The naval and grapefruit are about equal. Myer is more tender. What zone are you and what are you absolute minimum temps. Mandarins are pretty cold hardy.

I'm in zone 9a/8b my biggest low is 20 degrees.

I am doing this as an experiment because I want true citrus.

I already have kumquats,grapefruit hybrids and satsumas in the ground.

I have both an in ground and a potted Cuban Shaddock that are unprotected. They have spent 38 hours below freezing and hit lows of 18F. we will get starting tonight 18F, tomarow 10F, etc 12F, 25F, 26F, 4F. This is my little experiment. They are not coming inside.

I believe your best chance and choice is the Meyer lemon. It is so finicky when it gets move that I would not consider it as a grow able tree north of zone 8b. It should be in ground. The other 2 make good move able potted citrus choices.

6b Steve

Thank you steve,I will try the meyer lemon.I will probably put it out in april and then I will post updates here.

I respectfully disagree with Steve.

Of the three options you name, the orange is probably the best choice. The Meyer lemon is half lemon, obviously, which makes it more tender than an orange. Lemon trees are notoriously less hardy than orange trees. I don't know enough about grapefruits to comment.

It's true that the Meyer is a bit finicky when moved, but it's hardly unmanageable.

I live in icy Canada, so my Meyer is grown in a container, naturally. I didn't acclimate it properly before moving it inside, and all it did is lose a dozen leaves over the course of two weeks. That's all. It didn't lose any fruit. It has since recovered splendidly and is blooming and sprouting all over. Once again, no disrespect meant, but I don't agree that they are ungrowable in the north.

Whatever decision you make, best of luck to you and good day to everyone!

=)

Most sources report that Meyer lemon will tolerate lows to 21F. That is a few degrees below the minimum temps suggested for most other citrus. That is the ONLY citrus that can survive outdoors in my climate other than hardy orange, Poncirus trifoliata.

Really? That is surprising to me considering its lemon parent, but interesting. If you could link a source, I would love to read about this. Not that I doubt you, but I would love to learn about this. Meyers are even more fascinating than I thought.

jemmalix You may be right and their is a small number of people that have learned to do very well with far north Meyer lemon treesm

I had 3 tangerine trees outside last winter with 2 of them in ground and one in a 30 gallon container. They weathered 2 nights of 7 F with highs of 15F between them 2 times. 2 of them died and one looked REALLY bad but here it is now going into the next winter.

Tangerines come in at about the same as Meyer lemon cold hardiness. It will be much easier to get a harvest off an outside Meyer lemon than an outside orange or grapefruit. Each of the latter 2 will require the fruit to be on the tree when you will get temperatures below the fruits survival temperatures. This make your Meyer lemon the only choice for outside and in ground grow.

1-4-2015 Sweetlee prepared for the first 25F-7F-15F-7F-25F blast of cold.

Uncovered for warm snap of lows in teen-20's with highs in the 30-40's to get sun. The tree slowly died over the next 3 month from the top down with the green cambium dieing downward. I think it was the lack of water by a dormant root system that dried out the top. A floor-less party tent is cheep and would cover a bush well and with Christmas light you could keep your tree warm enough to keep its fruit undamaged. Any way which ever tree you put out side in a killing freeze you will be out the least if it is the Meyer that dies (My personal opinion).

6b "not as far north" Steve

From Chestnut Hill Nursery re: cold hardy citrus: "- Lemons and Limes - small trees that are attractive ornamental; some are very hardy such as Meyer Lemons, and will take temperatures in the low 20s or even colder!"

Link to Meyer lemon info from Rolling River Nursery.

"The hardiest citrus available, and the only one that has been specifically suggested for our area, is the 'Improved Meyer' Lemon. "

From Floridata: "Hardiness: USDA Zones 8B - 10. Meyer lemon is the hardiest of the lemons. It has withstood winter temperatures below 23 F (-5 C) here in North Florida. On the other hand, Meyer lemon is not well suited to cultivation in tropical climates."

Since it is thought to be a hybrid between a lemon and a mandarin, it may be the mandarin parentage that affords extra cold tolerance.

Has anyone crossed an "Orange Frost" satsuma (hardy to 6F) with a Harvey lemon (hardy to 10F) to get a SUPER DUPER Meyer lemon good to really cold temps.

6b "Still won't grow in inner city Cincinnati" Steve

Really cool setup you have, Steve. You seem to have a unique approach to citrus growing. I don't see anyone else quite proceeding the way you are and I find it interesting! Thank you for sharing the pics and information. You seem to like experimenting and testing the limits of these trees. =)

I stand corrected on the hardiness of the Meyer lemon. It's astounding to me. Fascinating actually. Thanks for the info, gardengal. I assumed it was the hardiest lemon, of course, because of its orange/maybe mandarin parentage, but I'm astonished that it is actually hardier than its hardiest parent! It's like... 2+2=5! Where does that extra hardiness come from!? =p

Genetics... endlessly fascinating.

Thank you all you truly gave a lot of information that will defenitely help.

After walking my dog I spoted a meyer lemon tree with lemons.(to be honest it wasn't a big tree)

That amazed me since I've never seen a lemon in the ground ,atleast not in my zone.

That's why I'll try the meyer.