1. What do you do with them once they are inside?

Keep in mind that I live in middle Georgia so my experiences are not going to be the same as many others.

My trees will be kept in a north facing sunroom. Last year was the first year I put them in there as an experiment. It has very little heat and the only artificial light that the room has is from a light attached to the ceiling fan. The room was originally a screened in porch so the heating is minimal. The lowest temps in the room last year was between 48-55 degrees because of all the glass.

In the past when I didn't have as many trees, I kept them in the garage. The garage was not heated nor did it have any natural light. On temp safe days, the trees were taken outside to get natural sunlight.

2. Do you watch for pests?

Yes, but once they are inside the sunroom, they are bunched up together so that it is difficult to spray. Last February/March, I had a bad whitefly infestation. I couldn't spray either because the outside temps were too low or it was raining.

3. Do you mist them at all?

No. There was enough humidity due to the damp pots and from living in a region that is humid to begin with. I actually had mold growing on the walls of my sunroom. This year I will have to find a way to discourage it.

4. Do you still fertilize them?

No. With the low light and low temps, they go into a semi-dormant state.

5. Do they come out of your home as healthy as you you stuck them in the fall?

Some varieties did better than others. My trees are only inside from the end of November through the end of March. Occasionally, my trees will go outside when the daytime temps will allow it. I experienced some leaf drop here and there, but don't know which trees did it as they were all bunched up in the room. My Meyer lemon did have winter leaf drop for sure as it was one of the trees furthest away from a window and this variety is the pickiest about environmental changes.

6. Do you loose a few?

No, but my Gold Nugget did have some root rot which I found while changing out the soil in the spring. None of the other trees had root rot.

7. Do they suffer?

I don't believe so as I watch them carefully throughout the winter.

I would like to add that I use a peat based mix so I rarely watered.

Yes I Do

Greenhouse and bucket lights · More Info

Greenhouse and bucket lights · More Info

Greenhouse and bucket lights · More Info

and Yes I do.

Greenhouse and bucket lights · More Info

Greenhouse and bucket lights · More Info

Greenhouse and bucket lights · More Info

Steve

They all need to be inside an enclosure to hold in the humidity, because otherwise having them inside with the central heater on will quickly dessicate them.

It depends on your location, but in the PNW it does not get extremely cold, so that the temperature is at least high enough for citrus to grow on its own inside an enclosure inside a home, with just the lighting inside the enclosure for warmth, no heat on in the house (or at least not used much of the time).

About every 2 or 3 weeks the trees all need to be taken outside and sprayed, because spider mites tend to invariably be a problem when growing inside.

All of the ones I lost were in smaller containers and had dried out because I had not watered frequently enough. A few small seedlings got root rot from excessive water, in containers with no drain holes. If you're willing and able to check on all the plants every 3 or 4 days without fail, I don't think there would be any water issues.

Heat mats, or having lights right overhead close to the plant will cause it to dry out much faster, so should be avoided (in my opinion and experience).

Do they suffer? They don't have to, but the adjustment from going inside to outside can be very difficult on them, resulting in major die-back, because they are not accustomed to daylight levels or lower night temperatures.

They can suffer due to spider mites, if not identified and treated.

With 24 hour a day lighting and warm humid temperatures, they can actually put on a lot of growth inside, mostly limited by adequate root growing space of the container. The soil just needs to be kept constantly moist.

Pictures above are from past 4 years

2018/2019 arrangement.

Greenhouse and bucket lights · More Info

Greenhouse and bucket lights · More Info

Do you keep them actively growing?

------- Yes as much as possible

Do you use several areas?

-------This year I will have 4 areas

Do you watch for pests?

-------Yes no citrus tree is pest free

Do you mist them at all?

---------fertilizer water full strength 2X day

Do you still fertilize them?

--------Heavy enough to rinse the leaves clean

Do they come out of your home as healthy as you stuck them in the fall

-------Some they do. Some they don't. And some do just as well

Do you loose a few?

