It's a great bet to work if you are willing to cover and heat. I'm in a similar climate as far as winter extremes. I do have a full greenhouse with automated controls. But I heat only to avoid freezing. If you do the same your heating bill will be very reasonable. If you try to heat to 60F or something like that the bill will be very high. But since your average low never drops below freezing, you are only trying to maintain a small temperature increase most nights to avoid freeze damage. You will need a way to avoid overheating on warm sunny days.

My citrus does very well and is easy to grow. My favorites are Washington navel and Chandler pummelo. They ripen from now until April when my apricots start.

The Fruitnut

Hello fellow gardners,
I am new to this site. I live in Alpharetta GA in Zone 7b. I am very much interested in growing good sweet Orange fruits in ground. Are there any such varieties available? If yes, where can I find them? In groworganic.com, I read that the Washington Navel oranges can be grown from Zones 6-11. Is it true. Can I grow them in ground with some protection?

Sarada

Sarada: You can grow Washington navel in zones 6-7 but only with significant protection. They can be grown in pots and moved inside in winter. But the move inside isn't easy and you are limited to a small tree. I have a greenhouse. That works good in zone 7 because it's not so cold that the heating bill is too high.

If you don't get below 24F very often, they could be grown outside with temporary protection. But anything below 24-28F gets pretty hard on the tree and fruit.

I'm really afraid that Alphretta is too cold to be managable in-ground without a greenhouse or well heated high tunnel. I think you could grow them in such a structure and only heat enough to maintain about 33F. But you are cloudier and colder in winter than where I am in Alpine TX.

You should consider Owari satsuma. It is more cold hardy than Washington navel. But it is a tangerine, not an orange.

The Fruitnut

Worth a try with kumquats (nagami or mawari)--they're very cold hardy. I agree with the above suggestion regarding Satsuma mandarins. Both kumquats and the Satsuma also hold fruit for a long time! These are your best bets. I have both in a minimally heated garage in zone 7a for the winter. I also have sweet oranges (Navel, Valencia , and Blood), Eureka lemons, Calamondins, even a Persian lime but temps never drop below 32 F. Good luck!

I'm in zone 7b Raleigh NC and my citrus collection does fine in a temporary pvc pipe hoophouse I erect in the garden and keep above freezing with all sorts of different methods. I think they like the cool temps better than the indoor heat and dry air when I used to drag them inside for the winter. If the nights are going to be down into the high 20's but the day is going to be sunny, I will simply soak the dirt floor with water in the morning and let the sun heat up the soil to radiate heat during the night. If the lows are going to be in the low 20's I will run a standard electric space heater set on high. If the lows are going to dip down into the teems I set up a kerosene heater and run it all night on low (a full fuel tank will last from 10pm until 8am). If the lows dip down into the single digits I run both the kerosene and the electric heater and drape a thick tarp over the hoophouse plastic and I'll drape extra plastic around individual plants inside the structure. My trees have just gotten too big to haul in and out anymore, so I cluster them into a space about 20 feet long and 15 feet wide and build a hoophouse with pvc pipe over them. My yard doesn't get much wind or snow so I have never had it fall down or blow over.

I have seen people grow hardy citrus outside without much protection and the trees seem to do fine but the fruit is damaged by those rare super cold nights.

Thanks a lot everybody. Thanks for all your suggestions. As I prefer easy care fruit trees I am going to try Owari satsuma and one of the kumquats.