This is good i posted this before i bought them for a greenhouse or hot room. Many nurseries state zone 7 but really should be saying zone 7b or 8. I want to grow them with little or no extra heat.
It seems easy enough to find sellers willing to vouch for yuzu’s hardiness in climates colder than what they actually have experience growing it in…
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The trifoliata lived outside here for 3 years and we dipped to -15F. It is reportedly hardy to -10F.
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My ‘Morton’ citranges and ‘Dunston’ citrumelos have overwintered in ground without protection pretty well the last few years.
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Yuzu can’t compare to Citrus trifoliata in terms of hardines…
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Think the crosses will get there eventually Oranges in Zone 5 . Here was one of my trifoliata when dormant . Grew it beside my pond in a semi protected location so i was zone stretching.
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I agree. The hybridizing work needs to be done. I would be helping if I could only get more of my Citrus to actually start flowering! I believe people need to stop expecting to get sweet hybrids by crossing non-hardy varieties of nice sweet/sour balance with the hardy trifoliates and switch to crossing the trifoliates with bland low acid citrus. That’s why I got the ‘Changsha’ since it has a reputation for being sweet, but bland from low acid. Same with ‘Bloomsweet’ grapefruit. Both the ‘Changsha’ and ‘Bloomsweet’ are on the more hardy side for “non-hardy” Citrus and hopefully would produce some very hardy and nearly flavor balanced offspring if crossed with the trifoliates.
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I’m reminded of something I read about canary breeding years ago. Breeders don’t get the best birds from crossing two that have traits they want the offspring to have. Instead they pick two parents with extreme traits on both sides of what they want to produce. You cross left and right to produce center so to speak. I have yet to hear of any trifoliate hybrids being made with this strategy.
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What do you think of these zone 8 citrus are they legitimately hardy in zone 8 outside? Eg. CHANGSA
https://www.mortellaros.com/plant/Citrus-reticulata-Changsha
https://www.plantanswers.com/changsha.htm
There are many sources for them
The Thomasville Citrangequat is reportedly hardy to 5F
This is another group of cold hardy citrus but there is some overlap
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Have they fruited for you? Have you tasted the fruit?
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Given how well my ‘Changsha’ has done with minor protection in zone 8a (unheated greenhouse with window open all winter), I think it might be fine outdoors in zone 8 most years. I’ve been contemplating putting it in ground.
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No flowers yet for any of my in ground Citrus.
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I’m very interested in your observations as they progress.
I’ve got a Yuzu and Sudachi on Flying Dragon, both completely unprotected out in the open. Now also a couple of Shangjuan Lemon I’ve grafted to Flying Dragon.
I think the Yuzu made 3 fruit 1 year. It’s been in the ground for 8 years or so I think. My first Yuzu died to the ground when it was really small, and when the rootstock grew back it eventually got grafted to one of the Shangjuans.
I’ve had no luck air layering Yuzu, and my couple of half-assed budding attempts failed. Shangjuan Lemon grafts took easily.
A Yuzu trimming stuck in the ground next to the tree, maintained green leaves for more than 12 months and had a little leaf growth, but no hint of rooting when I eventually went to transplant it. I was sure it had roots before I dug it up.
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Yuzu will die in the snow and cold. The snow, if allowed to gather around the base will freeze the tree and kill it. I am talking about a mature 7 year old tree that died in last year’s freeze.
With minimal protection however, they can easily survive in zone 8. Zone 7 may be possible also with heavy protection. Unprotected? Forget it.
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Have no problem growing citrus in a pot but it is very hard to grow citrus in the ground here.
I have two trifoliate from the tree in Birmingham Alabama growing in my yard. I had a few more planted, but hot dry summer killed a few of them. These have survived a 6 inch deep ice and snow layer 2 years ago and they survived 0 degrees 3 weeks ago.
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nature is mean, the only really cold hardy citrus /poncirus is trifoliata and has this unpleasant taste. which is further inherited in the hybrids.
i have a poncirus which is said to have less turpentine taste so you can drink the juice after a night in the fridge they say.
I wonder instead of breeding half borderline hybrids if one could breed the turpentine flavor out of poncirus. even if it’s more complicated because most of the seeds are nucellar…
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Mellineal Gardner… Zone 8a winter protection success.
Mandarin orange, myer lemon, avacado.
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Five degrees protection on a small tree. And even in 8a he needs that a dozen times a year. Then he needs a lot more than 5F and on a much bigger tree, for a decent amount of fruit, at least a few times a year.
I need 20 or more every winter numerous times on a big tree. Just get a greenhouse, generator, and two heaters if you want to grow citrus in zone 7 or colder. Or spend a 100K or more to get a small version of the one in Nebraska.
Or eat pears and apples that do well in zone 4-8.
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Maybe the turpentine is the antifreeze.
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