I’m interested in growing some citrus or avocado in a patio pot. Has anyone come across any varieties that will handle the freezes we get in Georgia? Curious what options I have.
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I have a place up in East Texas with similar weather to you and I have had luck planting out a Satsuma tree. It seems to handle the cold fairly well.
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How does the fruit taste?
insteng – do satsuma’s need a second tree for pollination or are they self fertile? This one looks like a winner:
I haven’t had a chance to taste it yet. This year will be the first year it has produced. Right now the tree is covered with blooms. You could probably get by with a wide variety of citrus if you have a place you can protect them from the cold some. In my place in Houston I used to grow navel oranges and never did anything to protect them. At my ranch it gets a lot colder. I planted a couple meyer lemons this year and I will just build a small greenhouse around them for the winter. It doesn’t take a lot to keep them from freezing. They actually take colder weather than you would think.
Where in Georgia? If you’re going to keep it in a pot, then are you going to bring it inside during the winter? I don’t think any edible citrus can be grown outside in zone 7. It might survive some mild winters, but it will eventually get killed. All my citrus are kept potted and in the heated greenhouse during winter.
Here’s some good info on cold hardy citrus evals from Savannah, Ga. http://www.walterreeves.com/uploads/pdf/coldcitrus.pdf
Talk to Stan at McKenzie Farms here in SC. He’s the leader in cold hardy citrus. He also sells really nice trees at probably the best price around. You can find the McKenzie Farms website online. There is a list of hardy varieties there. If you call there, just leave a message. He’ll call you back and is glad to answer any questions you might have.
Owari satsumas taste fabulous! Satsumas are mandarins. You might think of them as loose skinned tangerines.
Mexican type avocados are supposed to be more hardy than the varieties like Haas. Avocados aren’t ‘small’ trees, but there are evidently a few types marketed in northern FL as being most hardy and possibly suitable for large containers. I’d look up the names for you, but my battery is getting low and more charging cord just died. 
Based on what I’ve been reading satsumas can take temps down to around 10 degrees. It typically never gets that cold here and the pot I plan to grow it in has casters so I could always wheel it inside if I see temps getting that low. Are satsumas self pollinating?
yes
I just talked to Stan at McKenzie Farms. He’s due east of my place. He said his groves did great this winter, which I was glad to hear. The two previous winters were so challenging. He also usually has much more variety than what he keeps listed on his website. The man is not really a computer guy, and internet speed in that area is lousy. So, the info on his site has pretty much remained static the last several years.
Yes and no. My Brown Select satsuma “survived” 11 degrees last year but was killed back to the main trunk. My kumquat and bloomsweet were both killed. My Arctic Frost satsuma was killed to the ground but they grow on their own roots. You need to protect below 25 degrees. High teens will defoliate the tree and my satsuma did not fruit after defoliating with no limb damage 2 years ago and definitely no fruit last year. This year I had no damage after seeing low 20’s one night. I use c9 lights and a frost cloth on cold nights.
You can grow citrus in your area but it will take a lot of work, also just because it survives the winter does not mean it will fruit if too much damage is taken. I am 8b and I am borderline.
You will want to put it on the south side of the house if possible. Wind chill actually will cause greater damage. People around here will even plant on the south side of an unheated barn. You should not bring it inside a heated building because it could break dormancy and cause more damage when you put it back outside. An unheated building or garage would work well. The winter hardy satsuma should take temps. down to teens but I would not leave out if it got down below 20… At least put it against the house, that will help more than you think.
I live in Metro Atlanta, and have 3 in ground Citrus trees.
On the South side, I have a Meyer lemon that has survived somehow for 4 years. I got fruit 2 out of those years. I got it for 6 bucks at Home Depot, so no real money lost if it croaks.
I also have a Yuzuquat that is hanging on, but no fruit yet. It gets damaged every year, but comes back faster each time. As the wood gets thicker, it should be fine.
i had 2 satsumas that croaked. They might work if you seriously protect them though. Arctic Frost is just as hardy as a regular satsuma, just on its own roots like a Meyer, just less resilient imo.
The easiest one is my Thomasville Citrangequat. It sits in the open and has taken no damage each year. It’s a tangy lime flavor when green, with a little off flavor orange taste when ripe.
If you live further North than Macon, you can forget any sweet citrus to survive unprotected.
For Sour citrus, thomasville and Ichang Lemon have several Metro growers who have been raising it.
If you live in Macon and below, you can grow quite a few things with great chances.
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I’m amazed that your Meyer did so well! The two winters prior to this last one were some of the harshest for the Atlanta area. If it made it through those, you’ve got a real keeper!
Also a georgia grower lists his experience here:
http://www.walterreeves.com/gardening-q-and-a/citrus-trees-in-mcdonough/
Young Satsuma trees are much more prone to being killed by brief freezes, so generally need some cover / heating the first few years for all freezes, once they are muture they can survive brief drops into the upper teens. Anything lower than that is a dice roll, in general Owari on Tifoliata stock is considered the most cold hardy, however finding it on Trifoliata is sometimes hard to do, as it is often grafted in Swingle which is sligtly less cold hardy, but a faster grower. As to flavor it tends to improve as the tree ages.
Tell me more about your bitter orange. Is it Trifoliate? Or Seville Bitter or like variety? Is it in a pot that can be brought indoors?
I believe it is trifolate. It is in 2nd leaf from seed and hasn’t flowered yet. I have about 10 in the ground and they kept their leaves all winter (low about 9F this winter). I’m in z7b.
Those are trifoliate leaves. Notice the way they come out as threes, just like their name describes.
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