Citrus trees (Austin: fit in, house, live)

[Lil_ly]

Is it possible to grow citrus trees here in Austin? I really want a lemon tree.

[homeinatx]

yes- though you need to cover a lemon tree during a hard freeze until it is established.

[AustinSpartan]

Originally Posted by homeinatx

yes- though you need to cover a lemon tree during a hard freeze until it is established.

Any particular reason it's just a lemon tree that needs covered? What about lime and orange trees?

[timfountain]

We have two potted citrus trees (lemon and orange) that produced a nice sweet tasting crop last year, but this year the lemons are still quite small and green and the oranges are equally small. They sit outside all year but they are well protected on an east facing covered patio that gets full sun for a lot of the day but no frost and no winds. They have been out there for 4 years. I have heard they can be planted but they do need covering if frost is forecast. We also have an olive tree that started as a 4ft skinny thing and is now getting on for 8ft and very bushy, and more to the point has fruited for the second year. The fig tree fruits well, but the squirrels must sit there waiting for the perfect time, as when they are just turning ripe, they all disappear!

- Tim

[homeinatx]

Originally Posted by AustinSpartan

Any particular reason it's just a lemon tree that needs covered? What about lime and orange trees?

No. I would cover all citrus in hard freeze in Austin for the first few years the trees are in the ground - until they are at least 6-7 feet high. They also need acid soil amendments - particularly west of I-35. They also do fine in pots - though they won't grow as fast - and then you don't have the alkaline soil problem - and you can drag 'em inside when a freeze threatens.

I had two lemon trees, a lime, a grapefruit and an orange - that all did fine and the lemon and lime fruited prolifically but I never had more than three or four oranges and grapefruits a year.

[oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots]

quote :
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
endquote



RIP Mary Travers

[atlanta hope]

I have a lime tree that has PVC frame that I use to cover it with plastic. It's pretty big and has been doing well.

[tibbar]

Around 1986 we went on a garden tour here and saw a house that had an orange or grapefruit tree next to his house. He had a wood frame he covered with plastic in the winter. The tree was as tall as his house and was trimmed to fit in the frame. There was a window that could be opened to let house heat into the plastic enclosed tree when it got very cold. This house also had a big palm tree in his yard and lots of banana that he dug and stored in his garage in the winter.

[Lil_ly]

Wow, sounds like a lot of work, but I may have to give it a try. What type of plastic do you cover it with? Does it need to be clear plastic and do you need a frame or can you just throw the plastic over the top of the tree? Thank you all!

[homeinatx]

Plastic is not great - just throw an old sheet over the tree before sundown and the citrus will be fine. A wet freeze is worse than a dry freeze, and if the tree is close enough to an exterior wall with heat and has been in the ground for more than three years, you might lose the fruit, but the tree will be fine, even if left uncovered. Citrus trees do fine in Austin, as long as they are given a little help. A pomagranite tree here is basically indestructible, but that is another story