How to protect tropical trees?

[Bo]

Isn't the drawback to those greenhouse solutions the fact that we have weeks each winter where the morning low is in the 30s and a day or two later, the afternoon high is in the mid 80s? That'd require a lot of moving of plants or greenhouse, as well as paying daily attention to the weather forecast.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by Bowie

Isn't the drawback to those greenhouse solutions the fact that we have weeks each winter where the morning low is in the 30s and a day or two later, the afternoon high is in the mid 80s? That'd require a lot of moving of plants or greenhouse, as well as paying daily attention to the weather forecast.

To tell you the truth...
my plan at the moment is to build a removable structure (I know, my plan changes everyday) that I would put in place for the winter.
It would look like four 3"x3" and when it gets cold, I'll just throw the thick plastic on top of it.

[TexasRedneck]

You can also build it as a framework, with removable panels. Dad used the plastic-coated window screen material. The screening gave it fantastic strength against wind/debris damage, and he'd install 'em like window screens over the framework. It wasn't airtight, but with nominal heatsource it did okay for smaller stuff.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by TexasRedneck

You can also build it as a framework, with removable panels. Dad used the plastic-coated window screen material. The screening gave it fantastic strength against wind/debris damage, and he'd install 'em like window screens over the framework. It wasn't airtight, but with nominal heatsource it did okay for smaller stuff.

That sounds like an excellent idea,
but I want something simple for this winter, because I don't have time this winter to do anything fancy.

Here's a couple of pages with great information
http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1002.pdf
http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/8100.pdf

Has anybody tried putting pipe insulation on their citrus trees and leaving them like that all winter long?
I'm thinking about doing that.... plus throwing the plastic on top of them when it gets too cold.

But in the future, I'm going to place some of those lights that produce a lot of heat right by the trees. That's gotta be the best way to protect them.

[Zone13]

Lol..I think your over worrying. What's a "date palm"? If you're referring to the edible date palm, you don't need to protect it, they survived single digits in San Antonio back in 1989. Other date palms include the Canary Island Date Palm, which also survived 1989 in San Antonio. Another "date palm" commonly used in landscaping is the Pygmy Date Palm, which is more tender then the above species, showing damage at around 25F, with 50% survival rate at 16F. Unless you want fruit, citrus is also not as tender as many would believe, the fruit spoils at around 28F, but the tree should be good into the low or mid 20s(Lemon and Lime are the most tender, with Oranges being hardier, and Grapefruits even more so). Just throw a cloth on top of the tree whenever you're expecting a moderate freeze, normal winters in SA don't require that much attention. If you're looking for hardy edible citrus, why not try the satsuma(tangerine)? Hardy into the teens.

I could understand using all of that protection to grow coconut palms in San Antonio, but for date palms and citrus it seems a little to much IMHO.