The cold decides which citrus tree you can plant; the soil decides the rootstock. A rootstock that does not suit your soil grows poorly, turns yellow or declines, even in a favourable climate. This map shows, town by town, the dominant soil according to the soil map of France, and what it means for each of our rootstocks.
Type your town or postcode: you get your soil, the rootstocks recommended where you live, the colour of each one (recommended, possible with precautions or not recommended) and the available plants that suit. The “Rootstock” button shows the map of the best rootstock, or that of each rootstock one by one.
Your plot may differ from the map: the soil map gives the most common soil at the centre of the town. If in doubt, a soil analysis (pH, active lime) settles it.
Type the first letters of your town in France or its postcode, then choose from the list.
See also: the cold map and your caution towards frost · your soil and the rootstock (our 5-question test) · how we make these maps
© Greffeur d'agrumes 2026
- −5 °C or milder
- −6 to −7 °C
- −8 to −9 °C
- −10 °C
- −11 °C
- −12 °C
- −13 °C
- −14 °C
- −15 °C
- −16 °C
- −17 °C
- −18 °C
- −19 °C
- −20 °C and colder
Colour: the cold reached one winter in ten, in the lowlands, from 30 winters of weather records. Click a département to zoom in, then open its page: zone by zone, the citrus trees that withstand its cold (in French).
Hatching: for the same figure, the cold lasts longer here than elsewhere (plateaus, uplands, eastern plains).
- mostly chalky
- mostly acid
- mostly wet in winter
- mostly clayey
- mostly silty
- salty (hatched)
- no marked constraint
- no soil map
Colour: the most frequent soil at the centre of the towns of the département (soil map).
Colour: the soil at the centre of each town (soil map). Hatching: salty soils (marshes, polders, coast), from the same map.
- −5 °C or milder
- −6 to −7 °C
- −8 to −9 °C
- −10 °C
- −11 °C
- −12 °C
- −13 °C
- −14 °C
- −15 °C
- −16 °C
- −17 °C
- −18 °C
- −19 °C
- −20 °C and colder
Conservative: the worst of the last 30 winters (1996-1997 to 2025-2026), town by town; no colder winter in 30 years. Our plant lists and rootstock colours are still based on the cold of one winter in ten.
Hatching: for the same figure, the cold lasts longer here than elsewhere (plateaus, uplands, eastern plains).
- −5 °C or milder
- −6 to −7 °C
- −8 to −9 °C
- −10 °C
- −11 °C
- −12 °C
- −13 °C
- −14 °C
- −15 °C
- −16 °C
- −17 °C
- −18 °C
- −19 °C
- −20 °C and colder
Cautious: the cold that comes back on average one winter in ten (about 3 winters out of 30), town by town; close to Météo-France’s 10-year return value. Our plant lists and rootstock colours are still based on the cold of one winter in ten.
Hatching: for the same figure, the cold lasts longer here than elsewhere (plateaus, uplands, eastern plains).
- −5 °C or milder
- −6 to −7 °C
- −8 to −9 °C
- −10 °C
- −11 °C
- −12 °C
- −13 °C
- −14 °C
- −15 °C
- −16 °C
- −17 °C
- −18 °C
- −19 °C
- −20 °C and colder
Normal: the cold reached about one winter in five (6 winters out of 30), town by town. Our plant lists and rootstock colours are still based on the cold of one winter in ten.
Hatching: for the same figure, the cold lasts longer here than elsewhere (plateaus, uplands, eastern plains).
- −5 °C or milder
- −6 to −7 °C
- −8 to −9 °C
- −10 °C
- −11 °C
- −12 °C
- −13 °C
- −14 °C
- −15 °C
- −16 °C
- −17 °C
- −18 °C
- −19 °C
- −20 °C and colder
Gambler: the average of the coldest nights of the last 30 winters (USDA hardiness zone method), town by town; about one winter in three goes lower. Our plant lists and rootstock colours are still based on the cold of one winter in ten.
Hatching: for the same figure, the cold lasts longer here than elsewhere (plateaus, uplands, eastern plains).
- −5 °C or milder
- −6 to −7 °C
- −8 to −9 °C
- −10 °C
- −11 °C
- −12 °C
- −13 °C
- −14 °C
- −15 °C
- −16 °C
- −17 °C
- −18 °C
- −19 °C
- −20 °C and colder
Daredevil: the average of the coldest nights of the last 5 winters (2021-2022 to 2025-2026), town by town; a bet that winters stay as mild as in recent years. Our plant lists and rootstock colours are still based on the cold of one winter in ten.
Hatching: for the same figure, the cold lasts longer here than elsewhere (plateaus, uplands, eastern plains).
