This winter was very cold in southeast Texas...definitely the coldest I have seen since I've been gardening for 4-5 years now. We had one night hit 22 degrees in December, and in January we had 4 nights in a row of mid-20's, with daytime temps staying in the 40s (with 38 high one day). Here are the results from my unprotected (except for overhead pine trees), 9-10 year old, Rio Red seedling Grapefruit trees:

Tree 1 - About 60% leaf drop


Tree 1 - Dead branches for about the top 18 inches of the tree


Tree 1 - New Spring Flush (still no fruit; maybe next year!)


Tree 2 - 90%+ Leaf Drop


Tree 2 - Right of the Fork Is Dead


Tree 2 - New Spring Flush


I am not sure why Tree #1 fared better than Tree #2. Tree #1 is actually on the north side of Tree #2 and Tree #1 is smaller than Tree #2. They are within 7 feet of each other and are both similarly protected overhead by pine trees. I almost certain that I will be cutting down Tree #2 and replacing it with something else, since I would really like to taste fruit from these one day and the very large dead section is not helping its maturity level!

The mature grape fruit trees around here have no damage or very little. There is very little defoilation or die back. The lisbon lemon plants are damaged though. The sweet oranges look good also.

I would not cut down your grape fruit trees. Just remove the dead wood. If it is a seedling it could grow back from the roots even if it freezes to the ground.

I kept Tree #1 and removed Tree #2. Tree #2 had its main leader die, probably eliminating 4-5 years of growth and progress towards maturity and fruit. I plan on replacing it with a grafted Bloomsweet grapefruit. I will continue to wait patiently on Tree #1. I got out the big pole saw yesterday and removed the dead branches from the top.

I am also going to graft some other varieties to the bottom of Tree #1, though I am still practicing since my success rate is not very high.