Citrus > Cold Hardy Citrus

Ichang lemon is doing well, zone 8a

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SoCal2warm:
Here's a picture of my Ichang lemon (Citrus × wilsonii) growing outside.

It was not covered this winter, but is growing in a more protected location, up against the wall of the house.
Olympia, WA, climate zone 8a

I am pleasantly surprised it has been surviving and appears to be doing as well as it has.
You can see that some of the newer leaves on the exterior tips of the branches, that are smaller, never had a chance to grow much last year before winter came, and are now pale white-yellow-green in color, probably will not survive. But most of the leaves do not look bad and look like they will probably gradually turn a healthier hue of green as temperatures begin to warm up. The plant is about one and a half feet high (46 cm).

I do not think Ichang lemon is really very cold hardy, but surprisingly this plant has been growing acceptably well here. But it is in a very optimal spot, protected from wind.

If you look closely in the picture, in the upper left, you can see an osmanthus plant, which has also kept its leaves throughout the winter. (Osmanthus is related to lilac, but like citrus can also be a little difficult to grow in this climate)

This plant has survived outside through two winters, and the winter before that it survived outside in a container. I do not think it is very cold tolerant but it seems to be able to recover from damage well. But it does not really put on growth until temperatures become very warm.

("Ichang lemon" should not be confused with Ichang papeda. And indeed I had tried planting two small Ichang papeda plants but they were unable to survive outside here)


Here is a picture of my Dunstan Citrumelo just beginning to bud out new little leaflets.



It has kept all its leaves from last year and they all look a very healthy hue of green now. The plant is doing very well and is 83 inches high now (211 cm, almost 7 feet).

Most of the leaves on it are trifoliate, but there's a few regular citrus shaped leaves.

Tom_GA:
I've been growing Ichang lemon for about 25 years in north-central Georgia, officially now Zone 8b but probably barely that. Here, IL seems fairly bullet-proof to at least 15F. Once you go below that, there is a sharp curve downward, and 10F will essentially defoliate the plant, even a large mature tree. However, mine has been through a couple of events like that over the years and has always recovered. I would add that two or more consecutive years at 10F would probably eventually kill it.

Mulberry0126:
Ichang Lemon is such a beautiful tree, one of my favorite with its large, glossy leaves. Our outdoor tree died at the graft point after 66 hours below freezing and a low of 10.1°F. I re-grafted some about 2 feet high on trifoliate orange rootstock, and I will wait until year 2 to subject them to a full Winter again.

Rei:
That's unfortunate. Was it fully exposed to wind?

Tom_GA:

--- Quote from: Mulberry0126 on April 24, 2025, 08:00:21 PM ---Ichang Lemon is such a beautiful tree, one of my favorite with its large, glossy leaves. Our outdoor tree died at the graft point after 66 hours below freezing and a low of 10.1°F. I re-grafted some about 2 feet high on trifoliate orange rootstock, and I will wait until year 2 to subject them to a full Winter again.

--- End quote ---

That's really not very surprising. IL seems to be a lot sturdier on its own roots, but the temps you describe would be a test for a large, established tree.

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