In Haute-Marne, the winter is cold everywhere, and even more so in the valleys of the centre and the east. One winter in ten, it falls to about −15 °C in Saint-Dizier and Langres, −16 °C on the Barrois plateaus and −18 °C around Chaumont and in the Bassigny.
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:
−15 °Cone winter in ten
Saint-Dizier, the Der and the Marne valley
Saint-Dizier, Wassy, Montier-en-Der, Eurville-Bienville, Chevillon, Joinville
See the citrus trees for this area
The Marne valley in the north and the Der are the least cold part: −15 °C one winter in ten and −10 °C in an ordinary winter. Saint-Dizier stays at −14.5 °C; Chevillon, further upstream, falls to −16.2 °C. Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 spend the winter outdoors here, only just: keep a fleece for them on the coldest nights. The other yuzus and the hardiest satsumas need a fleece at each frost, against a south-facing wall; keep the other citrus trees in pots. The alluvial soils stay wet in winter: plant on a mound.
Chevillon
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has river alluvium and chalky soils. In practice, the soil is often winter-wet, silty and 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 −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.
−15 °Cone winter in ten
Langres and the south of the département
Langres, Saints-Geosmes, Chalindrey, Fayl-Billot, Prauthoy, Coublanc
See the citrus trees for this area
Langres, perched at 466 m, freezes less hard than the valleys: −14.1 °C one winter in ten, against −15.7 °C at Fayl-Billot. At Auberive, in a combe (a small enclosed valley), the cold falls to −20.8 °C one winter in ten, and to −22.6 °C on 20 December 2009. Count on −15 °C for the area and −11 °C in an ordinary winter. Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 spend the winter outdoors here, but not in the combes as at Auberive. The other yuzus and the hardiest satsumas need a fleece at each frost; keep the other citrus trees in pots. The soil is often silty and clay, sometimes chalky: plant on a mound.
Auberive
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has shallow chalky soils, soils waterlogged part of the year and foot-of-slope soils. In practice, the soil is often chalky, clayey, silty and winter-wet.
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.
−16 °Cone winter in ten
Barrois plateaus
Doulevant-le-Château, Blécourt, Poissons, Saint-Blin, Cirfontaines-en-Ornois, Busson
See the citrus trees for this area
The plateaus of the north-east, between 350 and 390 m: −16 °C one winter in ten and −12 °C in an ordinary winter. Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 spend the winter here with a fleece at each frost; keep the other citrus trees in pots, brought in for the winter. The soil is chalky: plant on a mound, against a south-facing wall.
Blécourt
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has shallow chalky soils and chalky soils. In practice, the soil is often chalky 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 −16 °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 −13 °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 −13 °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.
−18 °Cone winter in ten
Chaumont and the Marne and Rognon valleys
Chaumont, Brottes, Semoutiers-Montsaon, Vignory, Andelot-Blancheville, Bourdons-sur-Rognon
See the citrus trees for this area
The valleys around Chaumont hold the cold: −18 °C one winter in ten, and −23.1 °C recorded at Chaumont-Semoutiers on 20 December 2009. Only citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 live in the ground here, with a fleece at each frost; keep the other citrus trees in pots, brought in for the winter. The soil is chalky, sometimes wet in winter at the bottom of the valleys: plant on a mound, halfway up a slope.
Chaumont-Semoutiers
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has river alluvium, silty soils and shallow chalky soils. In practice, the soil is often chalky, clayey and winter-wet.
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 −18 °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 −15 °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 −15 °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.
−18 °Cone winter in ten
Bassigny and Bourbonne-les-Bains
Bourbonne-les-Bains, Montigny-le-Roi, Is-en-Bassigny, Nogent, Clefmont
See the citrus trees for this area
The Bassigny, in the east, is as cold as Chaumont: −18 °C one winter in ten and −12 °C in an ordinary winter; Val-de-Meuse fell to −22.0 °C on 24 December 2001. Only citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 live in the ground here, with a fleece at each frost; keep the other citrus trees in pots, brought in for the winter. The soil, clay and silty, often chalky, sometimes stays wet in winter: plant on a mound.
