Overwintering Lemon Tree: Location & Care

In order to overwinter a lemon tree, the right location and care are particularly important. We show how your citrus tree survives frost and cold temperatures in winter.

For cold winters and frosts are lemon trees (citrus x lemon) just didn't do it. They need the warmth of more southern climes. But what to do with the citrus tree when the cold is announced and winter is coming? You have to create a feel-good climate for it yourself – in the form of suitable winter quarters.

First you will find a small overview with the most important points for overwintering the lemon tree.

How is the lemon tree properly overwintered?

• Leave outdoors until October or November, if there is a frost at night
• Overwinter frost-free at 5 – 10 °C
• Bright winter quarters with windows or LED lighting
• No fertilizer, little water
• Put them outside again from March/April, but let them in when there is frost
• In spring, slowly acclimate the tree to direct sunlight

Below you will find more details on how to overwinter your lemon tree and what to look out for.

Are Lemon Trees Hardy And When Should You Bring Them Indoors?

The lemon tree is a heat-loving plant. Nevertheless, it also survives cooler temperatures and it only becomes dangerous when there is frost. From -2 °C the first damage to leaves and young shoots occurs. However, you should leave the tree outside for as long as possible. Depending on the region, from mid-May to October or November, when the first frosts appear. It is important that the lemon tree is in a wind-protected place.

To be on the safe side, keep an eye on the weather forecast and bring the lemon tree indoors when there is a risk of night frost. In addition, the right winter quarters and the right care during the hibernation of the tree are also important.

tip: If your lemon tree is still bearing unripe fruit at the beginning of the cold season, you can follow a few tips to help them ripen. In fact, this is not uncommon, since in our latitudes it takes 6 to 9 months for the flowers to develop into fruit. Bring the sapling indoors at night and on cool days from September so that your lemon tree does not go into hibernation in the first place. In order to be able to harvest the fruit when ripe, the tree should be placed in a bright and warm place, such as a conservatory or a south-facing window. In contrast to lemon trees without fruit, you can also give a dose of liquid fertilizer. When the lemons have finally been harvested, it is important to put the sapling in cool winter storage for at least 4 months. This serves as a resting phase for the tree and ensures that new flowers can form later. If you want to speed up fruiting next year, make sure the lemon tree gets as much sun as possible during the warmer months. Incidentally, setting up outdoors is a prerequisite for the lemon harvest.

Ideal location for overwintering a lemon tree

What does the perfect winter quarters for lemon trees look like? The main criteria here are: cool and bright. Temperatures between 5 and 10 °C are ideal. It can also be a little cooler, but absolutely frost-free. Unfortunately, the garden is no longer a place for wintering. At best, the winter quarters have a window as a light source. If you don't have the luxury of a cool and bright place to offer, you can also use LED plant lighting. Suitable places are cool conservatories, greenhouses, unheated hallways, basements or garages. The following rule applies here: the darker the place, the cooler it must be.

In winter, the temperature should be adjusted to the light conditions. If the lemon trees are placed bright but too cold, the leaves still have enough light for photosynthesis, but the roots are already almost fully active at 12.5 °C a. As a result, the tree can no longer adequately care for the leaves and subsequently sheds them. Then winter leaf fall occurs.

Once you have found a suitable place, you should leave the lemon tree there all winter. A change would only mean unnecessary stress for the plant. Rather, lemon trees prefer to have their permanent location.

Hibernate a lemon tree in the living room

Bright and cool places to hibernate are often in short supply. But that doesn't have to stop you from owning a lemon tree. Hibernation in a warm place is not ideal, but it is definitely possible. Sufficient light is very important in warm conditions. However, the normal daylight that makes it into our homes in winter is not enough. It is therefore better to use a plant lamp. With this you can significantly increase the light intensity that reaches the leaves of the tree in winter. You should illuminate the plant for at least six hours every day.

tip: Since the dry heating air in winter noticeably affects the plant, you should also spray the plant with water more frequently. This is the most effective measure to prevent pest infestation.

Caring for a lemon tree in winter

During the winter, you should visit your citrus tree regularly and check for pests - these are particularly fond of settling in the winter quarters. The plant is particularly susceptible to scale insects (coccoidea), mainly when the air is too warm or too dry. The lemon tree does not need fertilizer throughout the cold season. You should also water sparingly, as the lemon tree uses little water while it is dormant.

Care tip loss of leaves: In the spring, the lemon tree threatens to lose its leaves when they are already warming up due to the incoming sun, but the root ball is still cool. Then you should take the plant out of direct light or position it so that the pot can also warm up. Otherwise, the rule applies that the plant should not be moved or rotated in the winter quarters.

When can the lemon tree go outside again?

Put your tree outside as early as possible from March or April, when the first warm days are announced. On very cold nights, however, you should bring it back inside. However, keep in mind that the leaves of the tree are not yet used to direct sun after the long period in winter quarters. So, to begin with, choose a place out of direct sunlight.

When winter is over and the lemon tree wakes up from hibernation, it's time to repot it. In this article you will learn everything you need to know about the topic Repot lemon tree should know.