Despite lousy weather lately here on Vancouver Island and a problem last night with the high wind, my Meyer Lemon tree continues to do well. I planted it in the ground this past Spring, so it hasn't wintered yet. We had low temperatures of about 30 F at the end of October, but since then it has varied between 40 F and 60 F and I've had the tree under a mini-greenhouse which gives the tree an extra 5 F or so (minimum temperature so far of 33F on October 31). The greenhouse blew off the tree last night but it is undamaged, so I'll put it back and be more careful about anchoring it down.

A few weeks ago I thought I noticed that a couple of the lemons were beginning to turn a lighter shade of green, and they are now definitely turning yellow. So as long as we don't get an unusually cold spell this winter, I'm hopeful that I'll be eating the fruit in a couple of months.

Nice lemon tree you got there.
That's an example of microclimate at work. But don't rely so much on that because of your location.
Yes, I agree with you to strengten your anchor for high winds and make sure you have clear plastic cover on top of your tree but not touching it.
If that's my tree I would put some concrete block around that plant even though it might look ugly to some just for the winter.
When push comes to shove why not put a string of clear Chitmas lights around the bottom of your tree as an insurance? Provided the lights don't get wet and not touching the ground, you are OK.

Thanks bencelest.

As mentioned in my previous note I have the tree under a mini-greenhouse. I just re-erected and pinned down more securely. It's supposed to go down to 37 F tonight but I imagine in my protected micro climate it will stay above 40 F.

It hasn't been below 28F in three years here, but I might need the Xmas lights if it's looking like it might at some point this winter.

Here's a picture of the mini greenhouse..........

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Yesssss!
That's the way to go!
Nice looking greenhouse too!!

leapfrog,
Glad to see you found your mini - cover. With the wind I thought maybe you'd have found it in Saanichton. haha! We don't seem to get nearly the amount of wind up our way in Lantzville. It has rained quite a bit lately but it has eased off for now. I put a canopy over my lemon ... pic below.

Cheers, Las Palmas Norte (Barrie)

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Barrie:
That's exactly what I had in mind for my citrus but I never got around to do it.
This time I will. Since half of my citrus is now in the ground. And I can get the materials for free at the job site.

Free materials! Great. Building material has increased considerably in the last couple of years. This is roughed in and I will add more to it with an option to enclose it if weather gets nasty.

Cheers, Barrie.

Environment Canada is predicting lows of -9 C (15.8 F) on Tuesday at the Victoria BC airport. That means it's likely to get to -7 or -8 C here near the ocean.

I've taken drastic measures to try to keep the lemon tree alive. I set up some Xmas tree lights tonight. It's 7 C (42 F) on the deck right now and 14 C (57 F) under the greenhouse. If I can keep the temperature under the plastic at 2 or 3 C higher it might just make it.

I like where you placed your Christmas lights. As your tree
gets some age on it you can drape the lights right over and
on the tree from the top down. For now, you have the lights
right where they should be. I like your set up just as it is.
You have this tree well protected from any cold winds and
doing that will help you a lot as you wait for this tree to
better adapt over time to this location.

Jim

It is most fortunate that your tree is a Meyer Lemon, because Meyer lemon requires the very least in the amount of heat requirements to mature the fruit. Therefore Meyer Lemon is an excellent choice for Vancouver Island. In addition to the mini greenhouse and CHRISTmas lights, dark background surfaces (wall and buildings) and dark mulches absorb and reradiate more heat than light colored surfaces. Higher moisture levels in the soil also help reduce frost damage. Lastly there may be times when some sort of frost blanket over the top and sides of the mini greenhouse will make the difference between life and death for your tree. Thanks for sharing with this forum. Very interesting indeed Victoria is a lovely place to live, been there many times and have enjoyed my visits each and every time. Take care - Millet

Thanks for the comments, Millet and snickles.

So far so good. It's -5C (25F) outside right now and there's a foot of snow on the ground, but it's a toasty +13C (55.4F) under the greenhouse. They're predicting a low of -10C (14F) tomorrow, which should translate to about -8C (17.6F) here by the ocean. If that happens, it will be the coldest temperature we've had in over 20 years, but the lemon tree will be under the covers and getting by at about +8C (46.4F).

That's nice to hear.

I fear for the worst with my lemon. No protection beyond the overhead cover in the previous posts by me. With temps dipping into the low 20's, old man winter I guess will claim another victim. It's fate lies in mother natures hands now.

Cheers, Barrie (Las Palmas Norte)

Barrie: Sorry to hear that. I was wondering about your tree and whether you'd had a chance to add any protection.

It's -6C (+21F) this morning with a low of -10C (+14F) forecast for overnight tonight here in Victoria. In the greenhouse it's +12C (53.6F). If it does get near to -10C tonight it will be the coldest temperature we've had here in 21 years. And it isn't even winter yet! So much for el Niño.

Then it's supposed to start warming up with rain and highs of +8C for the end of the week.

Barrie, the cover you have will help. If you are really worried
about the cold then place a couple of strands of Christmas lights
around your Lemon working them in a circular direction from
the top down. You've helped protect the "feet" of your tree with
the mulching. As long as the mulch stays moist, do not let it dry
out now during the cold as the cold temperatures will draw out
moisture from the root zone. If the Lemon is out of the prevalent
wind direction and you can get some mid day temperatures back in
the mid to high 20's then your Lemon has a shot to make it. The
problem for you may not be what is left for cold temps for this
year and early next year, it will be late next year when if this tree
gets severely hurt by the cold, it will be real slow to develop new
growth next season. It is when you get a cold snap again late next
year with little new growth is when this tree will be in trouble.
The problem Jim had with a few trees, all were grafted dwarf
forms, the semi-dwarfs and the standards were not nearly as
severely affected, that got hurt after the prolonged freeze of
December 1990, was that after he trimmed them way back and
forced them to put out new growth, they did so rather late
midseason. The new growth did not harden off well before he
got hit with another freeze again in December of 1991. It was the
following years (1991) freeze that did some of Jim's trees in, not
the much harder freeze the season earlier.

Snickles