Val-de-Meuse
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has silty soils, chalky soils and soils waterlogged part of the year. In practice, the soil is often winter-wet, clayey, silty and 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 −18 °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 −15 °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 −15 °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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blécourt | 348 m | −9.4 °C | −15.8 °C | −18 °C (20 December 2009) | 12 out of 22 |
| Saint-Dizier | 139 m | −9.7 °C | −14.5 °C | −17.3 °C (20 December 2009) | 18 out of 30 |
| Langres | 466 m | −9.8 °C | −14.1 °C | −16.4 °C (20 December 2009) | 19 out of 30 |
| Fayl-Billot | 347 m | −10.8 °C | −15.7 °C | −16.1 °C (24 December 2001) | 21 out of 30 |
| Coublanc | 258 m | −11 °C | −15 °C | −20 °C (24 December 2001) | 21 out of 29 |
| Chaumont-Semoutiers | 294 m | −11 °C | −19.3 °C | −23.1 °C (20 December 2009) | 16 out of 20 |
| Chevillon | 170 m | −11.1 °C | −16.2 °C | −17.4 °C (20 December 2009) | 22 out of 30 |
| Chaumont | 317 m | −11.4 °C | −17.5 °C | −18.6 °C (20 December 2009) | 17 out of 20 |
| Is-en-Bassigny | 403 m | −11.6 °C | −17 °C | −19.3 °C (24 December 2001) | 24 out of 30 |
| Cirfontaines-en-Ornois | 379 m | −11.8 °C | −16 °C | −17 °C (20 December 2009) | 23 out of 29 |
| Busson | 387 m | −11.9 °C | −17 °C | −17.6 °C (1 March 2005) | 21 out of 30 |
| Bourbonne-les-Bains | 326 m | −12 °C | −18.5 °C | −20 °C (24 December 2001) | 20 out of 22 |
| Val-de-Meuse | 380 m | −12.8 °C | −18 °C | −22 °C (24 December 2001) | 24 out of 30 |
| Bourdons-sur-Rognon | 304 m | −13.8 °C | −18.2 °C | −22.1 °C (20 December 2009) | 26 out of 30 |
| Auberive | 349 m | −14 °C | −20.8 °C | −22.6 °C (20 December 2009) | 29 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 24 December 2001, Val-de-Meuse fell to −22.0 °C; on 20 December 2009, Chaumont-Semoutiers recorded −23.1 °C, Auberive −22.6 °C and Bourdons-sur-Rognon −22.1 °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 Haute-Marne
- Avoid hollows. Cold air flows down and collects at the bottom of valleys. The records show it: one winter in ten, Langres, perched at 466 m, stays at −14.1 °C, while Chaumont-Semoutiers, at 294 m, falls to −19.3 °C. Here, higher is not always colder. Plant halfway up a slope or against a south-facing wall, never at the lowest point of the garden.
- Take care of drainage. The soil is often chalky, and clay in the Bassigny and towards Langres. The alluvial soils of the Marne stay wet in winter. Plant on a mound: excess water weakens the roots in cold weather.
- 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 Saint-Dizier?
No. Lemon trees withstand about −5 °C, and Saint-Dizier falls to around −10 °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 Haute-Marne?
Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3, which withstand −15 °C: they spend the winter outdoors without protection in Saint-Dizier, in the Der and around Langres, only just: keep a fleece for them on the coldest nights. On the Barrois plateaus, around Chaumont and in the Bassigny, they need a fleece at each frost. The other yuzus (Yuzu 30, thornless, Tada Nishiki) and the hardiest satsumas cope with a fleece in Saint-Dizier, in the Der and around Langres; elsewhere, keep them 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: that is not enough for Haute-Marne. 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 Haute-Marne, position matters more than distance: take off one or two degrees if you are at the bottom of a valley, add one or two on a hillside or a rise.
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).