Hello foxslipper, Have no fear. I live in a 7a zone with 6b right down the street almost literally. I grow 3 Duncan Grapefruit trees and are 7' tall (almost). I find you can keep them outside usually until November, although with the exception of 1 night last year when I pulled them in, they stayed out until; December 11th due to the warm winter we had and were out at the begining of April. My grapefruit are fairly hardy and can most likely survive about 20 degrees at night, however since there is no need for that I usually pull them in around 35 degree overnight temps as usually some sort of frost is forming outside even though it's above freezing. Over the winter I keep mine in an Easterly facing window off to the side so they get medium light for the mostpart over the winter and slow down. The only thing I do suggest is give them some sort of bug spraying, like horticultural oil a week or so before you think you will pull them in. Otherwise you may get struck with unforseen bugs that will come in with it during the winter. Mine took scale with them and had a hell of a time during this past winter fighting it. Hope this info helps. VTY -Mark

Looks like you already have new lateral branches growing. Your pot is definitely too small for that tree, which is why it looks as if you are getting salt buildup from fertilizer. Actually, I know little about container growing; and even less about grapefruit; but seedling citrus in general take a LONG time to produce fruit. MANY years ago I was assistant herdsman at the UC Davis Swine herd... used mostly for nutrition studies because the digestive system of a pig is virtually identical to humans. What does this have to do with grapefruit? A pig will eat almost everything, including another pig; but a pig will not eat a grapefruit; so I "reasoned", if a pig won't eat a grapefruit, then John ain't eatin' no grapefruit!! I do grow some Oro Blancos; only because the guy who gave me the buds told me they were Pomelos; I give them all to family and friends.

Oh boy. You are in a rather marginal zone for grapefruits. As you can see. I would prune off all those weird, stubby branches that are dead. Prune back to just before the branch collar (don't prune into the collar, but just past it). Also, prune back any die back until you get to healthy wood. Then, fertilize and let's see if your tree will come back for you. The photos are very hard to see because they're sideways. If you fix the orientation, and re-load so their orientation is correct, sure makes it a lot easier for forum members to get a correct view of your issues. Some of the splitting on the trunk and branches I suspect is frost damage. So, be sure you cover your tree when you have frosts. The big scar that looks like a bite mark may be just that - hard to tell - but it appears to have healed. You should not be having growth flushes in January. When did you fertilize prior to that? In your area, I would not put down any fertilizer after, say, beginning of September. You don't want to encourage any flush during possible frost/freeze times. Don't fertilize in the spring until chances of frost are over. Patty S.

Is that water/mist on the leaves? Just want to make sure it is not honeydew from bugs. If honeydew, you need to wipe it off the leaves and stems with water and soap or rubbing alcohol and spray both the top and bottom of the leaves and stems with Neem Oil or horticultural oil every 7-10 days for several weeks to kill all the bugs and their eggs and babies. The droopy leaves indicate either a lack of enough moisture or the opposite..too much. Do not leave a saucer under the pot. The roots do not like wet feet. Water enough so that water passes through the potting soil and out the bottom holes of the pot to insure that there are no dry spots in the pot. However, empty the saucer so it is not sitting in water or the roots will rot. Scale, aphids, mites, etc. could also cause those droopy leaves. The tree should be in a light, airy potting mix that drains well. Search for "5-1-1 mix" or "Gritty Mix" to learn how to make up a good mix most everyone uses successfully on this forum. Most of the potting mixes you can buy in the store are not good for citrus trees because they are too dense and compact all the necessary air spaces the roots need around them to get oxygen. If you can't find the ingredients to make the mix right away, at least add a good amount (50%) of perlite/sponge rock to one of the commercial mixes to make it more airy. You can buy Repti-bark at a pet store and often cheaper at Amazon.Com to use as "bark fines" for a fine bark that will not needed to be seived through a screen as it is just the right size already. You must soak it overnight though as it takes time for it to absorb enough moisture as it has not broken down at all yet like the "barkfines" would be. The 5-1-1 Mix is much lighter in weight for trees in larger pots but breaks down faster than the gritty mix and requires repotting more often (about every 3 years). To test for moisture insert a wooden stick or pencil halfway down in the pot, and if it comes out dry the tree needs water; if it has crumbles of soil attached to the stick, feels wet or cool, it is wet at the roots and does not need more water. Most people here fertilize with DynaGro's Foliage Pro and supplement it by adding a slow release fertilizer (Osmocote Plus) to the potting mix as a backup for times they don't have enough time to give their plants the liquid Foliage Pro. These two fertilizers contain the macronutients citrus trees need in the correct proportions and also the micronutrients that many fertilizers do not contain. I don't think your plant needs pruning at this time. It would be better to wait until early spring just before new growth starts. Your tree needs lots of light...6 hours of sunlight at least. It is best if you can put it outdoors in summer. Unless you have a very sunny window that gets sun all day long you will need to supplement with grow lights when it is inside. These are the basics you will need to do to have a healthy tree. Come back for answers to additional questions you may have about your tree. Welcome to this forum of enthusiastic citrus lovers.