In Seine-Saint-Denis, the winter stays moderate, but it freezes almost every year. One winter in ten, the cold falls to about −12 °C, and to −8 °C in an ordinary winter. The hardiest citrus trees live in the ground, by a house, in an allotment or in a courtyard; the others spend the winter in pots, on a balcony or a sheltered terrace.
These figures come from thirty winters of Météo-France records, from 1996-1997 to 2025-2026, at the Neuilly-sur-Marne station, the only one in the département. We compared them with the hardiness of each of our plants. Below you will find:
- the citrus trees that spend the winter outdoors without protection;
- those that need a fleece on frosty nights;
- those that stay in a pot.
The lists are kept up to date: only the plants available today are shown with a photo.
- −5 °C or milder
- −6 to −7 °C
- −8 to −9 °C
- −10 to −11 °C
- −12 to −13 °C
- −14 to −15 °C
- −16 to −17 °C
- −18 to −19 °C
- −20 °C and colder
Colour: the cold of one winter in ten, on the plain. Click on a neighbouring département to see its page. Map of the whole of France.
Choose your area:
−12 °Cone winter in ten
Seine-Saint-Denis
Bobigny, Saint-Denis, Montreuil, Aubervilliers, Aulnay-sous-Bois, Noisy-le-Grand, Drancy, Neuilly-sur-Marne
See the citrus trees for this area
The cold in the département is followed by a single station, at Neuilly-sur-Marne, at 30 m on the banks of the Marne: −11.5 °C one winter in ten and −7.7 °C in an ordinary winter, over thirty winters. The dense districts of Saint-Denis, Bobigny or Montreuil often freeze a little less than an open riverbank; the heights of Romainville and Montreuil, windier, a little more. Citranges, yuzus and the hardiest satsumas spend the winter outdoors; the other satsumas, kumquats and the hardiest clementines with a fleece, against a south-facing wall. Orange trees, the other clementines and lemon trees stay in pots.
Neuilly-sur-Marne
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has river alluvium and silty soils. In practice, the soil is often clayey, silty and chalky.
Rootstocks to favour: FA5, then Poncirus. Poncirus only if the active lime stays below about 5% (soil analysis).
Your plot may be different. Look at the Géoportail soil map (in French) around your home, then refine with our 5-step test.
In open ground, without protection
They withstand −12 °C. In the first years, a fleece on nights below −5 °C is a sensible precaution.
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Satsuma China S-2
down to −12 °C · €41.00
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Changsha Mandarin
down to −12 °C · €38.00
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Sudachi Seneca
down to −12 °C · €42.00
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Yuzu 3
down to −15 °C · €38.00
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Morton Citrange
down to −15 °C · €35.00
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Clemyuz
down to −12 °C · €38.00
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Eremorange
down to −12 °C · €35.00
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Satsuma Owari FS
down to −12 °C · €42.00
See all 17 available plants that withstand −12 °C
Sold out for now: 11 other plants
On their page, “Notify me” lets you know when they are back: Ambersweet, Auline, Bendizao Mandarin, Hana Yuzu, Satsuma Dobashi Beni, Satsuma Kowano, Satsuma Louisiana, Satsuma Saigon, Satsuma Waze, Thornless Yuzu, Yuzu.
In open ground, with a fleece on frosty nights
They withstand −9 °C. A winter fleece put on at each frost and removed as soon as the frost stops, and a sheltered spot against a south-facing wall.
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Satsuma Miyagawa
down to −10 °C · €38.00
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Ermelo Orange
down to −10 °C · €47.00
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Shekwasha
down to −11 °C · €34.85
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Changshan Huyou
down to −11 °C · €38.00
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Kinkoji
down to −10 °C · €38.00
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Orisa 9 Tangor
down to −9 °C · €41.00
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Yuko
down to −9 °C · €38.00
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Fukushu Kumquat
down to −10 °C · €32.30
See all 21 available plants that withstand −9 °C
Sold out for now: 20 other plants
On their page, “Notify me” lets you know when they are back: Corsican Mountain Orange, Haruka, Harumi, Hyuganatsu, Jabara, Juanita Mandarin, Kino Kuni Mikakukishu Mandarin, Mapo Tangelo, Meiwa Kumquat, Minneola, Nameiwa Kumquat, Natsudaidai, Rio Red Grapefruit, Sanbokan, Satsuma China S-3, Satsuma Iwasaki, Satsuma Miho, Satsuma Pucheng, Setubalense Mandarin, Shunkokan.
