Bring in key limes. I would be concerned that it might drop lower than that. It has happened here where they predict one temp and we get another temp that is slightly lower or higher. Also, exact temps are very dependent on exact locations.

Cover the ones that stay out with blankets, etc.

Cory beautiful tree's amazing! This time of year the night time temps are very rarely accurate it all depends if the sky clear's out and winds die off tonight in your neck of the woods if so then it will probably get colder then predicted. A good judge at what the temp is going to go down to is the dew point temp if the sky is clear and wind dies temp will probably get very close to that dew point temp . If it stays overcast then you probably will be ok . It's happened to me a couple of times were it got down to 32 with light frost and I had no damage, maybe lucky .Good luck guy's . Snowing here now and going down to 24 lol

Brian

Very nice looking trees Cory!

My low is listed at 32F. This gives my about 4 F msafety margin in my micro zone. All sensitives are covered.

6b Steve

Try this: https://www.wunderground.com/

They tend be little more accurate locally. We are going to be 31-32F tonight and so the plants are back in. Sunday it is 70+ for the high.

In addition to what Brian said above. When it is below 40F I worry about it being windy. Plants that spent a good part of their life inside can get desiccated pretty fast and get stressed in cold windy conditions.

I haven't been able to put my trees out for 3 days because it has been so cold here. Its the wind chill that worries me. It is icy!

It's a bit late for me to comment now, but when I leave my trees outside overnight in cool/cold weather, I make an effort to pour warm/hot water (90*F or so) into the pots in the morning before the sun hits the leaves. Doing so warms up the roots so they can function again; that way you can greatly reduce the risk of winter leaf drop. Still not ideal, but it's better than bringing all your trees inside!

-Tom

Thank you guys! I am worried too although all weather sources (including yours tropic) say 37-38. I am very close to the water (<.5 mile) so often it is a bit warmer in my neighborhood. It has been windy today and I did notice a few have slightly limp leaves. I've not had time to get them in but am going to round up my son now. Only the key limes - thorny, thornless, and giant will go in. The high should be 61 tomorrow so I'll get them out again by noon or so. Tom, I remember you mentioning about the warm water and have done it. I'll be out there tomorrow with a watering can lol! Cory, I hear you...it's so much work! Your trees look great though! Amanda, I hope you and Brian both get some warm days so your trees can get out and enjoy the sun and rain! Steve, good thing you have that microclimate!!

37 F for me too for a couple of hours here in suburban NJ/zone 7. I have only one Citrus left INSIDE (my Kaffir), everything else is out. I am not expecting damage. Have seen this before. It seems to happen EVERY YEAR. Mine on the south side of a large garage with a bit of an overhang, so probably a few degrees warmer than out in the open. If it were a bit colder I would be tempted to take the hose and mist them heavily. Even my bananas and guava are out now (Orinoco and Rajapuri did very well in their chilly/cold winter retreat).

Here they are...but now that you mention it subtropix, I should have brought in the kaffir lime. It is right up by my house so it should be fine. Like your area, it should only go down to 37 but only for a few hours in the early morning.

Kevin the key lime is loaded with budsgiant key lime also has tons of buds! I left all the lemons and regular lime (and limequats) outside. They will have to make do. Early in the morning, I will be out there with a watering can with warm water like Tom suggested.

All mine are inside. Not taking a chance. Too many blooms and small fruit.

Keep in mind, the nights are not as LONG as they were a couple of months ago, so those lowest temps only last a few hours..., makes a BIG difference!

Also, mine do not have to acclimate in going from a warm Winter house to the outdoors. In their winter shelter, they get exposed to winter temps in the range of 35 to 60 in the dead of Winter. Still, some did start active growth and flowering (those are particularly sensitive), but believe me, I have done SOOOO much work over the years worrying about the predictions from local TV weather forecasters. I would often haul the collection back under cover, but it was usually not necessary. In fact, I actually have NEVER lost a tree from cold.

Thanks everyone. I will water tomorrow am with warm water.

Cory

Well, at 7am the temp was 40...all the trees look fine although I'm giving them warm water just to pamper them a bit...

Laura, you are a softy! I am glad they are OK.

Light frost on the grass last night. Birth bath was frozen solid. I don't see any damage to new holly buds.

Thanks Vladimir. I was just thinking of you as I watered the pots. The trees get early morning light and I was very happy that many still have the black containers (although during summer I will not be ;-)...I don't think the ones in the dark pots even needed the warm water (although they still got it) because they were already warm to the touch. Dave, you must be west of me further inland because we did not have near freezing temps. I did last night panick when I realized I had forgotten my beautiful and budding baboon lemon - I just love that tree - and my son and I dragged it in about 10...I am about to take them all back outside. I hope this will be the last of the near threats until the late fall...

No frost on any garden areas. My windshield had frost.

If you have a lot of potted tree's and you do not want to bring them in, you can lay them down on their sides and make a circle with the tips towards each other then cover the tree's with moving blankets from Harbor freight(cheap).

