Citrus > Cold Hardy Citrus

citrus varieties in order of cold-hardiness

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SoCal2warm:
This is a list of different citrus in order of how much cold they can handle:

kumquat > mandarin > orange > grapefruit > pomelo

I might write:

orange > lemon > lime

I don't want to put them with grapefruit because there are different grapefruit varieties spanning the range from being as cold-hardy as orange to being as cold-sensitive as lime. Although kieffer limes are about as cold-hardy as orange (probably since they are believed to have some papeda in their ancestry).

Minneola tangelos are probably somewhere between mandarin and orange. Clementines and tangerines span the range between mandarin and orange.

Not only are pomelos the most vulnerable to cold, they also need a lot of heat to ripen. Despite being a pomelo-grapefruit hybrid, Oroblanco is probably one of the cold-hardier grapefruits, being close to orange in cold-hardiness. (Due to its comparatively smaller fruit size and sweetness it is also as easy to ripen as common grapefruits)


Among the extremely cold-hardy citrus varieties:

trifoliate > Ichang papeda > Thomasville citrangequat > common trifoliate hybrids (citrange) > yuzu > taiwanica lemon

There is in general a trade-off between cold-hardiness and edibility.

SoCal2warm:
Cold hardy citrus varieties are considered to be able to grow well in zone 9.
Some of the less common unusually cold hardy citrus can grow in zone 8, though usually they do better in zone 8b than 8a.
Extremely cold hardy citrus hybrids may be able to survive in zone 7 unprotected, although they grow much better with a little protection during the winter. The ones that could survive in zone 7 unprotected are not going to be very edible.
Possibly you may be able to grow fairly acceptable tasting citrus in zone 7b if you create a good microclimate.
No citrus is going to be able to survive outside without a significant amount of protection in zone 6.

Most any citrus grows well in zone 10, although some pomelo varieties (which you don't find these varieties in the U.S. anyway) do not do so well over the winter. Even 'Chandler' experiences some leaf yellowing caused by the winter. After an uncommonly cold winter in the colder part of zone 10, a pomelo tree may not do well for the first half of that season, its growth will be cut back. Pomelos generally cannot be grown in zone 9, although Oroblanco (a Duncan grapefruit x pomelo hybrid) can grow fine in zone 9b

Texas Ruby Red grapefruit can be grown ok in zone 8b. Most American grapefruit varieties prefer zone 9 (or higher), and need some heat to ripen their fruits. (The first grapefruit varieties that were grown sometimes died off in zone 9 after particularly cold winters) Valencia is a great orange variety but needs heat to ripen its fruits to full flavor and sweetness, so it does not taste so good when grown in other parts of the country that don't have hot clear sky Spring and Summers.

Kumquats are a common one that can be grown in zone 8, and there are a few rare Japanese/Chinese citrus varieties that both taste good and do well in zones 9a and 8b. Satsuma mandarins are a fairly common (and great tasting) citrus variety that can handle 8b, a fact many people are not aware of. It's pretty unusual for such a common citrus variety to have so much cold hardiness.

Ilya11:
I wonder if it is from your own experience?
The hardiness of citrus hybrids is a very complex thing, it depends on the vegetative state of plants when exposed to the cold, its  duration , absence or presence of sun light, humidity, rootstock etc.
Citruses are reacting to these factors strikingly differentially,  your description of their cold tolerance is rather misleading.
From my experience classical white colored grapefruits are more hardy than oranges. Thomasville is less hardy than citrumelos and many citranges. Ichang papeda is breaking dormancy very rapidly and can be killed by sudden frost when Yuzu is unaffected.
I have some pomelo seedlings that survived when similiar age grapefruits were completely destroyed.

Millet:
Hardiness of some cold hardy citrus varieties

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold-hardy_citrus

DFWCitrus:
What is published on the internet is not necessarily accurate and somewhat based on urban legends. My Arctic Frosts Satsumas which are supposed to tolerate 10oF are no more cold tolerant than my other Satsumas.

In my experience there is a loose relationship between vigorous growing citrus under moderate conditions and cold hardiness. For example, my Trifoliata seedlings are outgrowing the other citrus varieties with Rio Red Grapefruit also very vigorous. They have a better ability to bounce back and recover.  A thicker, stouter tree will likely have more cold tolerance during freezing events. Of course this does not hold true for some types.

There needs to be a formal field comparison of cold hardiness to know for sure.

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