In Meurthe-et-Moselle, the winter is cold everywhere, and even more so in the east, towards the Vosges. One winter in ten, it falls to about −15 °C in the Pays-Haut, around Longwy and Briey, −16 °C in Nancy and Toul, and −18 °C in the Vosges foothills. The département has only six stations: take these figures as orders of magnitude.
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
Pays-Haut, Longwy and Briey
Longwy, Longuyon, Villerupt, Audun-le-Roman, Briey, Jarny, Conflans-en-Jarnisy
See the citrus trees for this area
The northern plateau, towards Longwy and Briey: −15 °C one winter in ten and −10 °C in an ordinary winter. Villette, near Longuyon, stays at −13.6 °C; Doncourt-lès-Conflans falls to −16.0 °C. Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 spend the winter here without protection, only just: keep a fleece for them 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 is clay and chalky: plant on a mound.
Doncourt-lès-Conflans
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has chalky soils, shallow chalky soils and silty soils. In practice, the soil is often chalky, clayey 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.
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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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Trivoss No. 1
down to −14 °C · €35.00
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Citrangeremo
down to −14 °C · €29.75
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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 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
Nancy, Toul and the Moselle valley
Nancy, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, Laxou, Essey-lès-Nancy, Pont-à-Mousson, Toul, Ochey
See the citrus trees for this area
Nancy and the Toul area: −16 °C one winter in ten and −11 °C in an ordinary winter. Nancy-Essey fell to −17.9 °C on 2 January 1997. Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 spend the winter here with a fleece at each frost, against a south-facing wall; keep the other citrus trees in pots, brought in for the winter. The soil is often chalky: plant on a mound.
Nancy-Essey
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, silty and acid.
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
Vosges foothills and the Blâmont area
Baccarat, Badonviller, Blâmont, Cirey-sur-Vezouze, Saint-Maurice-aux-Forges
See the citrus trees for this area
The Vosges foothills, in the east, are the coldest part: −18 °C one winter in ten, −13 °C in an ordinary winter and −19.9 °C recorded at Saint-Maurice-aux-Forges on 1 March 2005. Only citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 can be tried in the ground here, with a fleece at each frost, against a south-facing wall; keep the other citrus trees in pots and bring them in for the winter. The soil, clay and often wet in winter, is sometimes acid, sometimes chalky: plant on a mound.
Saint-Maurice-aux-Forges
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has clay soils, silty soils and river alluvium. In practice, the soil is often winter-wet, acid, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Villette | 345 m | −9.4 °C | −13.6 °C | −14.8 °C (20 December 2009) | 18 out of 29 |
| Nancy-Ochey | 336 m | −11 °C | −15.5 °C | −16.2 °C (7 February 2012) | 22 out of 30 |
| Doncourt-lès-Conflans | 235 m | −11 °C | −16 °C | −16.5 °C (26 December 2010) | 16 out of 21 |
| Nancy-Essey | 212 m | −11.5 °C | −15.6 °C | −17.9 °C (2 January 1997) | 22 out of 30 |
| Badonviller | 336 m | −13 °C | −17.5 °C | −18.5 °C (1 March 2005) | 25 out of 30 |
| Saint-Maurice-aux-Forges | 305 m | −13.8 °C | −18.5 °C | −19.9 °C (1 March 2005) | 19 out of 24 |
“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 2 January 1997, Nancy-Essey fell to −17.9 °C; on 1 March 2005, Saint-Maurice-aux-Forges recorded −19.9 °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 Meurthe-et-Moselle
- Avoid hollows. Cold air flows down and collects at the bottom of valleys and in basins. The records show clear differences: one winter in ten, Villette, near Longuyon, stays at −13.6 °C, while Doncourt-lès-Conflans falls to −16.0 °C. 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 clay and chalky, and stays wet in winter towards the Vosges. 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 Nancy?
No. Lemon trees withstand about −5 °C, and Nancy falls to around −11 °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 Meurthe-et-Moselle?
Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3, which withstand −15 °C: they spend the winter outdoors without protection in the Pays-Haut, and with a fleece at each frost in Nancy, in Toul and in the Vosges foothills. The other yuzus (Yuzu 30, thornless, Tada Nishiki) and the hardiest satsumas can be tried with a fleece in the Pays-Haut; elsewhere, they stay 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 Meurthe-et-Moselle. 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. Take off about one degree for every 150 m of extra altitude, and one or two degrees if you are in a hollow.
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).