In your video, you say one can grown citrus indoors “in zone 7 or lower”.  Does “lower” mean more southerly or does it mean a lower number (more northerly).  I live in zone 8.  Will the Meyer take an occasional light freeze outdoors?  I don’t have good sunlight anywhere in my house (deep overhangs to keep the sun out).

The higher the number the warmer the climate and more southerly your location.  It should be able to handle a light freeze, but I’ll leave the answer to that to the experts on that particular variety of lemon tree.  I grew up in the middle of citrus country, and it would regularly be 29-30 deg. F on winter mornings.  But it always warmed up rapidly; unlike here in zone 7.  Good luck with your trees.

Anne, Thanks for your question and Gail, we appreciate your tips!

In general, lemon trees can grow well in USDA Zone 8. They will tolerate 32F but not much lower. Here’s what Purdue University says about lemons and cold weather:

“The tree is defoliated at 22º to 24º F (-5.56º-4.44º C). A temperature drop to 20º F (-6.67º C) will severely damage the wood unless there has been a fortnight of near-freezing weather to slow down growth. Flowers and young fruits are killed by 29º F (-1.67º C) and nearly mature fruits are badly damaged below 28º F (-2.22º C).”

For more of this thorough article on lemon trees, see http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/lemon.html

During cold snaps in Zone 8 drape your tree with an Agribon frost blanket or row cover fabric http://www.groworganic.com/growing-supplies/frost-protection/garden-fabric.html.

When Tricia said “Zone 7 or lower” in the video she meant the lower zone numbers with colder climates. They cannot grow lemons outdoors all year-round, and need to overwinter them indoors or in greenhouses.

Hope this info helps!

I’ve grown my Meyer lemon in a pot for about 8 years. I keep it in a pot in front of the garage with a deep overhang, southern exposure.  It’s on a wheeled tray so that when it gets below freezing I can wheel it into the garage. I use the floating row cover material (you can buy it sewn into bag forms with pull ties) for my abutilons, but the lemon is too big.
You might hear that they need to be brought indoors for the winter. My experience is that these plants do not like to be brought indoors (into the house). I lost one tree bringing it indoors. I almost lost this one, but it rebounded from its severe die-back. Even trying to bring it in just overnight resulted in a large amount of defoliation and some die-back. It’s probably the extreme change in temperature. If they’re brought in early enough so they never experience any cool/cold it might work.