-------No! Not yet

Do they suffer?

----- Less suffering than during the summer outside.

Steve

So Steve, how about a trip to my house and building me a set up like that against the south facing part of my house? You amaze me buddy!!!

Mike

Thanks mike. Remember my setup is only 20% done and I have 2 more outside enclosures.

Steve

Steve, I would seriously like to consider building a structure made of plexi glass of that greenhouse material up against my home and getting rid of the small greenhouse. If I took pics maybe you could tell me if it's doable? It's my smaller second home I own.

Thanks buddy

Send pics and dimensions.

Mike - I dug up your thread now that one "growing area" I have is up and running. I have limes currently up in a guest bedroom and this year added an extra setup. The newest spot with Key and Thai limes (I posted this in another thread) -

And the spot I used last year with my Australian red centre (blood) lime that I just configured this morning -

Closeup of the little tree - it has 19 fruit (some of which actually got formed from blooms when it was up in this spot back in February!) -

A bunch should start turning reddish by December.

I am hoping that I will be able to fit my Shiranui, ST, and NZL up in this area as well. Everyone else (Eureka, variegated pink lemon, Tango, Kishu) will go in the basement.

This area has different conditions from the basement (2 SW-facing windows, more consistently "room temp" day/night, i.e., ~67F/68F). So it is a bit cooler during the day due to a lot less artificial light generating heat (even with the sun) and a bit warmer at night, since heat "rises"). Last year the basement area was ranging from ~71F - 75F with lights on and ~63F - 67F with lights off (the lowest being when we had our coldest nights outside). I'll have to see what I will do with humidity (I have a humidifier for the basement and an extra that I could set up here if need be if I decide not to just mist daily).

Mike Send Pictures for me to look at

What's your set up?

A makeshift mylar-lined grow chamber with a CFL bulb - inspired by Steve's bucket light setup.

Here's my lemon tree in it.

Do you give them just a sunny window? Lights?

On sunny days they will sit at a south-facing sliding door for natural light. On cloudy days and evenings they are in the grow chamber. On the warmer sunny days outside in a makeshift greenhouse.

Do you grow them in COLD conditions for rest, or do you grow them in your home at room temperatures?

Regular room temp for the most part.

Do you keep them actively growing?

No, not if I can help it. Winter growth has always turned out very weak for me.

Do you watch for pests?

Never had any pest problems.

Do you mist them at all?

No. My home has high humidity even in winter. Only during deep cold spells does it drop to the 10-20% range and that rarely lasts more than a week.

Do you still fertilize them?

Only what's left of the osmocote that's in the mix. Only give more if they are showing new growth. Otherwise start fertilizing again in Feb or March depending on how they look.

Do they come out of your home as healthy as you stuck them in the fall?

No, they are noticeably weaker in spring but I've taken steps to improve that this year with my makeshift outdoor greenhouse to extend the growing season. Hopefully they'll only be confined to the house for December and January this year, as opposed to Nov-Apr in prior years.

Do you lose a few?

I've had several seed-grown trees and most struggled badly in winter. The two I'm left with now have been the hardiest and make it through with little or no leaf drop. I don't anticipate losing them.

You know my setup ;) although mine are still outside! Omg I’m so happy! We have a low of 39 in about a week, but otherwise, so far so good. If I can get them to near the end of Nov still outside, I’ll be doing a happy dance!

Greenhouse. Minimum of 55 F. No supplemental lighting

Valentine pomelo with multi layers of low E double glass windows.

Meiwa kumquat still outside.with 2 rooted US897 cuttings

New Zealand lemonade tree.

NZL on US897

My 2 smaller Meiwa kumquat trees.in window sun light

Seed grown Meiwa kumquat in window sunlight

Seed grown Fukushu outside under glass

Steve, your trees look great. They seem to have recovered quite well this summer.

Steve, will do. Everyone else, NICE!

