Citrus > Citrus General Discussion

Winter options? (beginner)

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jeff360:
I'm a beginner citrus tree grower, looking for winter advice for citrus trees in zone 7a. I've had an orange tree for a few years- that goes out for the summer and back in for the winter. It always does poorly indoors though, because I don't have a window with enough sunlight. It has also nearly gotten too large to move indoors, plus I have purchased a few other citrus trees this summer (not enough room indoors for all of them). Trying to brainstorm for winter options- a permanent outdoor greenhouse is not possible. One possibility is moving them into my garage, which would require grow lights and a space heater(?) My wife would still be using her garage spot, so perhaps I might also need to place them inside some sort of enclosure, so they don't get shocked when the garage opens for her? I've seen plastic bubbles for car collectors that might work (?)
The other option might be a temporary greenhouse with a heating element, that could stay on my patio over the winter- I didn't see anything that would fit the bill upon quick googling.

Can anyone offer suggestions for how they would handle this situation. Thank you!

(sorry for the duplicate post, it was suggested I move it here)

Millet:

Would you think inside your garage would get below 32F?  Does the garage have a light?  Many people over winter citrus tree in their garages. 

brian:
Some people overwinter in basements with no light and almost no water, that might be a possibility for you.  I had poor luck trying to overwinter container citrus indoors with lights, but other people been very successful. 

jeff360:
Thanks- the garage could approach 32 degrees during a prolonged cold spell, but a space heater would be easy. Bigger concern (?) might be my wife using her half of the garage, and the brief blasts of cold air that go along with it- possibly solved by putting them inside some sort of cheap temporary greenhouse-type plastic structure? There is also very little (almost none) natural light in the garage - i figured trying to provide more light via grow lights would be the solution? I didn't realize you could try to make them "hibernate" with low light/low water. I assume you get pretty substantial foliage and fruit loss if you're doing it that way, though (not enough time for fruit to mature outdoors before it turns to winter) ...

Thank you!

kumin:
Light needs are correlated to temperature. Low temperatures near 40°F may not need any light.

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