Bob, why would you put an evergeen citrus in a dark garage? Citrus grow all year 'round, they are not like deciduous stone fruits. Citrus do not have a dormant phase. They need lots of light all year 'round. You've just shocked it due to the widely fluctuating light levels. Leave it outside for now. Give it adequate water and be sure to fertilize regularly. Most container folks will use Dyna Gro Foliage Pro 1/2 strength with every watering. Not sure why you pruned it??!! Only prune away dead wood, citrus, again, are not like stone fruits, they really don't need any pruning.

Despite everything wrong you've done (and I've been there, Bob, we all start at the beginning with citrus), you've selected a very vigorous cultivar which is forgiving you for your faux pas, lol! And might I say, one of the most delicious citrus out there. Best ever juice from the Page of any citrus I have, just outstanding. In the Fall, move it into your home slowly, keeping it outside as much as possible, bringing it in when temps threaten to drop below 34 degrees. Once inside, as much natural light as possible, supplemented with appropriate grow spectrum if needed. Continue to fertilize. And in spring, slowly acclimate it to the outside to prevent shock.

Patty S.

Patty,thanks for your advise. You know i have this tree going on 6 years now and i allways put it in my garage for the winter.My garage is very good insulated and never get below 39*. I allways thought that citrus need a dormancy period.On my vacation to Florida i see a lot of orchard complete leafless.Bob.

If you see citrus orchards that are completely leafless, that is a dead orchard, Bob. Citrus do NOT ever lose their leaves unless the tree is sick, in shock or dead. Citrus are evergreen, not deciduous. Perhaps it was groves of something else that was deciduous, but certainly not a viable citrus orchard. I grew up literally surrounded by citrus trees (Orange County, California), our house was built in the middle of a Valencia orange orchard. I have had citrus all my life. In fact, here in S. California, I believe it is estimated that over 90% of homeowners have at least 1 citrus tree in their yard, which is an amazing statistic. I can tell you with complete 100% certainly citrus never drop their leaves during the winter. The will shed older leaves as a normal state of growing throughout the year, and if a mature tree's canopy gets too dense, leaves will not do well in the interior and drop (about the only pruning a citrus tree needs is to remove dead wood from the interior). I'm surprised you poor little citrus tree has made it this long :-) If you're going to put your citrus tree in the garage for the winter, provide it plenty of grow spectrum light, water and fertilize it regularly.

Patty S.

Hoosier is right, even when we've had cold snaps that went into the 20's for several days, my citrus didn't shed any leaves. They are evergreen and keep growing all year, though winter growth isn't as pronounced as it is this time of year.

We don't have anywhere near 90% of homeowners with at least one citrus, but considering how quickly the nurseries and master gardener sales sell out, we'll be there soon!