I live in Cincinnati, Oh zone 6b and it is hard to grow citrus trees here. A greenhouse is almost a must or a very good lighting setup indoors. The bigger the fruit the harder it is to grow when grown in less than ideal growing conditions My setup.

New Zealand lemonade tree

New Zealand lemonade#1 · More Info

valentine pomelo gets winter time glass

valentine pomelo · More Info

The Cuban shaddock is now dead. Fruit took 10 months to grow and would not ripen in the winter when its time was due

Cuban Shaddock from cuttings · More Info

Fukushu kumquat comes inside in winter where it and all other indoor trees loose the bulk of their leaves

C35-Fukushu-Node53 · More Info

Keep your root ball at least 70F/21C and the foliage at 70F/21C-85F/30C. This will allow for robust growth and fruit production. Have insecticidal soap and oil spray on hand you will need it in the winter. It is easier to give great care for 1 tree than mediocre care for 5 trees. Grow the 1 tree and do it well. You can add to your collection when you become an expert in citrus trees. That is how I started. I now have 11 citrus and they keep me really busy but are doing well.

Steve

@poncirusguy6b452xx Nice looking plants! Sorry to hear about your Shaddock. How disappointing for you to wait all that time and then have no harvest! I've considered a little greenhouse so I'll give that some more thought. :)

@Monyet Thanks, Bob. I'll keep an eye out! Might just have to give it a go and see what I can figure out! :)

Welcome fellow Canadian Gardener. Anything is possible if you give the plants the right growing environment and lot's of love. Greenhouse would really help. I have a pomelo and it grows great. I've had fruit's from it but none this year. Here are a couple of pics from Ottawa Canada.

New Zealand lemonade in bloom.

Tree's are putting out some incredible growth now even with low temperatures reaching upper 30's lower 40's.

Canadian are the Mango and Pomelo seed grown?

Brian

I will say yes too! The first picture is my tahitian pummelo and the second one is a unknown pummelo or grapefruit (received it as a cutting two years ago)

You Canadians always amaze me! Betweem Brian and Amy and many others very truly missed here, I still shake my head.

Brian, wow! What can I see. To see the Tropical in a place so far north do so well, is incredible. YOu have no need to take a trip anywhere where the palms trees grow wild and the citrus over flow.

Amy, you are side by side with Brian. Great work and I bet you are starting to get excited about your greenhouse) Hopefully you are making a fu;; recovery too

Steve with his genius ideas. Just amzing work.

Candian, how is your Mango tree doing? Can you share any pics? I am planning on growing one. You came to the right place for help and ideas.

Mike

@nulesm Dang, Brian! You give me great hope that I can get this to work! Great looking plants! Thanks for sharing!

@Amy (montreal, canada) Gorgeous fruit, Amy! Thanks for sharing! I'm gonna give it a go!

@Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.) I feel a little silly sharing my tiny mango (in honesty it's mostly my hubby's amazing work), but here's our little fella. It seems super happy as it has doubled in size this week! Lots of sun and care. (I'm sure the dirty window from the rain we've been having helps! Sigh.)

That is a very large container for such a tiny mango. Be careful with your watering and fertilizing in such a large container. Due to the size of the container, disaster can easily come about in 6 months to a year.

I'm also from Canada and I grow Ponderosa lemons quite successfully. The tree bares big lemons. Just to clarify, do you plan to grow indoor year round or just the Winter?

If you have a room that stays above 10C with a South/West Window, you should be fine to overwinter. It also depends on the variety... I've found Meyers and Limequats (Lakeland I believe) to be more finicky and demanding while my Ponderosa and blood orange thrive... plus the bananas that I bring indoors....

Steve gave some great advice above " It is easier to give great care for 1 tree than mediocre care for 5 trees" I'll be happier and less stressed this Winter only having to take care of 2 citrus as opposed to last year when I had 4.

What might help is building a thin wooden frame around it and cover it with clear plastic wrap to help hold in the humidity, then have an LED bulb shining from the top of it left on all the time.

The plant will not grow if indoor temperatures are below 13 C or so.

If it is growing inside, don't take it outside until temperatures begin remaining consistently warm. Even cold temperatures that are above freezing can still cause the plant to defoliate if there is a sudden transition from growing inside to spending many days outside in the cold.

Make sure the roots have enough space.

I have two seed-grown trees and live in Maine. Citrus need a lot of light, so a big south facing window is ideal. Getting them through winter indoors in a northern climate is more about the plant surviving than thriving. Mine do all their quality growing in June-August when they're outside. They always look weaker after the long winter indoors but they've been making it through with hardly any leaf loss for 3 years now, and always recover nicely in the summer, so I can't complain. Have to remember orange trees aren't supposed to grow up here at all!

welcome canadiangardener77, check out DMC DMC on youtube. Another canadian that's growing or was growing dozens of citrus trees in a greenhouse. It can be done but I have found more prone to insects and disease inside then in a greenhouse. It can be done just more work. Best of luck with it. Sourcing them can be a challenge if you are outside of the main city.

Amy and Brian, Is it really getting that cold where you are now? high 30's low 40's at night...?

@Silica Thanks! I'll remember that when watering and fertilizing!

@TheyCallMeDave Hey, Dave. We will definitely overwinter it inside. It may spend some time out on the deck in the warmth of summer, but we hope it will be an indoor plant for us for a while at least. Yes, I'm wondering if we just do the mango this year and wait on the pomelo...

@socalnolympia Interesting idea with the mini-humidity cover. We are constantly about 13C here indoors, unless something dramatic happens.

@James (zone5b) That's a good reminder. We want it to look like a native plant, but we will lower our expectations and hope for just health. Anything else will be a cherry on top!

@Matt z5b - Greenhouse 10a Thanks, I'll check out that youtube page! We're going to be sitting at about 40*F tonight.

CanadianGardener77, don’t listen to Matt and watch Dmc Dmc on youtube! It’s very addicting! Lol! After I watch this video, I found myself with a sapodilla and a avocado! Lolll

Brian, what is that tree you have growing with the reddish new leaves near your pool? Wow buddy!! I want one of those.

Canadian, why be emabrrsed? I think it is a great looking little tree. It looks so healthy and so perfect. I can see that growing into a wonderful mature specimen.

In 15 day we are predicted to get a cool front that will drop us down to an overnight low of 50F !!!/ This is what I like about our weather today over 26 years ago. 4-6 weeks of extra growing for me.

Steve

@poncirusguy6b452xx I guess they all start out tiny, don't they? lol It definitely is a happy little plant! I love watching it grow!

@nulesm Brian, sorry. I missed your question at the bottom of your first comment. The mango is growing and did come from seed. The pomelo I thought to do from seeds, but haven't started yet. :)

Meiwa seedlings start out small

Meiwa · More Info

I grow ponderosa lemon and meyers, the meyers is, as noted by theycallmeDave, more finicky.

I have hardly any pests and don't have to spray or do anything other than a couple of yellow sticky tapes to keep the fungus gnats in check if and when they appear. I take them outside in the summer and bring them in for the winter. They are under a 4ft shop light in the basement which is on almost 24/7, with a few breaks, and they do not drop their leaves.

They produce but for some reason this winter I am struggling with getting the fertilizer right. I changed the potting mix I used and they are protesting.

theycallmeDave, I never heard that the blood orange was easy to grow inside, I will have to look that one up. I have satsuma and it doesn't like my set up.