Citrus > Cold Hardy Citrus

Can citrus survive winter without sunlight?

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Perplexed:
Question. Cause I have some citrus seedlings germinated around March and I might put them under a tree in total shade so they don't receive any winter sun. Thoughts?

SoCal2warm:
Citrus does not need any sunlight to survive if the temperature is kept constantly below about 45 F.
Mature plants can survive through several months of dormancy like that.

Very small seedlings are different matter. I think it is unlikely they would survive.

But that depends very much on what your climate is and where you live.

Sun or shade might not make any difference if your small seedlings cannot survive the temperatures outside.

Your post and question is very confusing, for multiple reasons. Are you in the Southern hemisphere? What time of year are you talking about when you say "winter"? Telling where you are might help.

Sorry, but I'm not going to risk wasting effort to try answering your question without more detail, since the answer depends on several details.

Millet:
Sunlight, at least 6 hours per day is very beneficial to the growth of young seedlings.  The less sunlight, the less photosynthates,  which is the plants food source. 

Perplexed:
SoCal, hows the question confusing? Seems pretty direct. But I'm in the North Hemisphere in GA zone 8 10.0 minimum.

Thanks, Millet. Will keep that in mind.

SoCal2warm:

--- Quote from: Perplexed on June 27, 2021, 09:52:10 PM ---SoCal, hows the question confusing? Seems pretty direct.

--- End quote ---
Did you mean you were thinking about putting them in shade during winter, which is 5 months from now?

It's hard to say. Where you are, putting them in shade might protect them from temporary warm spells and coming out of dormancy.
I doubt the small seedlings will be able to survive the cold in a zone 8 winter. Might depend which variety they are and how close to the house they are, and how much they are blocked from exposure to wind, as well as how much growth they manage to put on between now and then.

I don't think the light itself will be beneficial to them at all during this period when there will be times of cold and frost, but sunlight also has heat effects.

Citrus that has entered dormancy does not really grow and I don't think carries out photosynthesis or can use light. It needs to enter dormancy or it will be vulnerable to cold damage.

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