In the Landes, the winter cold changes a lot between the coast and inland. One winter in ten, it falls to about −7 °C on the coast, −9 °C in Dax and in the Chalosse, −12 °C in Mont-de-Marsan and −13 °C in the Landes forest.
We went through thirty winters of Météo-France records, from 1996 to 2026, and compared them with the hardiness of each of our plants. Choose your area 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:
−7 °Cone winter in ten
The Landes coast
Biscarrosse, Mimizan, Vieux-Boucau-les-Bains, Seignosse, Soorts-Hossegor, Capbreton, Tarnos
See the citrus trees for this area
The ocean softens the winters: −7 °C one winter in ten, −4 °C in an ordinary winter. Capbreton only falls to −6.5 °C one winter in ten, Biscarrosse to −7.6 °C: choose according to the nearest station. Orange trees, clementines, satsumas, yuzus, kumquats and citranges spend the winter outdoors here; lemon trees need a fleece on frosty nights, against a south-facing wall. The wind and the salt spray damage the leaves: plant sheltered by a hedge or a wall, in enriched sand that holds a little water in summer.
Capbreton
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has sands and anthroposol.
Rootstocks to favour: Poncirus, then FA5.
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 −7 °C. In the first years, a fleece on nights below −5 °C is a sensible precaution.
-
Satsuma China S-2
down to −12 °C · €41.00
-
Ermelo Orange
down to −10 °C · €47.00
-
Changsha Mandarin
down to −12 °C · €38.00
-
Changshan Huyou
down to −11 °C · €38.00
-
Sudachi Seneca
down to −12 °C · €42.00
-
Orisa 9 Tangor
down to −9 °C · €41.00
-
Yuzu 3
down to −15 °C · €38.00
-
Fukushu Kumquat
down to −10 °C · €32.30
See all 65 available plants that withstand −7 °C
Sold out for now: 46 other plants
On their page, “Notify me” lets you know when they are back: Ambersweet, Auline, Bendizao Mandarin, Corsican Mountain Orange, Dom Joao Orange, Fragola Orange, Hana Yuzu, Haruka, Harumi, Hassaku, Hyuganatsu, Iyo Mikan Tangor, Jabara, Juanita Mandarin, Kino Kuni Mikakukishu Mandarin, Mandalate Mandarin, Mapo Tangelo, Meiwa Kumquat, Minneola, Moro Orange, Nameiwa Kumquat, Natsudaidai, Ota 38 Tangor, Rio Red Grapefruit, Salustiana Orange, Sanbokan, Satsuma China S-3, Satsuma Dobashi Beni, Satsuma Iwasaki, Satsuma Kowano, Satsuma Louisiana, Satsuma Miho, Satsuma Pucheng, Satsuma Saigon, Satsuma Waze, Sciara x Clem Blood Tangor, Seminole, Setubalense Mandarin, Shunkokan, Thornless Yuzu, US SuperNa, Ugli, Vaniglia Sanguigno Orange, Wekiwa Tangelolo, Yuzu, Z194 Ichangensis x Sinensis.
In open ground, with a fleece on frosty nights
They withstand −4 °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.
The others: in a pot, brought in for the winter
Lemons, limes and less hardy citrus (more tender than −4 °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.
−9 °Cone winter in ten
Dax, the Adour valley and the Chalosse
Dax, Saint-Paul-lès-Dax, Peyrehorade, Tartas, Saint-Sever, Hagetmau, Aire-sur-l'Adour
See the citrus trees for this area
Around Dax and in the Chalosse, count on −9 °C one winter in ten and −6 °C in an ordinary winter. The bottom of the Adour valley freezes more: one winter in ten, Dax falls to −8.3 °C, Bégaar to −11.9 °C. Satsumas, yuzus, kumquats, citranges and the hardiest clementines spend the winter outdoors here; orange trees and the other clementines with a fleece, against a south-facing wall. Lemon trees stay in pots.
Bégaar
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has ordinary brown soils, river alluvium and silty soils. In practice, the soil is often silty.
Rootstocks to favour: C35, then Poncirus.
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 −9 °C. In the first years, a fleece on nights below −5 °C is a sensible precaution.
-
Satsuma China S-2
down to −12 °C · €41.00
-
Ermelo Orange
down to −10 °C · €47.00
-
Changsha Mandarin
down to −12 °C · €38.00
-
Changshan Huyou
down to −11 °C · €38.00
-
Sudachi Seneca
down to −12 °C · €42.00
-
Orisa 9 Tangor
down to −9 °C · €41.00
-
Yuzu 3
down to −15 °C · €38.00
-
Fukushu Kumquat
down to −10 °C · €32.30
See all 38 available plants that withstand −9 °C
Sold out for now: 31 other plants
On their page, “Notify me” lets you know when they are back: Ambersweet, Auline, Bendizao Mandarin, Corsican Mountain Orange, Hana Yuzu, 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 Dobashi Beni, Satsuma Iwasaki, Satsuma Kowano, Satsuma Louisiana, Satsuma Miho, Satsuma Pucheng, Satsuma Saigon, Satsuma Waze, Setubalense Mandarin, Shunkokan, Thornless Yuzu, Yuzu.
