In the Marne, the winter cold depends above all on the lie of the land. One winter in ten, it falls to about −12 °C on the vineyard slopes, around Reims and Épernay, −13 °C in the Brie champenoise and in the Marne valley, in Châlons-en-Champagne and Vitry-le-François, −15 °C in the Argonne and the Perthois, and −17 °C in the Champagne crayeuse (the chalk plain).
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:
−12 °Cone winter in ten
Reims, Épernay and the vineyard
Reims, Épernay, Aÿ-Champagne, Hautvillers, Bouzy, Avize, Vertus, Châtillon-sur-Marne
See the citrus trees for this area
The vineyard slopes, from the Montagne de Reims to the Côte des Blancs, are the least cold part: −12 °C one winter in ten and −8 °C in an ordinary winter. The foot of the slopes freezes harder than the slope itself: one winter in ten, Avize (115 m) falls to −13.1 °C, the station on the slope (175 m) to −11.0 °C, and Chambrecy or Germaine, further away, to −15 °C. Citranges, yuzus and the hardiest satsumas spend the winter outdoors here; the other satsumas, kumquats and the hardiest clementines need a fleece at each frost. Orange trees and the other clementines stay in pots. The soil is chalky: plant halfway up a slope, on a mound.
Chambrecy
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has chalky soils and river alluvium. In practice, the soil is often 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.
-
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
-
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
Brie champenoise and the Sézannais
Sézanne, Esternay, Montmirail, Barbonne-Fayel
See the citrus trees for this area
The plateaus in the west of the département: −13 °C one winter in ten and −8 °C in an ordinary winter, according to the Esternay station. Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 spend the winter outdoors here; satsumas, the other yuzus and kumquats need a fleece at each frost, against a south-facing wall. The other citrus trees stay in pots. The soil is often chalky: in heavy soil, plant on a mound.
Esternay
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has chalky soils, shallow chalky soils and river alluvium. In practice, the soil is often 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 −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.
−13 °Cone winter in ten
Châlons-en-Champagne, Vitry-le-François and the Marne valley
Châlons-en-Champagne, Fagnières, Saint-Memmie, Vitry-le-François, Frignicourt
See the citrus trees for this area
The Marne valley, from Châlons-en-Champagne to Vitry-le-François: −13 °C one winter in ten and −9 °C in an ordinary winter. It freezes less hard than the nearby chalk plain, where Mourmelon-le-Grand falls to −17.8 °C. Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 spend the winter outdoors here; satsumas, the other yuzus and kumquats need a fleece. The other citrus trees stay in pots. The soil, often chalky, sometimes stays wet in winter near the river: plant on a mound.
Frignicourt
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has silty soils, chalky soils and shallow chalky soils. In practice, the soil is often chalky, winter-wet and silty.
Rootstocks to favour: Poncirus, then FA5. 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 −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.
−15 °Cone winter in ten
Argonne and Perthois
Sainte-Menehould, Givry-en-Argonne, Sermaize-les-Bains, Pargny-sur-Saulx, Trois-Fontaines-l'Abbaye
See the citrus trees for this area
In the east, the Argonne and the Perthois: −15 °C one winter in ten and −10 °C in an ordinary winter; Argers and Trois-Fontaines-l'Abbaye fell to −17.5 °C on 20 December 2009. Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 spend the winter outdoors here without protection, only just: keep a fleece for exceptional nights. The other yuzus and the hardiest satsumas live here with a fleece at each frost, against a south-facing wall; keep the other citrus trees in pots. The soil, often silty, stays wet in winter: plant on a mound.
Argers
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has silty soils, chalky soils and ordinary brown soils. In practice, the soil is often chalky, winter-wet and silty.
Rootstock to favour: 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 −15 °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 −12 °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
-
Changsha Mandarin
down to −12 °C · €38.00
-
Sudachi Seneca
down to −12 °C · €42.00
-
Trivoss No. 1
down to −14 °C · €35.00
-
Citrangeremo
down to −14 °C · €29.75
-
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 14 available plants that withstand −12 °C
Sold out for now: 9 other plants
On their page, “Notify me” lets you know when they are back: Ambersweet, Auline, Bendizao Mandarin, Satsuma Dobashi Beni, Satsuma Kowano, Satsuma Louisiana, Satsuma Saigon, Satsuma Waze, Thornless Yuzu.
The others: in a pot, brought in for the winter
Lemons, limes and less hardy citrus (more tender than −12 °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.
−17 °Cone winter in ten
Champagne crayeuse
Suippes, Mourmelon-le-Grand, Sommesous, Sommepy-Tahure, Fère-Champenoise, Somme-Vesle
See the citrus trees for this area
The great chalk plain, open to the wind, is the coldest part: −17 °C one winter in ten, −11 °C in an ordinary winter and −19.7 °C recorded at Mourmelon-le-Grand in February 2012. Only citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 live in the ground here, with a fleece at each frost; keep the other citrus trees in pots and bring them in for the winter. The soil is chalky: plant on a mound.
Mourmelon-le-Grand
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has chalky soils and river alluvium. In practice, the soil is often chalky.
Rootstock to favour: 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 −17 °C. In the first years, a fleece on nights below −5 °C is a sensible precaution.
