Growing Lemons and Limes in South Coastal BC, Canada

This video describes a system we have developed to successfully grow lemons and limes in a climate previously considered too cold to successfully grow and ripen citrus outside. Over the last twenty years, lemons and limes planted in the ground against south or west walls at our growing site have consistently provided year-round and abundant harvests of high quality fruits.
Featuring Bob Duncan of Fruit Trees and More Nursery & Demonstration Orchard in Sidney BC, Canada. Created by Allison Gratz. Music by Steppin' In It.

[@raykinney9907]

I'm in the central coast range of Oregon 17 mi. inland in 8b zone, starting to try Meyer lemon trees in high tunnel. I intend on using 55 gal drums of water with aquarium heaters set to warm that water more than just winter solar gain, but only on the few nights that get too cold for the solar gain to heat the water enough. Right now, I'm growing figs, chestnuts, and apples, and experimenting with different types of local food production organically. Thanks for both your videos on DK fig, and now the citrus!

[@unconventionalme8048]

I love your nature man! It’s folks like you that have shown the rest of us how to get so much more outta life!

[@ProjectDiaries]

Great Video and awesome use of Christmas Lights. Good Job! :)

[@feeemereditions452]

Merci pour toutes les précisions et les astuces pour éviter le gel

[@ju2067]

Super video, Bob. Much appreciated!

[@adnanalhasan3746]

Thanks Bob for the great information.

[@niccolealdrich4890]

Thank you for sharing! I enjoyed watching 👍😀

[@jenmack8944]

Excellent. Well done and perfectly informative video. Thank you!!

[@donnabalzerhelpinggardener3271]

Thanks again Bob. I was delighted to visit you again last week and see you still have these same lemons in place so many years later. I have had my trees for four years now and am delighted.

[@TheKristenGibson]

Excellent system. Great video

[@Laniakea339]

You guys are amazing! Thank you!

[@donnabalzerhelpinggardener3271]

Thanks, Bob, for this detailed overview and refresher on growing lemons and limes on Vancouver Island. I am also trying to grow these crops up-Island at Qualicum Beach. I look forward to seeing you again soon. I love visiting your nursery.

[@TheASTrader]

Very informative video. Thank you for sharing.

[@plantingthenorth7225]

Beautiful trees. Love the informative video!

[@georgepizarro4026]

It´s fantastic... minus 5 to minus 10 degrees .! If somebody deserves to receive congratulations, Is you. Great hard work. I have 3 lemons trees at the open field and with temperatures varying from 12 to 25 degrees during the year. Thank you for sharing the information and efforts.

[@naykon1]

Thanks very much for sharing, very informative! And greetings from the UK!

[@BenBSeattle]

Gotta make a trip to visit Bob this summer!

[@dustinharacka2709]

This is super exciting I live just up the island from you and look forward to giving this a try! Excellent use of the old style Christmas lights as well!

[@RogerDiotte]

OMG yum those lemons and limes look delectable. Your living the life in the right place to be in Canada!

[@codekalan8179]

You are so lucky, to be able to pick these everyday of the year!!

[@peachesdarling3093]

Excellent video! We will be visiting your nursery soon.

[@momzy1]

ABSOLUTLY FABULOUS

[@AbbasZainal]

Very nice lemon trees I like it 👍🏻👍🏻

[@suzieq4584]

This was really helpful and simple and inexpensive enough to replicate! Thanks!

[@Erbalaiza]

Christmas Lights to grow citrus fruits in colder climates, absolutely awesome, Nothing Fancy or complicated, great stuff !!!

[@zokowawa]

Thank you for this excellent and informative video! It really gave me the information I needed and I am going to grow lemons now!

[@MrSteveMckenzie]

Great Job!! This has given me the confidence to plant a couple this year!! Who doesn’t like Lemon Christmas Trees?! I’m all in!

[@sugarbomb26]

What an excellent video!

[@ArcadeCabNBud]

man, lovely trees there, should be able to do this here in southern england, where temps very rarely go below zero. thanks !

[@tmccrack76]

Thank you! Definitely going to try this in the Pacific Northwest!

[@Enonymouse_]

If your area see's regular temps of 12-25F in winter, will likely die. I've tried various citrus stuff.

[@oxennguyen3148]

Sir, you have all my respect for your love to those lemon trees. Your hard works pay off. Electricity in Florida is very high. some of us pay over $400 or more per month! crazy

[@hannahbeads4541]

Thanks so much for sharing!!!

[@LoyaltotheUSA]

Terrific tip on using the Christmas tree lights for added warmth.

[@cassyvandermey9894]

Excellent video! Thank you very much!

[@bonusking1224]

Awesome info. Thank you. Im gonna do this asap.

[@gardeninginthenortheast6220]

Great video. Very informative. Thank you!

[@Cheap_Skate]

I spent some time in Kyushu, and this is the only video I've ever seen to mention growing Sudachi and Kabosu in the PNW! Very excited to know that I can add those to my shelter-grown Yuzu once I track down some seedlings. Thank you so much for the information!

[@RealBradMiller]

Excellent video!

[@totalherenow]

Thank you! Excellent information!

