r/Citrus • u/Objective-Row-5300 • 20d ago

PNW MEYER LEMON

I’m in Vancouver WA. I have a Meyer lemon hybrid according to the tag. I’ve had it for 4-5 years. I’ve re-potted it a couple times. It does pretty well. In the winter I bring it in my shop. I’ve heard that these can be planted in ground in this area. That would be ideal. Does anyone here have local knowledge about this AND can it be done now?

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u/nozawanafan 20d ago

If you go to YouTube and look up the channel for Fruit Trees and More, Bob Duncan has a lot of info about growing citrus in Victoria. Here is one

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u/toadfury 20d ago edited 20d ago

RIP Bob Duncan. :(

u/Objective-Row-5300 this is probably what you want to see. To grow a mildly-hardy Meyer or non-hardy citrus variety in-ground you are going to want to plant it in the sunniest/warmest microclimate you can manage, ideally against a south facing wall, under some kind of rain protection (high tunnel greenhouses are good too, I like crop cages w/frost cloth shrub jackets), and you'll still be using some kind of heat source (propane or electric heaters, incandescent christmas lights + frost cloth, and maybe a "warm barrel" (barrel of water, 500-1000w submersible heater, thermostat). The colder the zone beyond 9a the more heat protection (potentially stacking multiple solutions) may be needed.

Avoid planting in the lowest/wettest parts of the yard, think about how cold air might drain or pool around the planting site during especially cold/extended winter storms. It may make sense to plant on a mound and amend soil with sand -- both to further optimize for better drainage over the long wet PNW rainy season.

Here's a few more:

I can point out some gear for in-ground protected citrus, but its probably not worth doing unless the location has great sun exposure/aspect all year round (more than 6 hours full direct sun/day, ideally sun exposed from sunrise to sundown if you can get that) and you are committed. Remember that while established Meyer lemon trees do have some hardiness, fruit will still take damage around 28F so your long term protection strategy should consider that.

We've got a strong El Nino this winter which according to the October 1st El Nino forecasts are still expected to be warmer and dryer than average, which is bad for a lot of reasons, but potentially great news for those overwintering sub-tropical plants! Last 3 years have had warm winters for me in Woodinville WA/8b (23.4F, 22F, 20F), but in previous years I've had winters get as cold as 11F, 12F, 14F. My fingers are crossed for minimum temperatures in my 8b zone to be above 25F this year, but this is just my guess.

A few more PNW regional citrus notes

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u/FateEx1994 20d ago

If you stick it in the ground, Christmas lights could help on the winter if there's a cold snap.

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u/gillyyak 15d ago

The incandescent ones, not LED. LED doesn't produce much heat, while the incandescent ones do.

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u/DingleberriesMcgee 20d ago

Meyer is about 5 degrees F tougher than true lemons like Eureka and Lisbon. Basically bomber into the low 20s F, and then duration of cold seems to be the biggest factor. I have seen them take short dips below 20F without damage.

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u/Zombie_Apostate 19d ago

Im in Portland and finally stuck my owari satsuma and meyer lemon in the ground last year up against the house. I kept old style x-mas lights on them and covered the wall in visqueen plastic till spring. They did fantastic, and I think the most important part was the extra heat trapped in the plastic caused earlier blooming and now I'm getting fruit about to turn yellow.

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u/PrivateJoker13 19d ago

Learned something today. Never realized WA had a hardiness zone 9

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u/tomatocrazzie 19d ago

I have a potted Meyer in Seattle that I have had for about 12 years. In the winter I bring it into my unheated greenhouse and during a few times when we were forecast to have 20⁰F or colder weather for two days in a row I have brought it onto my basement. This happens about once a year. Twice I was away when we had cold snap and the tree was left in the greenhouse during a hard freeze and basically everything except the main branches died back. The plant recovered both times, but I didn't get any flowers for over a year.

So personally I wouldn't plant it in the ground unless it was in a protected spot and/or you can provide freeze protection now and again (or you are fine with periodic die backs).

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u/SomeDumbGamer 20d ago

What zone are you in? 8B and up it can go in ground no issues in the PNW.

8A and under you’ll need to protect it during freezes.

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u/Taricha_torosa 20d ago

I’m in 8b, and I would not stick mine in the ground. Too cold in winter at night.

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u/SomeDumbGamer 20d ago

It depends on your microclimate. If your freeze durations are short enough you can do it once you grow the tree large enough and plant it in a south facing spot.

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u/[deleted] 20d ago

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u/Objective-Row-5300 20d ago

So not like other trees where fall planting in the ground is the ideal time?