In open ground, with a fleece on frosty nights
They withstand −6 °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.
-
Fukumoto Orange
down to −8 °C · €35.00
-
Fina Clementine
down to −8 °C · €29.75
-
Enzo Grapefruit
down to −8 °C · €35.00
-
Murcott Tangor
down to −8 °C · €35.00
-
Citradia
down to −8 °C · €35.00
-
Tavares Limequat
down to −7 °C · €29.75
-
Cara Cara Orange
down to −8 °C · €35.00
-
Glauca
down to −8 °C · €38.00
See all 27 available plants that withstand −6 °C
Sold out for now: 15 other plants
On their page, “Notify me” lets you know when they are back: Dom Joao Orange, Fragola Orange, Hassaku, Iyo Mikan Tangor, Mandalate Mandarin, Moro Orange, Ota 38 Tangor, Salustiana Orange, Sciara x Clem Blood Tangor, Seminole, US SuperNa, Ugli, Vaniglia Sanguigno Orange, Wekiwa Tangelolo, Z194 Ichangensis x Sinensis.
The others: in a pot, brought in for the winter
Lemons, limes and less hardy citrus (more tender than −6 °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.
−12 °Cone winter in ten
Mont-de-Marsan and the Landes Armagnac
Mont-de-Marsan, Saint-Pierre-du-Mont, Villeneuve-de-Marsan, Roquefort, Gabarret, Labastide-d'Armagnac
See the citrus trees for this area
Further east, the winters are clearly colder: −12 °C one winter in ten, −7 °C in an ordinary winter, and −14.4 °C recorded at Créon-d'Armagnac in February 2012. Citranges, yuzus and the hardiest satsumas spend the winter outdoors here; the other satsumas, kumquats and the hardiest clementines need a fleece. Orange trees, the other clementines and lemon trees stay in pots. The soils are often acid.
Créon-d'Armagnac
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has very acid sands, silty soils and ordinary brown soils. In practice, the soil is often acid.
Rootstocks to favour: Poncirus, then 4475.
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.
-
Satsuma China S-2
down to −12 °C · €41.00
-
Changsha Mandarin
down to −12 °C · €38.00
-
Sudachi Seneca
down to −12 °C · €42.00
-
Yuzu 3
down to −15 °C · €38.00
-
Morton Citrange
down to −15 °C · €35.00
-
Clemyuz
down to −12 °C · €38.00
-
Eremorange
down to −12 °C · €35.00
-
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.
-
Satsuma Miyagawa
down to −10 °C · €38.00
-
Ermelo Orange
down to −10 °C · €47.00
-
Shekwasha
down to −11 °C · €34.85
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Changshan Huyou
down to −11 °C · €38.00
-
Kinkoji
down to −10 °C · €38.00
-
Orisa 9 Tangor
down to −9 °C · €41.00
-
Yuko
down to −9 °C · €38.00
-
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.
−13 °Cone winter in ten
The Landes forest
Parentis-en-Born, Pissos, Sabres, Labouheyre, Morcenx-la-Nouvelle, Luxey, Castets
See the citrus trees for this area
The pine forest freezes hard: −13 °C one winter in ten, −9 °C in an ordinary winter, and −15.5 °C recorded at Luxey in February 2012. Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 spend the winter outdoors here; satsumas, the other yuzus and kumquats need a fleece at each frost. Orange trees, clementines and lemon trees stay in pots. The sand is acid, poor and dry in summer: plant in a large hole with improved soil and water in summer.
Luxey
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has very acid sands. In practice, the soil is often acid.
Rootstocks to favour: Poncirus, then FA5.
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 −13 °C. In the first years, a fleece on nights below −5 °C is a sensible precaution.
In open ground, with a fleece on frosty nights
They withstand −10 °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.
-
Satsuma China S-2
down to −12 °C · €41.00
-
Ermelo Orange
down to −10 °C · €47.00
-
Changsha Mandarin
down to −12 °C · €38.00
-
Changshan Huyou
down to −11 °C · €38.00
-
Sudachi Seneca
down to −12 °C · €42.00
-
Ichang Lemon Shangyuan
down to −12 °C · €38.00
-
Fukushu Kumquat
down to −10 °C · €32.30
-
US 119
down to −12 °C · €35.00
See all 27 available plants that withstand −10 °C
Sold out for now: 25 other plants
On their page, “Notify me” lets you know when they are back: Ambersweet, Auline, Bendizao Mandarin, Corsican Mountain Orange, Harumi, Jabara, Juanita Mandarin, Kino Kuni Mikakukishu Mandarin, Meiwa Kumquat, Minneola, Nameiwa Kumquat, Rio Red Grapefruit, Sanbokan, Satsuma China S-3, Satsuma Dobashi Beni, Satsuma Iwasaki, Satsuma Kowano, Satsuma Louisiana, Satsuma Miho, Satsuma Pucheng, Satsuma Saigon, Satsuma Waze, Setubalense Mandarin, Shunkokan, Thornless Yuzu.