[@allenbay4974]

Very informative video. Thank you

[@Benzypan]

Thank you so much for sharing ❤️

[@georgiemanns2172]

Great info!!

[@deesgardeningjourney1163]

Great information. I have 1 lemon and 2 orange trees which are a little over 1 years old from seed here in Alabama. I didn't know if the trees would grow in this climate. However, if you can grow them in Canada, I can for sure make it work here in growing zone 8. Thank you for the post and information with protecting them in extreme conditions.

[@deesgardeningjourney1163]

I may even plant them close my house like you have as well.

[@summerraen]

I just bought some lemon and lime trees this year after moving to Victoria this summer. This video makes me feel so happy looking forward to my life here- thank you for all of this great information! I can't wait until my harvest starts coming in 🙂

[@MrFuturehistory]

where di you get the lemon trees from? And how have your trees been doing? I'm in Victoria BC, looking to buy a few small-ish lemon trees, perhaps even dwarf ones for indoor growth

[@jamesalanstephensmith7930]

Great stuff!

[@b3vang]

Very inspiring!

[@joshuahoyer1279]

This is great stuff! We are in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, zone 8b, and I'm trying out a Meyer lemon, Bearss lime, and a Satsuma Mandarin tree against our south wall. I treated them very similarly, constructing a pvc hoophouse over all three, stringing strands of little incandescent christmas lights, and setting a smart outlet to turn on at freezing temps. We had several nights below 25F, and they completely safe. I also keep 55gal black barrel full of water in there as a backup heat source in case the power cuts out. I might look into a portable solar unit to see if I use that instead of relying on our grid to keep them alive, since we had a pretty bad ice storm a couple years ago that caused some serious devastation in our area. But so far, our citrus are alive and well. They have only been in ground for a year, though, so we haven't had any fruit yet. But the meyer lemon has one on it that is maybe halfway grown, and a few more tiny ones starting out!

[@jahstafari4606]

what a great video ...thanks for info

[@jeff6899]

Nice to know ! Live in the hot, low desert of Phoenix, Arizona...and even here, we occasionally have to make sure we protect most citrus on very cold nights !

[@caroles5258]

Thank you!

[@vincenzollamas]

great music!

[@herballover1660]

I am going to give this a go in Belgium. I have grown a few mandarins and lemonstrees from seed and will plant these in the garden now, using your method. Thank you and congratulations

[@Coladudetje]

Where do u live add me on FB Angelo Baete Kiwi jenny grows now :p

[@thavylor]

Thank you

[@inesgiuliani876]

Great advice about the Christmas lights!

[@chriswostmann744]

A great suggestion for our middle European climate!

[@desp8161]

Victoria actually has mas mild Mediterranean climate because of the very dry winters. Oceanic climates have year around precipitation.

[@n00097]

Great initiative

[@angelapalmer9062]

Perfect tree very nice thank you

[@DartIlove]

thank you very much this video was very very helpful

[@MYISLANDMO]

woohoo! I've been trying for 6+ years but can't get citrus older than 2 winters- I will keep trying with these tips, thank you!

[@GardeningUrduHindi]

Wow great plant 🌷🌷

[@sendercorp]

So very beautiful . . .

[@sandraparente3962]

Your blowing my mind!

[@juliosdiy3206]

Wow its incredible.

[@donx03]

Impressive heating technique

[@oldbeginner1854]

thanks very much!

[@cardiolgy4714]

Excellent

[@aracelizuniga5451]

I'm jealous I want it!!! Thank you for the tips. I live in WA and I want one.

[@gemmarose25]

What a practical solution for dealing with our very occasional cold west coast nights! Thanks for sharing the video!

[@lkhfun6575]

Thank you. Very informative for those of us that are just south of you. :-)

[@jcomm120]

Will try here in north central France! Thanks for info♡♡♡

[@junglejoecvideogates9705]

Beautiful. We live in the Banana Belt!

[@natemurphy4367]

Very cool I just planted mine in the ground here in Washington in the middle of my green house

[@romanstenthirteen6747]

Nice I really love lemons it simply add colors in my life.. I find it hard to grow this fruit here in winter land..

[@jonathancamplin5703]

going to give it a try in Yorkshire uk . thanks

[@oby-1607]

You must have to cover these trees now and then because Vancouver Island does get some cold weather and snow. I worked on the Island in the 90s and there was one year that the snow was so deep that everyone was trapped for some time and this last winter has had some cold periods and snow. Do appreciate your video as it is inspiring.

[@arteme4348]

Nice video! Perfect trees! Greetings from Russia!

[@dennisbaker5432]

Artem E Mrs Brown's boys

[@glepjust]

thank you, thank you so much. you are genius!!

[@alanfalleur6550]

Great video! We have similar winters in central Texas, but we get much hotter in the summer of course. I've decided to try to grow some owari satsuma mandarins in the ground on the West side of my house, using similar techniques.

[@jonathanstephens7015]

I bet they’ll do well if you baby them.

[@v12vro77]

exotic fruit...

[@jamesalanstephensmith7930]

Christmas lights, great!