None of our available plants withstands this cold without protection: choose pot culture.
In open ground, with a fleece on frosty nights
They withstand −14 °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 −14 °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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chouilly | 172 m | −7.1 °C | −11.1 °C | −12.3 °C (5 February 2012) | 6 out of 22 |
| Bouzy | 153 m | −7.6 °C | −11.1 °C | −13.1 °C (1 January 1997) | 10 out of 26 |
| Châtillon-sur-Marne | 153 m | −7.7 °C | −11.6 °C | −14.8 °C (1 January 1997) | 10 out of 26 |
| Vertus (hillside) | 150 m | −7.9 °C | −10.8 °C | −13.2 °C (1 January 1997) | 9 out of 26 |
| Saint-Thierry | 135 m | −8 °C | −12.6 °C | −15.4 °C (1 January 1997) | 9 out of 26 |
| Mailly-Champagne | 182 m | −8.1 °C | −12.2 °C | −16.7 °C (1 January 1997) | 13 out of 26 |
| Avize (hillside) | 175 m | −8.2 °C | −11 °C | −13.9 °C (1 January 1997) | 10 out of 26 |
| Esternay | 185 m | −8.4 °C | −13.2 °C | −16 °C (8 January 2010) | 13 out of 30 |
| Vert-Toulon | 155 m | −8.5 °C | −12.6 °C | −13.3 °C (5 February 2012) | 12 out of 26 |
| Frignicourt | 113 m | −8.8 °C | −13 °C | −16 °C (2 January 1997) | 15 out of 30 |
| Fagnières (INRAE) | 105 m | −9.1 °C | −13.9 °C | −15 °C (4 January 2004) | 17 out of 30 |
| Vatry (airport) | 179 m | −9.1 °C | −14.3 °C | −15.1 °C (29 December 2005) | 15 out of 26 |
| Argers | 152 m | −9.6 °C | −14.6 °C | −17.5 °C (20 December 2009) | 14 out of 23 |
| Vertus | 115 m | −10 °C | −12 °C | −13 °C (1 January 1997) | 17 out of 23 |
| Sommesous | 167 m | −10.5 °C | −17 °C | −19 °C (2 January 1997) | 24 out of 30 |
| Trois-Fontaines-l'Abbaye | 204 m | −10.6 °C | −15.2 °C | −17.5 °C (20 December 2009) | 14 out of 21 |
| Chambrecy | 150 m | −11 °C | −15.1 °C | −18.1 °C (4 February 2012) | 18 out of 26 |
| Somme-Vesle | 162 m | −11 °C | −17 °C | −17.4 °C (1 January 1997) | 15 out of 22 |
| Avize | 115 m | −11.2 °C | −13.1 °C | −14.6 °C (1 January 1997) | 15 out of 20 |
| Germaine | 172 m | −11.6 °C | −15.2 °C | −16.7 °C (1 January 1997) | 19 out of 26 |
| Sommepy-Tahure | 140 m | −12 °C | −15.5 °C | −16 °C (4 January 2004) | 19 out of 24 |
| Mourmelon-le-Grand | 115 m | −12.3 °C | −17.8 °C | −19.7 °C (7 February 2012) | 21 out of 22 |
“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 1 January 1997, Saint-Thierry, near Reims, fell to −15.4 °C; in February 2012, Chambrecy recorded −18.1 °C and Mourmelon-le-Grand −19.7 °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 Marne
- Plant halfway up a slope. Cold air flows down and collects at the foot of the slopes and in low ground. The records show it: one winter in ten, Avize, at the foot of the Côte des Blancs (115 m), falls to −13.1 °C, while the station on the slope, at 175 m, stays at −11.0 °C. Vertus shows the same gap: −12.0 °C at the bottom, −10.8 °C on the slope. Plant against a south-facing wall, never at the lowest point of the garden.
- Take care of drainage. The soil is chalky almost everywhere, on the chalk as in the vineyard. In the Argonne and near the Marne, it often stays wet in winter. In heavy or wet soil, plant on a mound.
- Choose the rootstock for your soil. Poncirus is the most cold-resistant. In chalky, dry soil, FA5 does better. 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 Reims?
No. Lemon trees withstand about −5 °C, and the area around Reims falls to around −8 °C in an ordinary winter. Keep them in pots, brought in for the winter to a bright room protected from frost. You will find them in Lemons and lemon substitutes.
Which citrus trees withstand the cold best in the Marne?
Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3, which withstand −15 °C: they spend the winter outdoors without protection on the vineyard slopes, in the Brie, in the Marne valley, in the Argonne and in the Perthois; in the Champagne crayeuse, give them a fleece at each frost. The other yuzus (Yuzu 30, thornless, Tada Nishiki) and the hardiest satsumas withstand −12 °C: without protection on the vineyard slopes; with a fleece in the Brie, the Marne valley, the Argonne and the Perthois; in the Champagne crayeuse, in pots. 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 vineyard slopes, the hardiest clementines can be tried in the ground with a fleece at each frost. Elsewhere, and for orange trees, that is not enough: grow them in pots and bring them in for the winter.
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. In the Marne, position matters more than distance: take off one or two degrees if you are at the foot of a slope or in low ground, and count the open chalk plain among the coldest areas.
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).