Citrus trees are abundant at retail garden centers during fall and early winter. They make beautiful holiday gifts, and they are one of the most popular types of fruit to grow in Louisiana home gardens. However, our occasional — but exceptionally cold — arctic air blasts can make success with these tropical and subtropical trees a bit tricky.
Because citrus trees are sensitive to the cold, special care is needed when choosing cultivars to grow and when deciding whether to plant them in the ground or in containers.
There is a lot of conflicting information out there about the best times and strategies for planting citrus. Our advice? It’s all about location, location, location — and even within Louisiana, recommendations vary by region.
To get started, take a look at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zone Map and see where your garden sits. When this map was updated in 2023, most locations in Louisiana became one zone warmer. Northern Louisiana moved to zone 8b, where average minimum temperatures are still 15 to 20 F. That’s pretty cold for citrus trees, which can suffer severe damage and even die in subfreezing temperatures…