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Old 02-04-2013, 12:05 AM   #9 (permalink)
barnetmill
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Location: 8b in Northwest Florida near Alabama
Zone: 8b
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Default Re: How many of you grow oranges? Looking for tips/advise

Quote:
Originally Posted by rogersjames84@yahoo.com View Post
I grow oranges, grapefruit, tangelos.and lemons.Forget the 5 hours below 28 degrees it will kill a young tree. In Florida where I live it is not advised to let the trees go more than a couple of hours under 28 degrees. How we do it in Florida is spray the trees down with water on nights when temps will reach below 28 degrees.Or cover you trees and use Christmas light wrapped around the tree then cover then. But no LED light. They don't give off any heat. What zone do you live in.
Some citrus is more resistant to cold than others. A short exposure at 28 F does not seem to bother my satsumas grafted on to trifolium rootstock. I have a frame work built around my trees that I staple plastic to for when we get a hard freeze and spray water inside the structure. My neighbor at the top of hill does nothing and his trees are all good, although now they are larger trees. Many plant their tree next to the house on its southern side. In the winter I always cover with mulch the above the base of the graft to make sure that part is not killed, but some say that is not a good idea. Sometimes a cold snap can hit before you have prepared for it. I can at times get nights that dip below 20F in my 8b locale.

2woodensticks: thanks for the information about fruit fly traps. I have a problem with them on the fruit of a chickasaw plum.

i wondered about the computer search saying texas city was 8b since south Houston which is north of texas city is a zone 9. I looked it up again and this time I got
Quote:
Using updated climate data through 2010, 77590 is in the Plantmaps Hardiness Zone 9a: 20F to 25F
for my zone
Quote:
USDA Hardiness Zone 8b: 15F to 20F. Using updated climate data through 2010, 32571
Bottom line is that occasionally there will be weather that can kill younger citrus.
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