I have a small lemon tree in a big, heavy pot and a Buddha's hand planted in the ground. Neither froze during any of the freezes that we've had this year even though I didn't cover them. I'm worried about 3 days of temps below freezing. It looks like Friday even the day temp won't get above freezing. The low is supposed to be around 20. Should I cover?
I have so much to cover and so few sheets that I don't want to cover if it's not necessary. Thanks!
Question for citrus growers
Small Lemon, Meyers?, my Meyers Lemon in Huntsville, Tx has survived in the ground now for 8 years, north side of the fields in front of the house, but south of a large oak, moisture is low here, so it should be fine. mine was abt 2.5 ft when I got tired of dragging the pot indoors n simply planted it, since I am gone 3 to 6 wks at a time, it is neglected n seems to thrive anyway. Dont know a thing abt Buddhas hand, but if it related to desert plants, well. Deserts are COLD at nite.
chuckl, forgot, the first several yrs on the Meyers, I didnt exactly wrap them, had wire cages n wrapped the wire with painters plastic til the winds died.comes in rolls, blocked the winds which do the worst damaj. g'luck
I don't remember what kind of lemon it is. I decided to cover it. I left the Buddha's hand exposed. They're both citrus, so I'll compare how they do after this arctic blast ends. I'm pretty sure everything is going to be dead no matter what I do! I was gone for x-mas and we had several bad freezes, so it may have been too late for a lot of my plants already. I'm sick of covering stuff though. If it goes, it goes and it's being replaced with freeze proof/drought proof plants! -- desert plants sound like a good idea!
Thanks!
I bet your lemon made it although it probably dropped some leaves. However, your Buddhas Hand probably croaked.
I just uncovered the lemon tree and took a good look at the Buddha's hand. They look the same! The leaves on both look like they are going to fall off. The Buddha's hand is younger than the lemon so it's trunk and branches are green. They're still green. Could still kick the bucket, but right now, it looks like it might still be alive. The lemon was in a colder spot in the yard though. My neighbor has some 20 ft grapefruit trees. They seem to be OK. Might lose some leaves on the top. I think I should plant more citrus!
Plant Kumquats or Satsumas. If you like "little cutties" then you will like Satsumas. That way you will never have to work about freezes as they are good to 14 degrees. If you get a Kumquat, get a Meiwa if you like sweet and Nagami if you like sour. Good thing about Kumquats is you can eat the peel too. In fact, it is the best part of the fruit. I have had really good luck with Washington Seedless Navel. I am in zone 8b and it is a real trooper. They get about the same size as a small grapefruit and are easy to peel and very good in taste.
Thanks! I was wondering which varieties would be best.
For Satsumas, the most popular varieties are Miho and Seto and they should be very easy to find at local nurseries or Home Depot and Lowes. The Kumquats are harder to find but have been showing up at Home Depots recently. They are more expensive but the prices will drop soon. It is great to be able to eat a whole citrus without peeling and the Meiwa kumquats are very prolific so you will have hundreds or more fruit once they get 5-6 years old.
There is a neat one out now called LemonDrop or Lemonquat. It is a lemon/kumquat hybrid. It is the size of a lemon but the peel is edible. I dont think the peel tastes too good on this one though. It has a nice sweet grapefruit taste and took 19 degrees at my house okay. I lost it's leaves after we got down to 14 degrees but is still alive.
Another plant I think you will really like is Strawberry Guava. It is a cute bush that has strawberry sized red fruit and is very tasty and prolific. It is hardy to 22 degrees unprotected. You can get these off Ebay for less than 10 bucks.