Thanks Bob! I hope I don't have to resort to that anytime soon ;-)

Glad you're tree's were OK last night Laura , I bet you had a restless night I've been through that enough times . Bob been there done that many times works like a charm great idea.

Brian

I was going to leave mine out. But since they are young I decided to play it safe and move back in. I dont have enough experience yet to know all the factors at play. I was wondering about the 50 degree limit for the roots, so the warm water tip sounds good. But what if it is going to a few nights in a row?

Thanks Brian! I was relieved and peeked out the window and checked temp as soon as I woke up! Hibiscus, it has been in the 40s at night here lately...going to 45 or so tonight. They slow down, but as soon as the roots warm back up during the day, their function begins. Even with cool nights and some days no more than 50-55 I have noticed my trees are growing. Not as fast as they can during the warmer months, but still growing.

It's the young, tender, NEW growth that might have developed under warmer conditions that is really what is most at risk. If there is some burning from cold on the youngest growth, just prune it back; it will recuperate. Citrus respond well to pruning. My own were okay with last night's 37 but did have a few browned new growth leaves. Tonight is supposed to be around 40 so less an issue, and then 60's and 70's. It is just getting to be too much a massive chore to lug everything back and I'd rather just risk it. If I leave them in the garage, my greater risk is that I won't be able to keep up with watering on those sunny days. Air temps might drop into the 30's but doubt soil temps get that cold after a full day of sun.

Hi everyone. My trees survived the lower temperatures last night but it didn't get to freezing as forecast although there was some snow only a few miles and minutes away. Tonight the forecast is low to mid 30's again but I am hoping it will not happen and the next few day temperatures are supposed to be in the high 70s, maybe even 80s. My trees' leaves were limp at 6:30 am but the temperature rose quickly to the mid 40's before I had to leave town for the day. I did water all the trees with warm water. I also had to repot one that blew over in the wind that I had not have time to tie to stakes. I thought its location was more protected than it actually is. When I got home tonight all the limp leaves seem to be fine and no longer limp, but it was dark by then and I was looking with light from within the nearby greenhouse. I plan to water with warm water again tomorrow morning as the trees are in early morning sunlight. I see in the forecast there is another cold spell about a week out but maybe that will change as there are several warm days in a row coming up. I think the warm water helped. Thanks for reminding me to do that Tom.

Cory

I have removed the bubble wrap from my greenhouse. Temps warming.

a peak from west to east with side glass removedIn ground New Zealand Lemonade behind double glazed low E window to protect from UV and heat while it acclimates to sunlightMeiwa buds growing.

6b Steve

Mines are all out and to stay out for the first time...They can't do any worst than they have cooped up all this time my friends..I will use the frost blanket method and warm water one too..Thank you!

That's great guys! Many of mine are budding as well. Mike, go out and sit in the sun for a while. That will warm your spirit!

Got into the lower 80's today in NJ (up to 86/87 in the northernmost parts of the state due to less maritime influence). April is an odd month. We've had temps into the mid 90's, drought, wild fires, flooding rains, snow, and frost. April is frequently showery here but this year, lots of relatively high UV days (up to UV 7 on those scales)..., so watch those plants just put outside.

Yeah it was warm here too...I think we registered 76 but it may have peaked higher. I noticed my chinotto has a few top leaves with a little bit of sunburn also...not too bad. They rest are not only fine, but sprouting like crazy. My kaffir lime that did not grow at all this winter (but also did not drop leaves) is now sprouting again. I guess it was just hanging in till it could go back outside to grow ;-)

My Kaffir sits directly on top of my bedroom radiator but I have a think marble shelf over it, so the heat is dissipated, I guess. But it does get a lot of Winter sun. It is the only Citrus I overwinter inside the house, the others go into a detached garage, but this past winter was nice, no damage even to the Key Lime or Persian Lime or Etrog. They start growing in the garage in February, so some growth is tender but I did not experience much damage in the transition. Telling you, this April is not bad, I remember CURSING April as the worst month for damaging, late frosts and a he// of a lot of work to haul those plants back into protection. On the negative side, I thought our Saucer Magnolias had escaped the March cold damage (after record FEBRUARY HEAT) but they definitely suffered and I really miss seeing their pink-white blossoms.

Looks like we're getting a couple of days below freezing.. Hope it's still sunny, so I can put my summer flowers out under cloth during the day. Spring is definitively late, at least when compared to last year. Challenging, every year is different..

Hi everyone! My trees are indoors right now, no danger of frost, but I have been away on vacation since Apr. 08 and will be home on Apr. 19. I am really worried about my trees and especially new grafts. I hope my friend is not going to kill my trees by overwatering :))

It is now just about impossible to get a frost with out setting a 1000 year low for the night. The 2 week forecast has warm lows in the upper 40's to lower 60's. This could change but not enough to set a killing record. Meanwhile I have removed 2 more pieces of glazing to alow early morning and late evening sun to start acclimating the inner most trees to part sun. This also acclimates tree from part sun to half sun.

The 2 spaces to the right are the newly removed glass.

Meiwa upper left with Kuharske citrange to the lower right