Cold Hardy Citrus Experiment Zone7A NJ

[Nick C]

Been testing out a few cold hardy hybrids and varieties in my zone 7A NJ climate. Looks like the coldest nights have passed and here are the results so far.

Citremon 2 years in ground under hoop house




The rest have been in ground since the summer and only protected on the coldest stretches

Changsha tangerine(?) purchased from ediblelandscaping looks like shit but is still green




Swingle citrumelo looks good




Morton citrange is a little beat up but should bounce back with no problem

[vnomonee]

nice! are any of them grafted or on their own roots?

I have a taitri, citrumelo, yuzu, poncirus+, and a prague chimera outside but I don't protect them.
All on their own roots except the prague and poncirus+ are on trifoliate. I also have a morton in a pot, not sure if I will plant it out yet.

Yuzu did the worst this year took a lot of damage from 7f. Everything else is fine without damage only defoliation but already have new buds.



Citrumelo:




Taitri:




Prague chimera:


Poncirus+:




Yuzu hasn't put out leaf buds yet: 

[Nick C]

nice! are any of them grafted or on their own roots?

I have a taitri, citrumelo, yuzu, poncirus+, and a prague chimera outside but I don't protect them.
All on their own roots except the prague and poncirus+ are on trifoliate. I also have a morton in a pot, not sure if I will plant it out yet.

Yuzu did the worst this year took a lot of damage from 7f. Everything else is fine without damage only defoliation but already have new buds.



Citrumelo:




Taitri:




Prague chimera:


Poncirus+:




Yuzu hasn't put out leaf buds yet: 

Looking good. I believe everything is on its own roots. I also have an in-ground yuzu tucked away in my hoop house I forgot to take pictures of. Unfazed by this winter.

[tedburn]

Hi, how are your citrus coming back, any interesting updates ?
Regards Frank

[Nick C]

After last year the changsha and morton bounced back this past summer but definitely got cooked over the recent freeze in my area with lows of 6F

Left the citrumelo unprotected this year and looks like its doing alright.




Yuzu and citremon under hoop house look good

[tedburn]

Thanks Nick, very interesting. Means cooked dead or do you think they recover ? Do you have pictures of the changsha and Morton ?

[Nick C]

Thanks Nick, very interesting. Means cooked dead or do you think they recover ? Do you have pictures of the changsha and Morton ?

I don't have high expectations of them being alive come the spring. They barely bounced back from last winter. I'll take some pics this week.

[Nick C]

Been a while since I updated this but most trees are still alive and kicking. The changsha and citrange are long gone.

Yuzu in ground hit around 7' this year and had to be pruned back to fit in hoophouse




Xie Shan produced around 5 fruits and is still going strong





Citremon is taking off under protection and citrumelo is doing fine completely unprotected

[Nick C]

Spring updates

Yuzu going strong




Xie Shan flushing new growth and flowering




Citremon is getting huge






Just put an Augusta hardy grapefruit in the ground as well to see how it does

[tedburn]

Very nice to see, how the experiment turns to success.
Is the xie shan also in ground ? If yes astonishing that it took 7 ° F.

[Nick C]

Very nice to see, how the experiment turns to success.
Is the xie shan also in ground ? If yes astonishing that it took 7 ° F.

Yes, all of these are in ground but get protection in the winter

[poncirsguy]

I did a cold hardiness test on my very large inground seed grown Fukushu kumquat.  are lows reached 5F,6F,1F,4F.  the results.

[Nick C]

I did a cold hardiness test on my very large inground seed grown Fukushu kumquat.  are lows reached 5F,6F,1F,4F.  the results.

Any protection?

[sheaper]

Doesn’t look like much protection

[Mulberry0126]

Citremon in zone 7a is exciting, even with protection. Do you know the lowest temperatures it has withstood? I grafted Citremon on trifoliate rootstock to plant out in the field this year. It's growing nicely but I know it is probably one of the more sensitive trifoliate hybrids given it's lemon parentage.

[Nick C]

Citremon in zone 7a is exciting, even with protection. Do you know the lowest temperatures it has withstood? I grafted Citremon on trifoliate rootstock to plant out in the field this year. It's growing nicely but I know it is probably one of the more sensitive trifoliate hybrids given it's lemon parentage.

I'd say mid-single digits

[Nick C]

Citrumelo after 2 years of no protection

[Wahl]

What kind of Citrumelo is it?

[Nick C]

What kind of Citrumelo is it?

Swingle

[Skandiberg]

Been a while since I updated this but most trees are still alive and kicking. The changsha and citrange are long gone.

Yuzu in ground hit around 7' this year and had to be pruned back to fit in hoophouse




Xie Shan produced around 5 fruits and is still going strong





Citremon is taking off under protection and citrumelo is doing fine completely unprotected

Wow, that is great. Congrats! Xie Shan surviving at 7F really is something, protection or not. You are boosting my highest hopes about it. I am also going to get one.

If you don't mind my asking: how old is it? And were the fruits any good? And when did you pick them? As far as I know, the first crops of mandarins often tend to be of poor quality, and they show their real potential in their later years. It would be interesting to know how Xie Shan behaves in that regard, given that it is among the best tasting of all Satsumas.

Thanks!

[mikkel]

Citremon is taking off under protection and citrumelo is doing fine completely unprotected

is that the same citremon as stan has?

[Nick C]

Citremon is taking off under protection and citrumelo is doing fine completely unprotected

is that the same citremon as stan has?

That picture is of the xie Shan

[Nick C]

Been a while since I updated this but most trees are still alive and kicking. The changsha and citrange are long gone.

Yuzu in ground hit around 7' this year and had to be pruned back to fit in hoophouse




Xie Shan produced around 5 fruits and is still going strong





Citremon is taking off under protection and citrumelo is doing fine completely unprotected

Wow, that is great. Congrats! Xie Shan surviving at 7F really is something, protection or not. You are boosting my highest hopes about it. I am also going to get one.

If you don't mind my asking: how old is it? And were the fruits any good? And when did you pick them? As far as I know, the first crops of mandarins often tend to be of poor quality, and they show their real potential in their later years. It would be interesting to know how Xie Shan behaves in that regard, given that it is among the best tasting of all Satsumas.

Thanks!

I want to say this tree is on its third season in the ground and honestly the fruits were just ok so I'm hoping they improve with the years. I also picked these in late October if I remember correctly so maybe this year I let them go a little longer

[Skandiberg]

Thanks for the info, Nick C!

Fruit quality is supposed to be better with every year.

It's good to see it growing outside for three years up that North.

Late October seems rather late at first glance because it bears fruit around September. But if we take into account the place where you live, it can even be regarded normal.

If you have more fuits this year, you can try picking them from early October onwards, one at a time every week. That can give you more information on its maturing behaviour.

Congrats and good luck for the oncoming years. Your tree will be stronger every year.

[Nick C]

Yuzu trunk putting on some size




No fruit on the Xie Shan this year




Had to prune the citremon big time for the winter