[@sutherland896]

I see at 7:18 you have kiwis and persimmons! would love to see a video for these :-) Nice job.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

This is such a fantastic video. I've watched it 2 or 3 times because I plan on planting some citrus trees next year. I'm down here at the very bottom of the 34th parallel, almost into the 33's, and right on the coast and my absolute minimum temperatures are less than yours. The Southeast US is the most climatically ripped off area of any continent on the planet - at any other continent, the 34th parallel is practically frost-free. I'm still going to try, though. Your system looks great.

[@budstik]

Millennial Gardener, any update on your Lila? Have you managed any fruit beyond cukes?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

@@budstik I just posted a Short 2 hours ago: kzbin.infoGK3f5dPQiu4?feature=share

[@hiteshk8758]

Amazing how you can grow a tropical tree in Canada very ingenious way to use filament bulbs to keep the tree warm

[@docontheloose]

A youtube clip with climate stats! Extremely helpful.

[@mariaolson5808]

Was researching if growing lemons or limes would be possible in Abbotsford, BC when I came across your video. Thanks

[@Signingupsucksballss]

I guess this would be even simpler if they were to be grown inside a greenhouse. Something to keep in mind for myself in the future!

[@joeydubbs763]

Xmas lights was a great idea thnx👍

[@annemiekewielinga7203]

Very nice, i am in the Low Countries...( Netherlands ) i still move all my citrus indoors. But this year i planted a lemon in my unheated greenhouse

[@trevorcole460]

Fantastic tutorial of growing and maintaining citrus during the winter 🥶 months, The old fashioned Christmas lights is a great idea. I would think that as lemons and limes are more hardy in the winter than oranges, you could simply graft the lemon tree to get Oranges growing. Cheers 🍻 from the Uk 🇬🇧

[@jonathanstephens7015]

There is actually a tangerine called the arctic frost satsuma that is hardy to -7 C far hardier than meyer lemon or bearas limes. Also the dunstan grapefruit does very well, hardy down to -12. Even still those all require some cover and supplemental heat on the coldest nights in the Pacific Northwest. The most common citrus grown in this region west of the Cascade Mountains and within 50 miles of the Pacific is a variety called yuzu. There are two varieties, the sudachi and the ichandrin. They are both hardy to -17 C and don’t require a cover or supplemental heat. It just doesn’t get cold enough here to be worried about cold damaging an yuzu tree. You still have to grow them in south facing, wind sheltered location or they won’t produce fruit and may lose some leaves in the winter. But if you plant them in a raised bed by a south facing wall you’ll have lots of yuzu all year in this region. This guy actually has another video about growing yuzu if you are interested. I notice you are from the UK. I’d imagine most locations in the UK and Ireland would support a healthy yuzu tree. Especially if you live near the coast and have a nice south facing planting area. It’s interesting that you mention grafting to enhance cold hardiness since virtually all cold hardy citrus are grafted on a trifolate orange rootstock. Also known as the poncirus or flying dragon orange, it is hardy to -25 C and native to 4000 meter mountains in China. Evidently someone started grafting horse lemons onto that rootstock thousands of years ago and that led to all these wonderful hardy citrus varieties. It’s really funny because most people don’t think you can grow citrus in cooler climates but that’s not the case. You can’t grow the real sexy citrus, varieties like ruby grapefruit, key lime and temple orange, but you can definitely grow the sour hardy citrus in most mild oceanic and cool Mediterranean climate zones. Cheers from Oregon!

[@langvan3236]

vancouver washington and yep tyvm now i Know i can

[@MyTube4Utoo]

I just ordered a Meyer Lemon - Lime *bush* yesterday. Lemons and limes on the same bush. I'll have to grow in a container and bring it inside for several months of the year, so I opted for a bush instead of a tree.

[@Free_Falastin2024]

"Arctic outbreak -5C" LOL. I wish that was the coldest we had here in southern Ontario. It sucks being at a Mediterranean latitude with true arctic air coming down all winter.

[@natemurphy4367]

Sure wish you would do more videos

[@441rider]

Got ya! was hard to find a BC tree help resource I hope you can sell cuttings or rooted stalks.

[@arielmarin6968]

hi very good video. .i grow orange here texas..

[@DaveM-mp6yu]

Hi Bob, excellent video, an inspiration to us all. What type of pruning system to you use? Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@cheewurz]

Bob...I live in Southern California and am told I cannot grow Citrus here! Summers are in the 90's F & Winters get down to 28 F. I have seen it down to 19 F. It will Snow 3-4 times a year and is almost always gone in 3 - 4 days. Funny thing is...30 minuets from here is vast Groves of Oranges & Grapefruits etc.

[@KhanhNguyen-hg4er]

Really like your video, thank you! I just bought a Persian Lime, Improved Mayer Lemon and Thornless Key Lime trees from Costco and all three trees are in ONE pot. Should I split them and plant into different pots or plant them into one bigger container. Your expertise is greatly appreciated, thank you. Ken

[@Jewlsoftheislandyyj]

Wonderful! Question: How much did it cost you to build the covering in materials? Labour?

[@orchardtvchannel]

Hi there well this sure is a interesting video. I'm in southern okanagan area of bc and I was looking for another fruit to grow and diversify into .