Jenny, thank you and looking very nice too)

Thank you))

Mine are still outside along with some other things (geraniums and begonias; also the darn dahlias, cannas and oxalis haven't started going dormant!) ; after a week or so of bringing them in and out of the garage they have been out continuously for the last 10 days or so. But night temps are supposed to actually hit below freezing Friday and Saturday night. I know that I could get them through that as daytime temps are still supposed to approach high 40s, but I think I will bite the bullet and bring them in.

I set them in front of a 2nd story, full south bedroom window. I keep my house on the cool side (60-65) anyway, they seem to like it. I will give them some Foliage Pro maybe 3 times over the winter; I water generally about once a week depending on the mix they are in and never fully saturate the pot (most are in 511 -ish but at least one is in gritty-er and sometimes needs a little more.) I do watch for bugs having had an infestation 2 years ago. I spray with EcoSmart before bringing them in, and if I see anything starting. No supplemental lights. They continue to put out new growth after an adjustment spell, and will bloom and set fruit. One currently has several large lemons which will ripen probably around February IIRC, another has several small fruit starts, the other three have various stages of blossoms. Yes, I would say they are pretty healthy in the spring, if I haven't gotten forgetful and neglectful!

Hi Mike,

I have three different set ups.

First one: a grow tent (6x4) set in my basement with a 1000w led grow light and two lamps like Laura. I also have a small fan running a few hours each day.

Right now the tenperature reach 74F during the day and 68F during the night. It will be colder during winter.

Second one: a few trees are in front of a south facing big patio door. My home is set at 72F and it can be warmer on sunny days.

Third one: a big south facing window with a hest mat set s 85F.

All my threes are actively growing so I fertlize them with foliage pro, miracle gro and kelp.

Yes, I watch everyday for pests. Before I put thrm inside, I had sprayed them with neem oul, horticulture oil and alcool.

I just cleaned out a utility room that's really part of the house, just have to go outside to enter it. We store tools in there. It never seems to get below 58F in there due to indirect house heat (houses air ducts run through the room, there's just no open vent to deliver air). It's very well insulated. This winter I plan to add some 200watt CFL bulbs and move my plants in there for the few weeks that get too cold to put them outside in the daytime. May just turn it into small indoor greenhouse.

I am using quadruple layer low e glass. The heat does not go through the glass.. It looses heat much slower at night but does't gain heat from the sun. I get very little growth between December till until march.

Steve

Steve, where do you get glass like that? I could use some and try to build a small greenhouse attached to my back porch that faces direct south sun. I will take pictures of that area soon for ideas. Thanks

Love the set up and all the different ideas, experiences, and outcomes. Many here can mimic what others are successful at. It is great to see and thank you.

Mike

I brought my Meyer inside 3 weeks ago, and keep it in the family room in front of the fixed glass on the sliding door. At that time it had 6 nice lemons the size of walnuts on it.

What do you do with them once they are all inside? I water about once a week, and fertilize about once a month all winter.

What's your set up? Just a 5 gallon pot with drain tray under it.

Do you give them just a sunny window? Yes Lights? No

Do you grow them in COLD conditions for rest, or do you grow them in your home at room temperatures? Room temperature

Do you keep them actively growing? Yes, in fact it now has 8 sets of blossoms, the first few open.

Do you use several areas? No

Do you watch for pests? Yes, but pests are rare when indoors

Do you mist them at all? No

Do you still fertilize them? Yes

Do they come out of your home as healthy as you you stuck them in the fall? More so

Do you loose a few? Only lose leaves when I harden off and return outside in spring

Do they suffer? No

I ask window contractors if I Can haul there old windows off for them.

Steve

Last winter 2017-18: Meyer Lemon = 2nd floor not by a window // 15w Led grow light directly above // fluorescent desk light pointed at side of trunk/beginning of canopy // small fan on low when soil surface looked moist // radiator control usually kept around 63-67 // soil temps measured at 58?68? didn’t keep a record last winter but I remember it was the bare minimum temp for root activity so I think 58F // Before winter, bare rooted in fall and root length ended where you see the line between the dark & light. After winter, bare rooted and found about 6” or more new roots had grown. About 20 leaves total dropped over winter and only 2 new ones grew.

