I just moved into a new house near Richmond that straddles 7b/8a.

Typically with fruit trees, I'd wait to put them in the ground until fall because of the heat, transplant shock, etc. Citrus though, being semi-tropical evergreens, I'm not sure what the normal process is.

I've got a couple of PT seedlings, a couple of Yuzu seedlings, and a bunch of Sudachi seedlings. I'd like to try these in the ground (and later graft some other stuff to them). Do I put them in the ground now, or do I wait until the fall?

To me, the point of waiting till fall only makes sense if the trees are already dormant.

I personally would put any citrus that is going to stay out as soon as possible, to let it acclimate as the temperatures start falling.

You might even wait until next spring if you think you can overwinter the sudachi and yuzu inside - last year I had a late-planted hirado buntan that fare the worst of any of my trees (although, of course, there may have been other factors in play). I would guess the trifoliata would do fine no matter when it's planted, so with that in mind: there's no time like the present.
I'll be interested in hearing how your plants fare - my parents are just southwest of Richmond, and they've got a very protected southern exposure that I've been considering for testing citrus (there is a bay laurel there now that has survived two winters; they are only supposed to be hardy to 20F/-7C).
Best of luck.

I agree with elsedgwick. The poncirus should be able to handle 7a/8b without any problems and could be planted out right now.

The Yuzu would likely be fine too but would do better if it had some wood to its trunk. I have a yuzu on its own roots and one grafted in my yard and they are both doing well. You could plant one of your Yuzu seedlings and wait until spring to plant your other one. I would do the same with your Sudachi since you have a few.

You mentioned grafting onto your seedlings. I'm not sure how good of a choice Yuzu and Sudachi would be as in ground rootstock for your zone though unless you plan on grafting mature Yuzu and Sudachi scions onto your seedlings. That way if they freeze down you'd at least have the same trees trying to grow back. I would feel more at ease (to handle the cold) with my in ground grafts if they were on poncirus trifoliate.

Thanks.

I'll drop the PT seedlings in the ground as soon as I pull out the damn landscaping fabric that's under everything. Going halfsies on the sudachi/yuzu sounds like a good idea. See what happens.

The area I plan to put them in is reasonably sheltered. They have south exposure, with the garage wall a couple feet to the west, and the porch/deck to the north. It gets full sun until about 6-7pm.

(if anyone sees any better spots in this pic, let me know. I think the pic is winter, and lower than normal sun angle, shadows aren't usually that long, and south of the detached garage gets a lot of sun)



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Looks good - reasonably protected and it should get early morning sun.