...

Satsuma is really the only "good-tasting" variety that can be grown in zone 8a. It will not thrive the best there, but it can be grown. Protecting it with a heavy covering of mulch during the winter will definitely help, and a young tree definitely needs to be kept in a pot and brought inside during the winter the first few years until it becomes bigger.

You might want to look into trying to create a warmer microclimate. I mean like planting it against a south-facing brick wall. Something else I have read of is using a big pile of freshly decaying compost, which naturally gives off some heat.

Two other types of citrus that do well in colder climates are kumquats and yuzu.

i can't seem to send a private message from my phone, so I'll have to try from a computer later.

Mulling it over more, though, maybe that special microclimate by my south-facing brick wall should be reserved for something that isn't cheap in every supermarket.

Theloud, do you have keraji? I tried to pm you but don't know how in here. I live in Smyrna (in Atlanta metro).