The Tropical Fruit Forum
Citrus => Cold Hardy Citrus => Topic started by: Desertcitrus on April 30, 2019, 06:20:04 PM
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I want to know what experience people have had with planting in the ground in zone 8b desert areas or if you know what I can plant. There is a plant nursery down the street that has a huge naval orange in their unheated green house. There is also talk of a Meyer lemon unattended on the side of an apartment building 15 min from here. Same usda zone but their temps are about 2-3 degrees warm. Same place my friend has her 10 yr old Meyer and bearss lime in pots that she covers with plastic in the winter on her front porch and this was the first year that either of them have lost any leaves. What citrus can I plant and keep alive with covering with blankets and plastic. Or I have thought about making a mini green house to go over The tree that will cover the top sides and front because the tree will up against the house next to our gas fireplace vent on the southeast side of the house. I don’t want the cost of a space heater. Also how old should the tree be when I plant it? I have been thinking of a Washington navel, limequat, Meyer lemon, bearss lime (less cold hardy) , kumquat, clementine , satsuma mandarine and oro blanco (also less cold hardy).
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Citrus taiwanica might be able to handle heat (if kept well watered). Changsha mandarin can handle drought. Neither is very good eating quality.
Duncan grapefruit is said to be very cold hardy, and grapefruits can handle some higher temperatures. The young plant is still going to need to be kept shaded though, in the heat.
Bloomsweet grapefruit may have more hardiness but slightly lower eating quality.
Australian lime can handle desert conditions, might be the best option.
Orange Frost/Arctic Frost are other options, they're hybrids between Changsha and Satsuma. Still are probably going to need shade or planted close to other trees to provide some shade.
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I want things that are good to eat. It will get shade in the afternoon from the house. Will any of the other variety’s I want survive without using something electric to keep them warm?
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I should add most the temps are 100 to 105 but there is usually a week where it can Hoover around 108-110.
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Any citrus tree that is good eating quality will, at the least, need a lot of care and consideration in those climate conditions.
Especially the first few years.
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From your list only early satsumas something like Xie Shan, Early St Ann have a chance to survive and gave edible fruits in these extreme climate conditions.
Kumquats potentially can also survive, but their fruits would be damaged by winter frosts.
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Thank you, I’m going to wait a year or 2 and then plant my orange tree and make a mini greenhouse to cover it in th winter that will also go over our gas fire vent that we hardly use.