My zip code says I am in plant hardiness zone 7 (0 to 10 deg F) . With ongoing climate change and with use of micro climates, I coax myself that I am in zone 8. Which means I can try my hand at cold hardy citrus grown outdoors. It’s a novel idea to think of growing citrus where I live. But I love citrus, even lemons. I used to chew on lemons until my dentist observed significant enamel erosion and presciently asked if I ate lemons. End of my lemon eating, but oranges and grapefruit are high on my list and now I will try grow some citrus varieties.
I stumbled on the McKenzie farm’s website, which has a citrus grove in South Carolina . Their latitude is 33.9N which is the same as Atlanta and is 0.5 degrees or about 35 miles south of my location. Stan, the citrusman, was very helpful on the ‘phone and I decided to purchase 2 trees which he shipped in 1 gal pots (unlike all my other internet purchases, which are shipped bare root). They arrived quickly with detailed and helpful suggestions on location and protection from the cold – such as wrapping the tree with Christmas lights and lighting them (the lights) if there is danger of a hard freeze and, if severe cold, throwing a blanket or plastic sheet over the lights. Or using a passive solar heating system of 5 gal buckets of water around the trees, etc.
I ordered a Meiwa Kumquat and Owari Satsuma. According to the website, the Meiwa, once dormant, can withstand temps in the mid teens and the Owari is very cold hardy down to 12F.
As can be seen above, the Meiwa had some small fruit attached which are delicious. Rather than plant them in the ground now, I repotted them into 5 gallon former paint containers and have stationed them in my greenhouse and will plant them out in the spring. The probable site will be on the top of the hill which has excellent sun exposure and drains well and I will erect solid protection to the north and when next winter approaches, will use some of my surplus windows to protect from westerly winds. There is a big windbreak to the south and I don’t get winds from the east. I will also add boulders to sink heat and watch over them until they mature. As the notes state: “Small trees will not tolerate freezes as well as larger, mature trees will. Getting them to maturity is a challenge but it’s one that will reward you greatly.” And then, perhaps, I may enjoy my own citrus grown fruit in upper Georgia.
