Author Topic: Any cold hardy citrus?  (Read 1244 times)

PitangatubaMoray

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Any cold hardy citrus?
« on: August 22, 2020, 04:45:03 PM »
Out of curiosity, is there any kind of (edible) citrus that can withstand the temperatures of 6a?(US)

brian

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Re: Any cold hardy citrus?
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2020, 05:37:22 PM »
Depends on your definition of “edible” :)

In my opinion, no.  Build a greenhouse and go wild.  Or keep trees in containers and bring inside over winter.

Citradia

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Re: Any cold hardy citrus?
« Reply #2 on: August 22, 2020, 07:04:49 PM »
Nope. Even poncirus hybrids will freeze to death there unless protected.

Walt

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Re: Any cold hardy citrus?
« Reply #3 on: August 26, 2020, 12:41:04 PM »
I'm in Zone 6, very near zone 5.  I have had several Ponciris trees outside in the ground for about 7 years, with new ones added most years since then.
I started with seeds from 2 trees which are seedlings brought from Korea maybe 50 years ago.  The owner isn't sure of the year.  I have used this source and other sources for later planting.  Those second generation from Korea seed have generally survived.  It seems to depend on how bad the first winter is.  If they make it through the first winter, they'll mostly be OK later.
Precocious seedlings from Laaz all died.  They were smaller than most going into the winter.  I'll be trying again before I blame the seed.
A seedling from oikostreecrops.com died for me during the same year seedlings from Laaz's seeds died.  The mother trees for oikostreecrops are growing in Michigan, so I think they might have survived here if they had been grown better before planting out.
I do get twig dieback most years.

Millet

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Re: Any cold hardy citrus?
« Reply #4 on: August 26, 2020, 01:18:12 PM »
Walt, nice post---lot of good information.

kumin

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Re: Any cold hardy citrus?
« Reply #5 on: August 26, 2020, 01:22:51 PM »
A few decades ago I planted several hundred Poncirus seedlings in open, cultivated soil that was tilled during the summer. 100 % of these froze out in the 1st winter. I attributed the mortality to freeze/thaw cycling. I've grown many Poncirus seedlings since and haven't lost many, if any. My thinking is that naturally consolidating soil with a mulch cover, even if it's only black poly film helps to protect against the soil freezing and thawing damage. there may have been other factors at play, but in late April the bark had freeze damage to the point of sloughing off of the lower stems. Additionally, the trees were no longer anchored in the newly thawed soil, easily pulling out by hand. It appears the combination of repeated honeycombing, (freezing followed by thawing soil) was lethal to the seedlings.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2020, 01:24:49 PM by kumin »

Millet

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Re: Any cold hardy citrus?
« Reply #6 on: August 26, 2020, 02:54:13 PM »
kumin, that's also good information.  Your post goes along with information supplied by HardyVermont.  I planted a FD next to a south facing wall in zone 5 (Colorado).  It died on the first freeze.  HardyVermont recommended planting a FD on the north side of the building where the ground remains frozen all winter.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2020, 02:59:34 PM by Millet »

Vlad

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Re: Any cold hardy citrus?
« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2020, 10:22:29 PM »
Boston is in zone 6a. Does the Arnold Arboretum in Boston still have a Poncirus?

hardyvermont

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Re: Any cold hardy citrus?
« Reply #8 on: August 27, 2020, 01:26:35 PM »
Boston is in zone 6a. Does the Arnold Arboretum in Boston still have a Poncirus?

A couple older trees were still growing well last time I was there, about 5 years ago.  They were growing in the shade.  One of them apparently is more deciduous than the other.

Citradia

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Re: Any cold hardy citrus?
« Reply #9 on: August 27, 2020, 07:09:17 PM »
I saw a 5 ft tall Flying Dragon in ground outside of a restaurant in Indianapolis.