Winter citrus prep

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Wooly - 24 Oct 2007 21:28 GMT

This is my first winter with a citrus tree - a grapefruit, to be
precise. It currently is hosting a swallowtail caterpillar (hopefully
THAT will pupate soon and subsequently fly south!). I presume that at
some point I need to winterproof the grapefruit, but how?

Should I built it a tent with a heating pad? Bring it in the house and
hope the cats don't treat it as a litterbox? Reduce water? Fertilize?

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Victor Martinez - 30 Oct 2007 20:17 GMT

> Should I built it a tent with a heating pad? Bring it in the house and
> hope the cats don't treat it as a litterbox? Reduce water? Fertilize?

Sorry, I meant to respond to this post, but I forgot. :)
We have a variegated meyer lemon and a key lime, both in pots. We
build a temporary shelter for them, where we can protect them from the
north winds. If you have a well-protected south-facing wall, just
bring the pot next to the wall. If it's going to get very cold (<20),
you would need to cover it with some row cover or something like
that.

Hope this helps.

Victor

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Wooly - 31 Oct 2007 02:54 GMT

>> Should I built it a tent with a heating pad? Bring it in the house and
>> hope the cats don't treat it as a litterbox? Reduce water? Fertilize?
>
> Sorry, I meant to respond to this post, but I forgot. :)

No worry. I figured RR was on the rag again and refusing to update all
the austin* lists. Had the temps dropped into the 30s I would have
brought the grapefruit into the garage and tented it with a low-wattage
incandescent. I am still waiting for that swallowtail to pupate but I
suspect it is too late in the season at this point, unless those
critters will overwinter around here.

> We have a variegated meyer lemon and a key lime, both in pots. We
> build a temporary shelter for them, where we can protect them from the
> north winds. If you have a well-protected south-facing wall, just
> bring the pot next to the wall. If it's going to get very cold (<20),
> you would need to cover it with some row cover or something like
> that.

I do have a southern wall and surprisingly it gets a fair amount of sun
despite the neighboring house's close proximity. My husband needs to
rid the eave on that side of a rather sizeable wasp nest before I go
anywhere hear it. Pity the gas meter reader...

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Homeowner Forum / Lawn and Garden / October 2007

Winter citrus prep