Citrus Fans, here is my current SUCCESS story!
The Challenge:
It is a challenge to get citrus to grow (indoors) or even keep alive in the Seattle area. Even more a challenge to do so in an unheated greenhouse with no supplemental light!
The Success:
Not only are my citrus surviving in the above mentioned poorly lit cold environment, but the fruit is ripening now in the middle of winter, and tastes great!
The Setup:
-8x14 Lean-to Greenhouse, no heater
-Heat cord is lined under pots in coils
-4:1 CHC soil, kept above 55F
-Air Temp outside is freezing (frost on windows of greenhouse!
-Air temp inside is about 44F (generally rides around 12 or more degrees higher than outside when not sunny)
-Lemons, Limequats, Tangelo, Kumquat, Key Lime... all ripening!
The Story:
In the summer, the trees thrived. We had a bright sunny summer in the Seattle area. Lots of new growth, flowering, fruiting. What REALLY surprised me was my Lemon tree. It almost died last year due to Scale, and my 4 yr flourishing tree had only 2 branches remaining. Over the summer, new growth it did not surprise me, but then it flowered and set fruit by fall! The crazy thing is ripening a couple of lemons now. Cool!
Anyway, I was not expecting the fruit to ripen in Dec. I suspect this is because it was a horrible, dark, cold spring this year (and I dont have supplemental lights yet), and nothing really started growing or flowering until way late (like, mid summer). So here we are!
Pics to Prove it:
above: Tangelo, 4 year tree
above: Limequat, 3 year tree
above: Heater coils under pots for Papaya and other tropicals. Soil Temp: 70F
above: Heater cord under citrus containers, a few coils under each, soil temp 55F or more. The blue tape is what I put Tanglefoot on and kept the gnat population down in the summer (custom fly paper around the rim!)
above: Full shot of Greenhouse in Dec 2011, Many tropicals and sub tropicals. Lemon, Key Lime, Limequat, Kumquat, Tangelo, Orange, Banana. See also, Pickering Mango in back corner, and young Papaya in the right corner. Miracle Fruit and Lychee are also hidden in here, as well as many tropical flowers. Air temp 44F!
Problems:
It's not a perfect success story, as I have experience leaf drop and branch death (see the Tangelo, first pic above). I'm not sure why this is the case. It could be a number of things, including ongoing spider mite battle (been fighting all year), or the soil temp dropping lower than 55F and I didnt adjust things enough. Or perhaps not enough light in our dark winters here? Not sure yet.
Conclusion:
Some say citrus is for "rich" people. I'm not rich, and this is a low-budget setup, not heating the air, but just the containers. This is totally doable in the Northwest when you take the time to learn all the tricks. Lemme know what you think! And by all means, share your stories of crazy citrus success.
