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January 28, 2025

This Week's Garden Gab:
​Mourning my Citrus Grove Efforts

Hi Reader!

I give up!

I don't say that often but in this case ... I give up. My dream of growing citrus fruit in my backyard has come to an end.

In this edition:

• Why I Grew Citrus Trees
• What Happened
• Why I Quit

​

Education:

One of the fun things about gardening for me is growing a variety of fruits and vegetables. I push my growing zone parameters to the limit. Here in zone 8a, I have somewhat mild winters that usually include just a few days of sub-freezing temperatures.

A few years ago I learned of a company in Georgia that sold citrus trees on cold-hardy root stock which meant these trees should be able to withstand a bit more cold than those grown in Florida.

What else could I do but jump into this citrus world? The company, Georgia Grown Citrus, has a great website and was very helpful in answering my questions regarding my location.

Check them out if you are interested. Georgia Grown Citrus​

I never knew there were so many varieties of citrus trees. I wanted them all but narrowed it down to two varieties that I thought would do well. The other consideration was that I was going to grow them in huge grow bags, not in the ground so I needed them to be dwarf varieties.

Application:

I caught great sales at ended up with 5 citrus trees.

1. Satsuma Orange
2. Hamlin Orange
3. Miewa Kumquat
4. Ruby Red Grapefruit
5. Key Lime

They were very small initially but over the next year or two they got to be about 2.5' tall.

The first winter, I put them against the house and covered with sheets on cold nights. They did fine. When the temperatures got into the teens a couple of nights I dragged them inside my garage.

The next season they kept growing.

Last winter, we had some coooooold nights, I couldn't drag them inside because they were larger and I had not space.... but I covered them. It helped a bit but by spring these trees had lost their leaves but I had hope for them.

The lemon, lime, kumquat and Satsuma orange all regrew leaves and were pretty. Only the kumquat flowered and produced about a dozen kumquats but they were seedy and not tasty.

The Ruby Red grapefruit was on the struggle bus. I thought it was dead. But it wasn't. It wasn't quite alive either though. The Ruby Red grapefruit stock died but the root stock tree, which produces a sour, seedy fruit called Trifoliate Orange took over. No bueno. It's also invasive.

Last week we got some subfreezing temperatures. I made a little DIY greenhouse and thought I was prepared for the cold madness.

It was a total bust! A few hours after that cold blast I started seeing the leaves yellow. Then more, then they started to fall. I have 'low' hopes for this citrus.

Sometimes you have to cut your garden losses. My zone is not optimal for citrus apparently and, honestly, I don't know if I want to babysit all these trees that much in the winter. I work so hard during the summer months in the garden that I really need the winter months to recover so I plant easy veggies like greens, collards, lettuce only.

So, what have I learned?

Pay attention to zones but don't be afraid to try new things. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It's all part of the fun of having a garden.

Don't give up! I'm disappointed and I don't want to let go of my Citrus Growing dream, but I learned a lot and hopefully you've learned something.

Shout out to all my gardening friends who live in warm climates! Grow some citrus for me!

Edification:

That's all I have for this edition. Feel free to write me at jangardener@gardenease.org if you have any questions or comments.

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I'll see you in the next edition!

Jan🤗

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If you have questions, comments, praises, complaints, or ideas about gardening or about the newsletter, you can reach me at: jan@gardenease.org