I have a one acre lot in the City of Atlanta chocked full of palms, citrus and tropical looking hardy plants as well as some that aren't so hardy. Citrus is fast becoming my favorite though. Here's what I am currently growing: Satsuma; Changsa; Chinotto; Bloomsweet G.; Ten Degree Tangerine; Hardy Tangerine; Robison Tangerine; Navel Orange; Meyer Lemon; Orangequat; Bitter Orange; Thomasville Citrangequat and Calamondin. Most have been in the ground 2 full winters and 3 growing seasons. I have given modest cold weather protection to the Meyer Orange and Calamondin, but not the others (including the Navel, which must be in a perfect microclimate). While my winters have been Zone 8b at worst the past several winters, I would have expected more foliage damage with our 15 degree lows this past winter, for example. No damage. The biggest problem that I have had in past years has been the succession of white flies, scale and fungus that seem to harm much of the foliage but never seem to kill the plants altogether. This Spring and Summer I decided to be more aggressive in my efforts to discourage the whiteflies that seem to start the cycle that ultimately leads to ants, fungus and leaf drop. As avid a gardener as I have always been, I've been dubious about "organic" insecticides. However, this summer I gave them a try and was quite successful in protecting my citrus. Going into the winter, my citrus is going to look much better than in prior years. I used a homemade blend of the following ingredients sprayed from a tank every 4-6 weeks. This "brew" is not harmful to people, but either kills or strongly deters insects for a long time.

-- 1 gallon of water
-- 2 pouches of chewing tobacco
-- Dr. Bonner's Peppermint Soap (about 1-2 ounces)
-- Neem concentrate

While the Neem alone may be quite effective, this homemade brew (which actually smells pretty good despite the odd mix of ingredients) really did the trick better than the noxious chemicals I used in the past.

Hey Alex,

Very interesting to hear about your application of home brew!

My citrus have certainly been affected by munching grasshoppers the past few years and I've been negligent with spraying (except hort oil). I'll have to at least try a Neem application next year.

Looking forward to a bumper crop of Satsumas on my large tree this year and a first crop (after 6 years) of C. taiwanica.

Hope to see you at the CE in Tifton!

Keith

great stuff, yes I would have thought 15 degrees would have done more damage

Frank