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lemon tree in the winter

ccfc999ccfc999 Posts: 22
in Fruit & veg
Hi all

I have a four seasons lemon tree in a pot.  Have struggled with it a bit this year so want to do the best for it over the winter.

Ive read to bring it in (which is an option) but then ive also read you shouldn't bring it in.

so I'm unsure what to do.  I guess if i leave it out ill need to protect it and ensure it doesnt get to much rain somehow? 

if it comes in it will be infront of double doors.

sadly I don't have a green house or the space

Thanks all.
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Posts

  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    Hello @ccfc999,

    If you bring it in don't have it in a room with central heating ..... there's every chance it would drop it's leaves.
    I have a lime tree in a bright and cool conservatory that has underfloor heating which will keep the temperature at a minimum of 12C. It would not survive outside here (Scotland) .... but you may be somewhere warmer so it would be Ok.

    Bee x
     image
    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    I have a Meyer lemon and a limquat and a zuzu and I take them in to our unheated polytunnel for winter.  Been here for 4 winters now and the coldest we've had is -8C for a couple of nights but no frost in the tunnel. 

    Meyer is the hardiest lemon but none of the citrus is very happy below 10C so you will need to bring it in for winter.  Have a read of ths for more general info and follow links for more - https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/fruit/citrus  
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Agree with that @philippasmith2.  CH is not good for citrus. 
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • ccfc999ccfc999 Posts: 22
    Hi all

    Thank you,  im in Barry, South Wales and near the cost.  

    It can be windy which i think is why it didn't have a good summer.   

    as above ive read they dont  like CH.  Can anyone recommend something to protect it outdoors that isn't to expensive.

    thanks again all.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Fleece?  You can also buy ready made bags (not plastic as it has to be able to breathe) that you drape over the plant to protect from a couple of degrees of frost but you'll have to go and see what they have in your local GC and DIY stores before they get all Xmassed out.   Make a frame with canes to keep the fleece/bag off the foliage and allow air to circulate and rain to penetrate.  Tuck the whole pot into a sheltered south west facing corner if you can.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • ccfc999ccfc999 Posts: 22
    do you think this will do the job? 
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/JYCRA-Protection-Antifreeze-Warming-Drawstring/dp/B07XYT7NJ5/ref=asc_df_B07XYT7NJ5/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=394354455780&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3576661278329616878&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007410&hvtargid=pla-835343602739&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=83538188122&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=394354455780&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3576661278329616878&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007410&hvtargid=pla-835343602739
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    That sort of thing but look in local shops first to compare prices and sizes for what you need.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • ccfc999ccfc999 Posts: 22
    thanks so much :)
  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 970
    I read or watched recently (memory won’t play ball with details) that lemon trees are hardier than we think and are healthier if outside as much as possible. They will cope with cold but do need to be protected from frosts and minus temperatures and it’s the rootball that you want to stop freezing. We do have a greenhouse but are now intending to leave ours outside unless their is a hard frost forecast. If I didn’t have that option, I would use fleece and move it close against a house wall or sheltered corner and only bring indoors if we had another really cold spell - beast from the East style cold.

    Our tree did get badly frosted during its first winter, we were away for a few days and although in the greenhouse but no fleece. It looked pretty grim losing all its leaves but was soon regrowing come Spring.
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Mine are full of fruits and flowers over winter so I wouldn't risk having them frosted and lose all that goodness.   The polytunnel is large and airy - 8m x 4 - and has ventilation in gaps round the doors so it also gets used for storing the fuchsias in pots that aren't frost hardy either.

    The beauty of the bags I recommended is that they allow ventilation so the plant doesn't get smothered as well as a couple of degrees of frost protection and are re-usable, unlike fleece on a roll which deteriorates and tears very easily.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
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