well if you dont find anyone keeping the garage at a minimum of 55 will help with the leaf drop.

Mike

Or you could lower the amount of light you provide down to about 8 or less with those temps keeping your roots cold.like that....

They will just sit there until temps and light start to warm again..At least you don't have to worry about bugs or a high electric bill..

I hear you about wanting to keep it in a greenhouse....I would pay someone too

Mike

This post was edited by meyermike_1micha on Fri, Oct 11, 13 at 12:00

Is it possible to place the tree in a south facing window in your house? I live in western, ny and my lemon tree succeeds in a south facing window with a grow light in my living room. Has bloomed consistently all year.

If you rented a space in a greenhouse would you be able to check it often enough? Maybe a local college or conservatory could help - I have visited a local community college greenhouse yesterday and they had a few citrus in there. Not sure if a college would take a tree for the winter.

If you cant find a greenhouse then i would agree with Mksmth. The tree stops growing when the soil is below 55-50 degrees.

Any pictures of your tree?

You could try Craigslist. Put up an ad explaining the situation with the tree and someone might be generous enough to take it for free or for a small price.

One more idea. I'm my area there is a city horticulturalist that is more than helpful answering questions about plants and helping people network. It is worth a shot emailing this person.

Thanks for the quick responses. They are all viable options. I would like to show a picture but I am not smart enough to figure out how to.
I really like this site. There are many astute people commenting here!

Chefricky...

Do you have 'Photobucket' set up?

If so, it is very easy to post a pic here..Just let us know and we will explain how to..

Mike

If you only want to upload one photo (always a help); and you have the photo on your computer, just scroll down to "Post a Follow-up" and there at the top " image file to upload"; click Browse... and look for it to upload.

I've kept my Meyer lemon in greenhouse at 40 degrees with no leaf drop and Key lime in house under fluorescent with no leaf drop-it finished ripening fruit and later bloomed. This fall I replaced a light fixture in kitchen that is so bright I moved a new 3 yr Meyer lemon onto the kitchen counter to take advantage of the light (may have to give up cooking!). My old ML has survived temp of 18 degrees when greenhouse heater went out-killed the new growth but not the whole tree and older growth did not loose leaves. I wonder if your tree lost its leaves because at some point it got too dry and shed leaves to survive?