This winter 2018-19:

Meyer Lemon clone of the one above^ = 2nd floor near a window this time, west window // no supplemental light/bulb // air temps prob 65F?, warmer than 1st floor // soil temp ?unknown, lost soil thermometer :( // no fan // after 3-4 weeks total, watered a small amount until soil looked moist but water didn’t run through (heater runs high in that room) // a few weeks ago noticed an ant crawling around and found it weird..ignored the ant lol. Last week I saw aphids on undersides of the leaves so I grabbed the ant & flushed it down the toilet. Also dipped a Qtip in soapy water and mowed down the aphids. Saw one tiny brown scale, scraped it off with my finger but the scale fell down to the soil before I could grab it // Next day, only a few aphids reappeared and I squished those too. Otherwise the leaves looks very healthy, few leaves dropped on the Meyer but mostly small ones right by the soil surface

Ponkan/Okitsu brought in approx Oct.15 = 1st floor north window, we have a porch right outside the window so much less light than a normal window receives // no supplemental light/bulb // air temps probably pretty cold compared to 2nd floor, 63F? // soil temp is ?unknown, lost my soil thermometer :( // no fan // after 3-4 weeks total, only watered a very tiny amount just to make the surface soil look moist bc it’s cold in their location // 2 weeks ago the enlarging new growth looked good. Last week relatives from out of town came to visit & I was busy with them. Checked today and the baby leaves were dropped! A couple of larger mid-canopy leaves are dropping. Will stick a skewer in to check moisture levels. If the top half comes out dry, I’ll water along the edge of the containers. Leaves are lighter green than the Meyer but no aphids.

Kvetch, way to go! I love it. Hey, the next time you are about to bring your trees inside, spray them with all season dormant spray and you will have no critters when they come in.

I hate bringing my trees in and would you believe they are still outside??

Yup, 35 tonight and a slight frost and the only thing keeping mine from dying is a blanket wrapped around the huge pots.lol I just can't stand to bare bringing every last one in just yet((

Mike

Haha I know I shouldve sprayed them right before bringing them in but it was so cold out! We had some daytime temps in the 60s last week that made me regret having my trees inside already.

Mike even with the almost frosty nights, I bet yours are probably still very happy to be out there. My 1st floor is so cold that one layer of a long sleeve shirt isn’t enough so I think it may be too cold both night and day for the Ponkan/Okitsu lol! I’m going to try making space to relocate them to the same window the Meyer is hogging. I’ll give it a couple of weeks of spraying the Meyer in the tub before the other two are relocated :)

I wanted to answer all your questions but I might’ve missed a few. Does anyone have a good template for recording citrus/plant data on google sheets? My current record keeping isn’t concise enough lol

My Meiwa kumquat on Kuharske came inside last night to avoid the 20F coming in the morning. Summer is over. all trees are inside or in ground under glass.

Steve

Mine are all going in tonight, as the 20's are coming down here too for one night. I set up lights in the unheated utility room yesterday. It will be interesting seeing how warm the room stays. I bought a wireless thermometer to monitor it from inside the house. I couldn't fit everything in there, so smaller plants are coming in the house. I'll bring them back outside in a couple days probably.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/very-sick-meyer-lemon-help-dsvw-vd~5535046?n=76 HELP!

Growing seedlings from lemon seeds is great practice for learning how to take care of citrus without wasting money killing larger nursery-bought plants.

You can put the many seedlings in several different situations to see what they like best, and figure out what you are doing wrong.

socal That is exactly what I did 5-6 years ago. I lost 300 trees in the first year.

Two nights at 20F with a 30's in between.

New shoot not frozen.