The others: in a pot, brought in for the winter
Lemons, limes and less hardy citrus (more tender than −10 °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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biscarrosse | 35 m | −3.6 °C | −7.6 °C | −8.4 °C (30 December 1996) | 0 out of 30 |
| Capbreton | 11 m | −3.9 °C | −6.5 °C | −10.2 °C (12 February 2012) | 1 out of 21 |
| Soorts-Hossegor | 10 m | −4.3 °C | −7 °C | −10 °C (12 February 2012) | 1 out of 30 |
| Dax | 31 m | −5.5 °C | −8.3 °C | −9.9 °C (25 December 2001) | 2 out of 30 |
| Saint-Martin-de-Hinx (INRAE) | 37 m | −5.6 °C | −9 °C | −10 °C (11 February 2012) | 3 out of 30 |
| Urgons | 146 m | −5.7 °C | −8.7 °C | −10 °C (24 December 2001) | 2 out of 30 |
| Grenade-sur-l'Adour | 72 m | −6 °C | −10.5 °C | −12 °C (25 December 2001) | 4 out of 24 |
| Parleboscq | 155 m | −6.5 °C | −11.5 °C | −11.5 °C (18 December 2001) | 4 out of 25 |
| Magescq | 46 m | −6.8 °C | −10.6 °C | −12 °C (12 February 2012) | 3 out of 20 |
| Mont-de-Marsan | 59 m | −7.1 °C | −11.5 °C | −13.7 °C (25 December 2001) | 11 out of 30 |
| Bégaar | 19 m | −7.5 °C | −11.9 °C | −12.9 °C (12 February 2012) | 8 out of 25 |
| Sabres | 81 m | −7.9 °C | −11.1 °C | −12.8 °C (17 December 2001) | 10 out of 30 |
| Créon-d'Armagnac | 150 m | −8.1 °C | −13.7 °C | −14.4 °C (9 February 2012) | 7 out of 22 |
| Pissos | 56 m | −8.6 °C | −13.2 °C | −14.5 °C (17 December 2001) | 13 out of 30 |
| Luxey | 90 m | −9 °C | −15 °C | −15.5 °C (11 February 2012) | 15 out of 24 |
| Sabres (LEPA) | 76 m | −9.5 °C | −13 °C | −14 °C (11 February 2012) | 12 out of 21 |
“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. In December 2001, Mont-de-Marsan fell to −13.7 °C and Pissos to −14.5 °C; in February 2012, Luxey recorded −15.5 °C and Capbreton −10.2 °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 the Landes
- Make the most of the coast. Near the ocean, conditions are favourable, but the cold comes back quickly inland: one winter in ten, Capbreton falls to −6.5 °C, Magescq, about twenty kilometres away, to −10.6 °C. Choose your citrus according to the nearest station.
- Avoid hollows. Cold air flows down and collects at the bottom of valleys and in basins. Plant against a south-facing wall, never at the lowest point of the garden.
- Enrich the sand. In the forest and on the coast, the soil is a poor sand that dries out quickly in summer. Plant in a large hole with improved soil and water in summer.
- Choose the rootstock for your soil. Poncirus is the most cold-resistant and copes better with drought. 4475 adapts to acid soils, in a large hole with improved soil, with more water in summer. Our 5-step test helps you choose: Which rootstock should you choose?
- Plant in spring, once the frosts are over. The tree then has a whole season to take root before its first winter.
- Protect young plants on nights below −5 °C during the first years. Put the winter fleece on at each frost and take it off as soon as the frost stops.
- Mulch in summer only, against drought, without the straw 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
Can I plant a lemon tree in the ground in Mont-de-Marsan?
No. Lemon trees withstand about −5 °C, and Mont-de-Marsan falls to around −7 °C in an ordinary winter. Keep them in pots, brought in for the winter. On the coast, where the cold falls to −7 °C one winter in ten, they are grown in the ground with a fleece at each frost, against a south-facing wall. For a sour fruit in the ground, choose a yuzu or a hardy lemon substitute instead. You will find them in Lemons and lemon substitutes.
Which citrus trees withstand the cold best in the Landes?
The hardiest hybrids, such as citranges, as well as Yuzu and Yuzu 3, withstand −15 °C: they spend the winter outdoors throughout the département. The other yuzus (Yuzu 30, thornless, Tada Nishiki) withstand −12 °C: without protection on the coast, in Dax and in Mont-de-Marsan, with a fleece in the forest. They are brought together in Hardy citrus.
What about orange trees and clementines?
They withstand −7 to −9 °C depending on the variety. On the coast, they spend the winter without protection. In Dax and in the Chalosse, so do the hardiest clementines; orange trees and the other clementines are grown in the ground with a fleece, against a south-facing wall. In Mont-de-Marsan, only the hardiest clementines hold out, with a fleece; keep orange trees and the other clementines in pots, as in the forest.
My town is not listed: which area should I choose?
Take the nearest area, then compare with the nearest station in the table of readings. The further you are from the ocean, the more it freezes. Take off one or two degrees if you are in a hollow or at the bottom of a valley.
These figures are guidelines. Your garden 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).