Hi all, new to this forum.

I have read that Lemon trees have survived the winters recently in London.. I have a whole bunch of Lemon, Grapefruit and Oranges all grown from my lunchtime fruit pips.. the oldest is about 18months now.. I was wondering if they might survive in my garden, maybe if I built them some shelter? Am in Yorkshire, 200miles further north from London... just wondered if anyone had any opinions on this.

Thanks,

Richard

They will not survive outside in your area unless you provide some form of heating.
An unheated shelter will not help except, perhaps, if it is tucked against the wall of a heated building.
Temperatures in central London are remarkably higher than surrounding areas. Most years temperatures are very rarely below freezing.

Thanks. I suspected that the winters here would be too much for them.

The ones I planted last year spent the winter on a wide window sill facing south. I got a bit carried away this year, after the minor success of last years survivors, and have many more than I can easily accomodate in the house (risking the wrath of my Mrs). I will think about heating the small Greenhouse we have.

Thanks.

Richard

To reduce heating costs, you need to completely wrap the greenhouse inside with bubblewrap. If you only need part of the greenhouse you can even divide off a section with bubblewrap and only heat that section. Use a thermostatically controlled fan heater - ideally with a frost-protection setting.