The Tropical Fruit Forum

I grew up in south central FL on gulf coast just below Tampa, and tried growing crabapples and dogwoods and red buds and Bradford pear, but they always died. They would not go dormant in "winter" there and the trees became stressed and out of balance with their natural cycle. They also didn't bloom well or at all since they couldn't get their annual chilling hours required to set flower buds. They all died. The only flowering temperate tree I saw there, and only saw one specimen, was a native Chickasaw plum tree in Bradenton, in full bloom in December. Chestnuts natural range in this continent is from Vermont down to northern FL. That Chestnut Hills Nursery is in Alachua county near Gainesville I believe, and the climate there is much colder in winter than Bradenton; I've lived there too. All the trees I mentioned earlier grow well in Gainesville but die in Bradenton after a year or so in the ground. That's why I moved to NC so I can grow beautiful flowering trees without worrying about chilling hours. I can pump heat to a covered "cold hardy citrus" here, but can't put a crabapple tree in the freezer.

I have what I believe to be a hybrid aucuparia that was grown from wild-gathered seed by a nurseryman here in the Appalachian mtns of NC. It blooms heavily and fruits every year. It seems to be fireblight free and is actually less needy of care and spraying than my apple trees. I have many seedlings.

My Thomasville from last month; I'll take current pic and post later.

Why is nobody posting anything to cold-hardy citrus forum? Did everybody's citrus die out the past two winters?

The heaters come on when temperatures get to about 34 degrees and cuts off at 45 degrees; that's how "Thermo cube" works. Look up thermo cube online.  You don't set the temp on it. The cube lets electricity flow when temp gets near freezing. People use them in pump houses to keep pipes from freezing.

I use No Float cedar mulch as a top dressing for all my outdoor plants to keep weeds and grass from growing up close to trees and plants. My trees are planted in soil. It rains frequently in NC, and once established, I don't have to water anything much here.

Yes. I did. It was neat to see the changsha a and Ichang lemons 20 feet tall and unprotected in open field grove in Tifton GA. Changshas loaded with fruit.

Is your plant grown from seed or cutting or grafted? A seedling will need to grow tall before it blooms. Changsha fruit is small and full of seeds but supposed to be good. You can see photos of the fruit on internet. I lost a grafted changsha on FD two years ago d/t cold even with protection, but my seedling survived last winter with two nights of 0 degrees F and below freezing all of January inside plastic dome with small desk-type space heater plugged into a "thermo cube" to regulate temperature and a large plastic barrel of water against tree. 

Sorry. I thought the extension agent was Tom also. Interesting to know that the stuff you didn't protect the second time took damage even in Montgomery. Thanks for the perspective.

I protect my citrus from severe cold with plastic covers on/off and space heaters as needed in winter. If I'm trying to keep them dormant so they are cold hardy, how can the fruit continue to develope? I know there are early varieties, but my owari and Kimbrough fruit are still small and green as grass. My Star grapefruit did not ripen until late January last winter.

I keep seeing posts from Croatia; it must not get very cold there?

I had some FD seedlings in pots outside this winter thinking they would be in invincible to cold like they were the year before, but think they are dead. Their siblings that were in ground are fine.