So I have a similar issue. I am in far NE Tn and I have a eureka lemon and a Key lime that I have grown from seed. This winter they will be going into their 3rd year. What I did last year was put them in front of an east facing window with lots of bright light, And also used a UV light for reptiles that is supposed to mimic sunlight. I gave them approx. 10 hours of light a day, watered lightly and misted the plant maybe once or twice a month. The lemon is quite large considering but the key lime is just a little guy. They are however nice and green. haven't had an insect issue, other than a grasshopper taking a nibble or two. Not sure if this is the best course of action. But last year they did beautifully. So should I be doing anything differently?

Citrus tree do not go dormant and need light all year. If you put them in the garage you will need to provide enough light for them to keep their leaves. When it is warmer you can open the garage door and then close it at night. I live in Cincinnati and it is just too far north to even consider that kind of setup past November. I have a box gutter I put the trees in for the day and bring them in at dark. You may be far enough south to do that for all but a few weeks. If so, go for it.

Picture of plants in 2nd story gutter in November. gutter is reachable though 3rd floor bedroom windows.

That was my conclusion -- that the window did not provide enough light for the plants. One of the interesting things I learned by reading this forum was that citrus seem to want more light the warmer they're kept. So I concluded that when it was cool in the room they were fine with the lower light level, but once the heating system maintained normal household room temperatures, the lower light level was insufficient. Sorry that was unclear!

However, they are too big to go back there this year anyway, and the other rooms with south-facing windows are not options either (bedrooms and music room). Regardless of the reason they didn't do well in the dining room last year, I need to find a way to keep them alive in the garage without running up a massive heating bill.

I need to avoid the obligation to move them in and out frequently. They are big and heavy, and I won't reliably have time in the mornings to move them out. I could move them out during an extended warm spell, but certainly not daily. I also am not comfortable leaving the garage door open, given the number of hungry critters in our neighborhood.

I am currently leaning toward a grow tent, a CFL grow light for 8-10 hours a day, and a small electric heater to keep things above 40F on the coldest of nights.

That last option is perfect Nck..Go for it..I wish I had warmer temps like you do..They would be outside every day it's warmer than 55 by day..

Your conclusions are right..They do need more light the warmer they are kept at...But a good south facing window does the trick for many.. A sudden change in temp and a missed step in acclimating them to in the indoors would of caused a massive drop of leaves..

It is usually light or a mix that stays too wet the culprit mixed with dry warm indoor temps without moving air.

Jonathan, was that your video, the making of the trellis?
Thanks if it was, perfect!

Christy, don't fix it if it it's not broken...Do what works for you)

Plenty of people in NC keep their citrus in unheated garages over the winter - as long as it doesn't get below 28 degrees most do fine. But they look like crap the following Spring. In my experience they recover quickly but you do run the risk of losing one of them. They don't naturally have a dormant season but you can force them into one and often after they lose their leaves they bloom big once things warm up. I think the biggest problem is that the torture of being in a dark, cold garage is just too long (sometimes from late Oct to late April).

My tree collection got to big to move around in less than five years so I had to break down and build a permanent shelter (a hoophouse that I close up as tight as possible in the winter). On really cold nights it gets down into the high thirties and most of my trees come through it just fine.

If I were you I would cluster them as near the door as possible and open it up during the sunny part of the day as long as it was above freezing outside. For any periods of super cold weather I would drape clear plastic sheeting over the trees themselves and place a small electric space heater inside the "tent" (making sure the heater doesn't touch the plastic and catch fire). Anything more than a couple of days I would supplement their light, but I would just use shop lights or grow lights and keep it simple. The bulbs have to be really close to the leaves in order to give the plant the light it needs.

I have not hear anything about a basement. this is what I did that worked incredibly well.

The box is 4 ft by 4 foot with a ceiling that could go as high as 8. It used 12 CFL's ranging from 13 to 23 watts.each. The wall were painted high gloss bright wight to "glow" around my trees to make them grow like weeds. I do not know the size of your trees, but the concepts can work for you. See pickture.

You can use the corner of your basement. and increase the size as necessary. Check out the slide show link below

Here is a link that might be useful: http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/wreristhechimney/slideshow/sunshine2013

meyermike, last year I moved the trees onto the porch (full sun for 1/3 the day, part shade for the rest) for about two weeks as the weather cooled off before moving them into the house. Is there anything else I should do? It is what I did in previous years (with the same window and the same soil), and they were fine those years. We will see how the Meyer does this year alone in front of that window -- hopefully it will be sufficient light for one tree!

trianglejohn, I am definitely worried about the "torture of being in a dark, cold garage" (well put!). I have a feeling that in a few years I will be in the same situation as you were, and I will have to build a greenhouse for a more permanent home for the trees.

I really can't leave the door open during the day, especially when I am not at home. I was hoping the grow tent with its reflective interior would help the plants get more out of the grow lights, since I can't place bulbs near to all the leaves.

poncirusguy, I would definitely use a basement if I had one! Much less worry about temperature. Alas, I do not -- they are relatively uncommon in this part of the world.

Thanks to everyone for their advice and suggestions!

Hi,

I have two potted lemons. I grow them from seeds for the past two years. last year I kept them near a sunny patio window. This year after enjoying the summer, I brought them inside but frustrated after finding centipedes in the soil. How can I get rid of centipedes? Or can I keep them in the unheated garage with a grow light to not kill the plant. I live in zone 5.

Does it stay above freezing in the garage? I would doubt it in zone 5.

Centipedes are good to have.

Steve

Are they not poisonous and harmful? I am worried as a mom of two kids. Any solution to get rid of them?

Assuming you live in the USA our centipedes are harmless and won't leave the soil.

\Steve

Oh ok. Thank. Won’t that multiply and spread in other pots?

If the pots are in physical contact they might.

Steve

Question, why was I able to leave all my citrus trees in socal outside in the winter when it most definitely got below 40 at times but in middle TN they recommend bringing them in below 50? I have a whole wall class ceiling to floor west exposure sunroom I intend to bring them into but it’s only 47 at night. Any thoughts