- Poncirus
- FA5
- 4475
- C35
- none: in a pot
Colour: the rootstock recommended first in each town, from its soil and estimated cold (same rules as the département pages).
- Recommended: the cold and the soil suit it
- Possible with precautions: cold at its limit or a soil that suits it less well
- Not recommended: too cold for it or an unsuitable soil
Poncirus. The most cold-hardy of our rootstocks; it copes with drought better than the 4475. Weak points: salt, and chalk (only if active lime stays below about 5 %). See our Poncirus rootstocks for grafting
Colour: town by town, from the estimated cold of one winter in ten and the soil at the centre of the town, with the same rules as our 5-question test. Your plot may be different.
- Recommended: the cold and the soil suit it
- Possible with precautions: cold at its limit or a soil that suits it less well
- Not recommended: too cold for it or an unsuitable soil
FA5. Made for chalky, dry soils. Weak points: less cold-hardy than Poncirus, and less at ease in winter-wet soil. See our FA5 rootstocks for grafting
Colour: town by town, from the estimated cold of one winter in ten and the soil at the centre of the town, with the same rules as our 5-question test. Your plot may be different.
- Recommended: the cold and the soil suit it
- Possible with precautions: cold at its limit or a soil that suits it less well
- Not recommended: too cold for it or an unsuitable soil
4475. Vigorous, very well suited to acid soils; it needs a large, improved planting hole and more water in summer. Weak points: chalk, clay soil, salt, and it is less cold-hardy than Poncirus and FA5. See our 4475 rootstocks for grafting
Colour: town by town, from the estimated cold of one winter in ten and the soil at the centre of the town, with the same rules as our 5-question test. Your plot may be different.
- Recommended: the cold and the soil suit it
- Possible with precautions: cold at its limit or a soil that suits it less well
- Not recommended: too cold for it or an unsuitable soil
C35. Good in silty or acid soil, and it copes well in dry areas. Weak points: clay soil, and it is not very cold-hardy (like Carrizo). See our C35 rootstocks for grafting
Colour: town by town, from the estimated cold of one winter in ten and the soil at the centre of the town, with the same rules as our 5-question test. Your plot may be different.
- Recommended: the cold and the soil suit it
- Possible with precautions: cold at its limit or a soil that suits it less well
- Not recommended: too cold for it or an unsuitable soil
Carrizo. Good in silty or acid soil. Weak points: wet soil (here, all of them died from excess water), chalk and salt, and it is not very cold-hardy (like C35). Not offered by our 5-question test: we do not sell it. Map worked out with the same rules, as if it were offered. See our guide “Which rootstock?” (in French)
Colour: town by town, from the estimated cold of one winter in ten and the soil at the centre of the town, with the same rules as our 5-question test. Your plot may be different.
- Recommended: the cold and the soil suit it
- Possible with precautions: cold at its limit or a soil that suits it less well
- Not recommended: too cold for it or an unsuitable soil
Volkameriana. Vigorous, at ease in dry, clay or chalky soil. Weak points: cold (the most tender of our rootstocks) and wet soil. Not offered by our 5-question test: we only recommend it in a pot, for lemon trees. Map worked out with the same rules, for cold and soil only. See our guide “Which rootstock?” (in French)
Colour: town by town, from the estimated cold of one winter in ten and the soil at the centre of the town, with the same rules as our 5-question test. Your plot may be different.
How the map is made
For each town, we read the map of dominant soils of France (INRAE, Gis Sol) at the centre of the town, and we draw from it its constraints for citrus: chalky, acid, wet in winter, clay, silty or salty soil (marshes, polders, seaside). A town without a marked constraint has an “ordinary” soil.
The rootstock is chosen with the same rules as our 5-step test, taking into account the soil and the cold of one winter in ten. The maps by rootstock apply these rules to each town. “Recommended”: the test suggests it first or as well as the first one. “Possible with precautions”: the test suggests it with reservations (cold at its limit, soil that suits it less well); Poncirus in chalky soil is also shown this way, because it only suits if active lime stays below about 5 %. “Not recommended”: the test rules it out, the cold is too severe for it or the soil does not suit it.
To learn more about each rootstock (Poncirus, FA5, 4475, C35), read Choosing a citrus rootstock.
Outside France, we have no soil map: for Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, our rootstock advice only takes the cold into account.
The map gives the most common soil: your garden may be different. A question about your plot? Write to us.
Sources: map of dominant soils of France, INRAE / Gis Sol (Licence Ouverte); cold: Météo-France, basic daily climatological data (Licence Ouverte 2.0); towns, altitudes and boundaries: INSEE, IGN (Admin Express, RGE ALTI) and geo.api.gouv.fr (Licence Ouverte).