Has anyone tried growing an Orange Dwarf tree in Midwest?

Does anyone have experience growing a dwarf orange tree (any variety) in Chicago/ Midwest or any other colder climate region? Curious if you had any success? I know Meyer lemon trees are preferred citrus to be grown in colder climates, but I am curious if there is a way to grow an dwarf orange tree here in the colder climate?

Hi,

My sister had one for years. It went outside in the late spring and back in the house in the fall. It had these very bitter oranges, which looked better just sitting on the tree.

There is a gas station in New Jersey that rolls out pretty large versions of potted fruiting tropical plants. They are on wheels to allow them to take them in and out at will. In the dead of winter, I see them in the stalls where cars were once repaired.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:My sister had one for years. It went outside in the late spring and back in the house in the fall. It had these very bitter oranges, which looked better just sitting on the tree.

Was it a calamondin? A friend had one for several years, and kept it inside as a houseplant. It eventually failed - I don't it was getting quite enough light - but I'm told if summered outside, they can do very well. The juice is a good substitute for sour orange, and the zest is comparable to a regular orange.

Hi,

It could very well be the tree you linked to. Your description of the juice and zest seems accurate.

Regards,

I am going to try to grow a dwarf blood orange tree. Not very optimistic with this experiment will work out but I will give it a shot.

You can definitely grow citrus in the midwest. I have a Meyer Lemon, Dwarf Washington Navel Orange and tonight I'll be picking up either an Oro Blanco Grapefruit or a Moro Blood Orange that I had special ordered at a local nursery.

I'm also growing 10 hardy citrus trees that are about 18" tall for a future attempt at grafting.

bierz,

Do you belong to the dwarf fruit tree society? I met them once at the Field Museum. They were quite active in grafting different varieties onto root stock. I got the impression they traded branches for grafting. If you don't, you may want to hunt them down and meet your tribe.

Regards,

Have had excellent success with a Kaffir lime tree for three years now by moving it outdoors about now until later October. It stops growing over the winter until about March when it sprouts new growth.

I have a Dwarf Mayer Lemon that was barely hanging on, and it must have gotten too stiff a breeze at some point in the past few weeks as I've been moving it out on nice, warm days and in at night. It has about 2.5 leaves left, and they look a bit spotty

leek wrote:I have a Dwarf Mayer Lemon that was barely hanging on, and it must have gotten too stiff a breeze at some point in the past few weeks as I've been moving it out on nice, warm days and in at night. It has about 2.5 leaves left, and they look a bit spotty

In the winter my Meyer Lemon lost all its leaves as well but has come back now in the spring/summer. 2 things I learned is the lemon tree loses its leaves because of over watering and when its too cold (40 or below). When the plant is not in direct sunlight then you should only water once or twice a week, not every day. Meyer lemon trees like to be on the dry side and not be over watered. Also the tray it sits on should be mounted up with pebbles/river rock so the plant is not sitting in water.

Rick T. helpfully noted:

Have had excellent success with a Kaffir lime tree for three years now by moving it outdoors about now until later October. It stops growing over the winter until about March when it sprouts new growth.

Thanks for the reminder - I'd been meaning to check with the folks at Chalet Garden Center in Wilmette about kaffir lime availability, as I was leery about mail-ordering one. None in stock now, but one of the plantsmen told me to expect them in June, when they start carrying hot-house citrus of all kinds, including Meyer lemons. Yay!

leek wrote:I have a Dwarf Mayer Lemon that was barely hanging on, and it must have gotten too stiff a breeze at some point in the past few weeks as I've been moving it out on nice, warm days and in at night. It has about 2.5 leaves left, and they look a bit spotty

My tree is doing much better. It's not bigger, but it has far more leaves. It didn't flower this year, must be in an adolescent phase or a rebuilding year or something. I plan to re-pot it over the summer, once it's nice and steadily warm at night.

I am now the proud owner of two dwarf Carizzo Meyer lemon trees. They are on the small side and have not really started to branch out yet. I have them in my screen porch to kind of harden them and I plan on transplanting them to larger pots and keeping them outside until it drops into the high forties. I am crossing my fingers for lemons at some point.