New shoot not frozen. fukushu kumquat

NZL below.

NZL

icicles.

Steve

The pics are terrible bc of the lights pointed towards me, but you get the drift. I only had to put seven small ones upstairs - 4 in son’s room, 3 in daughter’s. I am seriously thinking of giving away the cocktail and oroblanco though. It would make a little more space. Watering them, as always, will be an intense yoga workout ;)

Laura - congrats on getting that all set up! :-D I know you are mentally and physically exhausted.

I finally got 2 more trees upstairs so that area is done (there are 7 there now, all but one are small). Everything else still needs to go to the basement. The windows in this room face SW.

Here is my latest (from L-->R) - ST, NZL, Australian red center lime, Dekopan/Shiranui

Thai (Keiffer) lime in front & Key lime (thorny) in back -

Jenny; I like your setup. You have nice looking fruits there.

Steve

Thanks Steve! The rest of my trees that are going to the basement, are my "problem children" that will need some extra care. :-D

Looks so lovely all the green! I hope I can make enough space at one window for 3 trees lol it looks much better when there’s lots of trees to make everything look green.

Btw, how much do you guys water indoors with your setup? Last year I only had that Meyer lemon with the extremely bad foundation roots so I severely underwatered it. My current trees have normal looking root systems so they don’t need to be as underwatered but I don’t want them contracting root rot either. It’ll so much work to battle root rot this early in the season. We haven’t even hit all the major holidays yet

These are surrounded by a mylar coated grow enclosure. It helps hold the heat and humidity in. (yes, mylar does a fairly good job holding heat in by reflecting back infrared heat rays, that's why it's used in lightweight emergency survival blankets)

above lighting is two 5000K "100-watt equivalent" (actual 13 watts each) LED bulbs

Bklyn, it looks like you are using the same lights as I. Nice. Are those L.E.D light bulbs?

Socal very nice. I love that reflection. It looks very bright in there. NO wasted light for sure.

Kvetch, you are not kidding there. I can't believe how LONG we have had this cold, snow, and below average temps, and it's not even winter yet. I keep looking at the ten day forecasters outlook and now I see 30's . no 40's. I think I am going to be sick. The ones on the porch I have to water often if I use a fan. If I don't use a fan, it can take a few weeks before they need watering, but they only stay moist thank God. The one in my all season porch, I have to water those every few days because it's much warmer in there, much more sunlight, and I also use fans. LOl. I hear you about window hogging..lol Right now my tree and orchids are competing for the best spot.

Jenny, very nice. One of these days I am going to get an Australian lime. Does it produce lots of flowers that smell nice? I would go after the fragrance more than anything..

Laura, didn't it seem like yesterday when we were growing them all outside? Boy do I miss the days when all you had to do was use a hose..((( Yes, all the twist and turns one has to take to get around each tree can be such a pain. Very nice looking too.I hear you got a couple of scale? That's easy to get rid of once and for good. Let me know if you need a suggestion.)

Yes LED, using one side powered bulbs upper chains, lower bulbs are compact fluorescent

That was a good idea to mix one red/blue LED tube in there along with the other 3 white tubes.

Mike - I have noticed with the little lime that it will bloom up and down the branches and at least so far since I have had it, it wasn't "wafting" when in bloom (perhaps because mine is small/young) but up close, it has a definite fragrant rose scent (not a citrus or jasmine or other fruit/tropical scent).

the one (or two tops) red per 4 bulbs combo is old school for fluorescent, the purple fog isn't necessary or desirable to get growth and flowering

I am on a 8 day watering schedule, yesterday I caught up late was 9 days, then each is traumatically (soil moves around etc.)liquid fertilized/flooded using warm water in a slopsink with a wide open window blowing whatever temperature air where it gets a top to bottom spray of watered down insecticidal soap and kelp. Then put back under lights to dry out. They seem to like it. I have a few smaller herb pots and younguns that in one gallon or less pots that get hit every 4 or 5 days