Has anyone used an indoor grow tent to overwinter citrus?
Chad Wismer
3 years ago
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tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
3 years ago
Chad Wismer
3 years agoRelated Discussions
Overwinter citrus in garage
Comments (16)meyermike, last year I moved the trees onto the porch (full sun for 1/3 the day, part shade for the rest) for about two weeks as the weather cooled off before moving them into the house. Is there anything else I should do? It is what I did in previous years (with the same window and the same soil), and they were fine those years. We will see how the Meyer does this year alone in front of that window -- hopefully it will be sufficient light for one tree! trianglejohn, I am definitely worried about the "torture of being in a dark, cold garage" (well put!). I have a feeling that in a few years I will be in the same situation as you were, and I will have to build a greenhouse for a more permanent home for the trees. I really can't leave the door open during the day, especially when I am not at home. I was hoping the grow tent with its reflective interior would help the plants get more out of the grow lights, since I can't place bulbs near to all the leaves. poncirusguy, I would definitely use a basement if I had one! Much less worry about temperature. Alas, I do not -- they are relatively uncommon in this part of the world. Thanks to everyone for their advice and suggestions!...See MoreMiracle Grow Cactus Citrus Potting Mix - Anyone use this??
Comments (21)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...See Moreoverwintering citrus in ny
Comments (4)The bugs sound like mealy bugs. If you spray rubbing alcohol all over the plant including uder the leaves and in the forks of the branches then do it again 3 days later, you'll have a lot fewer. They thrive when the plant is unhealthy because of drought or poor light. Don't get a lot of alcohol in the soil and do it when the plants are well watered. The halogen lights produce a lot of heat and were unsuccessful here, but possibly because I wasn't home to provide the extra water necessitated by the heat. Understand that you'll get lots of tiny fruits and a lot will drop off. The mealy bugs love the base of the fruit and flowers so spray that area well. Pollinating the flowers will cause an increase in seeds without an increase in fruit set in some citrus varieties. It looks like the plant is pretty happy now and like most wont be able to support all those fruit to ripeness. That's why a lot fall off. Since you have more flowers than you'll get ripe fruit, there's no reason to try to increase fruit set by polination....See MoreRe:Anyone growing citrus in PNW
Comments (32)Two citrus trees: Clementine x Yuzu hybrid (so-called "Ten Degree Tangerine") Satsuma x Changsha hybrid mandarin planted it out in March, when it was full of foliage and beginning to fruit, but the temperatures were too prolonged cool/cold that early in the year and it died back and all the leaves fell off, except for one lone leaf coming out of the bottom. It has now begun to push out a little bit of growth from the bottom, although most of the branches are dead. probably wasn't a good idea to move it outside right as it was fruiting, or should have waited another month or two. Olympia, WA consider that that's actually just a tiny bit further north in latitude than Duluth, Minnesota, or even Quebec City, Canada. As you can see in the pictures, these are both in the ground (havn't actually gone through the Winter yet, but I have a Satsuma in a plastic sheet enclosure and a very small Yuzu that did make it through the Winter, altgough it was a very mild Winter in the PNW this year. The PNW climate is pretty different from Southeast, where many other people are experimenting with cold-hardy citrus. There are extreme long stretches of cold/cool temperatures throughout half the year, but the tiny amount of freeze we do get rarely gets very cold. The cool marine influence leads to a very stable climate, no storms to bring in freezing cold air. Of course it's a pretty short growing season for citrus. I'd say the temperatures don't really begin warming up to what citrus needs untl mid-May or June (although it stays warm till around September, not that cold in October either). I've read some reports around here that people have managed to keep Meyer Lemons alive outside in the ground in a warm spot, typically south side against the wall of a house with lots of sun and wind protection, although they suffer a lot of damage in the winter. The two (rare) varieties shown in those pictures have more cold hardiness than Meyer Lemon....See Moretropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
3 years ago
poncirusguy6b452xx
3 years agomy grow tent
% gallon bucket with daylight CFL 13 watts to deliver warmth and light to the selected area of the tree to grow.
6 shoots growing under light in side of warm bucket.
Fukushu kumquat on C35 gets side lights as well as a top trashcan light that holds heat.
Steve
Chad Wismer
3 years agoponcirusguy6b452xx
3 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
3 years agoMeyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
3 years agosocalnolympia
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
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tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)