The others: in a pot, brought in for the winter
Lemons, limes and less hardy citrus (more tender than −9 °C): in a large pot, outdoors from spring to autumn and brought into a bright, frost-free room for the winter. All our citrus trees.
Readings from the Météo-France stations (winters 1996-1997 to 2025-2026)
| Station | Altitude | Ordinary winter | One winter in ten | Record | Winters at −9 °C or below |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neuilly-sur-Marne | 30 m | −7.7 °C | −11.5 °C | −12.5 °C (7 January 2009) | 9 out of 30 |
“Ordinary winter”: half of the winters go colder, the other half less cold. “One winter in ten”: this cold is reached or exceeded in about one winter in ten. Calculations by the Greffeur d'agrumes nursery.
How to read these figures
The hardiness given on our product pages is the cold that an adult, healthy and hardened citrus tree withstands during a short frost. We compare it with the cold that comes back about one winter in ten: a plant listed “without protection” withstands at least that cold. In harsher winters, about three in thirty, keep a winter fleece ready for the coldest nights.
Very harsh winters are still possible. On 7 January 2009, Neuilly-sur-Marne fell to −12.5 °C, and in February 2012 the thermometer there again dropped below −11 °C. Such cold can burn the leaves or a few shoots of a citrus tree that is only just hardy enough. Wait for spring to see what grows back before pruning.
To understand what helps a tree get through frost, read Understanding citrus hardiness.
Our advice for Seine-Saint-Denis
- Make use of the warmth of walls. The foot of a south-facing wall, an enclosed courtyard or the corner of a house freezes less than open ground. The banks of the Marne and the Canal de l'Ourcq, like the large lawns of parks, are on the contrary among the coldest places.
- In an allotment, choose the right plot. A corner backing onto a shed or a solid fence, facing south, is better than a bed in the middle of the paths, exposed to the wind. Keep the winter fleece close at hand for frosty nights.
- On a high balcony, the wind matters as much as the cold. Group the pots against the front of the building, in the shelter of a return wall, and set them on feet so that water drains away. Insulate the pot on frosty nights: roots suffer from cold before the branches do.
- Choose the rootstock for your soil. Poncirus is the most cold-resistant; FA5 suits chalky, dry soil. If the soil is heavy or compacted, plant on a mound. The 5-step test guides you: Which rootstock should you choose?
- Plant or repot in spring, once the frosts are over. From September onwards, give no more fertiliser and stop pruning.
- In the first years, cover young plants as soon as the night drops below −5 °C. The fleece goes on at each frost and comes off as soon as the frost stops.
- Mulch is for summer, against drought, and without touching the trunk. Pull it away from the foot of the tree at the end of autumn: moisture at the collar encourages phytophthora.
Frequently asked questions
Is a lemon tree in the ground possible in Saint-Denis?
The risk is too great. A lemon tree withstands about −5 °C, and at Neuilly-sur-Marne that threshold was passed 28 winters out of 30. Keep it in a pot and bring it into a bright room protected from frost for the winter. If you want a sour fruit in the garden, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 withstand −15 °C, the other yuzus (Yuzu 30, thornless, Tada Nishiki) −12 °C. See Lemons and lemon substitutes.
Which ones stay outdoors all winter?
Citranges, in the ground as in a large tub. Yuzus and the hardiest satsumas also hold out in the ground without protection; the other satsumas and kumquats, with a fleece on frosty nights. You will find them in Hardy citrus and Japanese citrus.
Can I have oranges or clementines?
Orange trees, no: they withstand about −8 °C, and even a fleece is not enough against the −12 °C of one winter in ten. Clementines withstand −7 to −9 °C: the hardiest can be tried in the ground with a fleece on frosty nights, against a south-facing wall. Grow the others in pots and shelter them when it freezes hard.
My town is not listed: do these guidelines apply to me?
Yes, to within one or two degrees. Dense town centres, near Paris, are often a little milder than the station; valley bottoms, waterside spots and windy heights, a little colder. You can also compare with the pages for Paris and the neighbouring départements.
These figures are guidelines. Your garden, balcony or terrace may be milder or colder than the nearest station. A question about your plot? Write to us.
Sources: Météo-France, daily basic climatological data (data.gouv.fr, Licence Ouverte 2.0); near the eastern border, also the Deutscher Wetterdienst (Datenlizenz Deutschland 2.0); towns, altitudes and boundaries: INSEE, IGN (Admin Express, RGE ALTI) and geo.api.gouv.fr (Licence Ouverte); soils: dominant soil map INRAE / Gis Sol (Licence Ouverte). Topsoil lime: LUCAS, European Commission, JRC (ESDAC, Ballabio et al. 2019).