In the Haut-Rhin, winters are cold for citrus trees. One winter in ten, it falls to about −14 °C in Colmar and the vineyards, −16 °C in the Sundgau, and −17 °C in Mulhouse and the Vosges valleys. In the vineyards, citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 spend the winter without protection, and the other yuzus (Yuzu 30, thornless, Tada Nishiki) and the hardiest satsumas with a fleece. Elsewhere, only citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 can try the ground, with a fleece; the other citrus trees are grown in pots.
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:
−14 °Cone winter in ten
Colmar and the vineyards
Colmar, Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, Kaysersberg-Vignoble, Bergheim, Turckheim, Rouffach, Guebwiller
See the citrus trees for this area
The foothills, sheltered by the Vosges, are the least cold corner of the département: −14 °C one winter in ten, −10 °C in an ordinary winter. The wine villages, such as Kaysersberg or Bergheim, have a little less frost than the Colmar station, on the plain (−15.5 °C). Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 spend the winter here without protection, against a south-facing wall; the other yuzus and the hardiest satsumas live here with a fleece on very cold nights. The other citrus trees stay in pots. The soil is often silty and clay, sometimes chalky.
Colmar (INRAE)
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has river alluvium, chalky soils and ordinary brown soils. In practice, the soil is often clayey, silty and 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 −14 °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 −11 °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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Changshan Huyou
down to −11 °C · €38.00
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Sudachi Seneca
down to −12 °C · €42.00
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Ichang Lemon Shangyuan
down to −12 °C · €38.00
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US 119
down to −12 °C · €35.00
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Clemyuz
down to −12 °C · €38.00
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Eremorange
down to −12 °C · €35.00
See all 14 available plants that withstand −11 °C
Sold out for now: 10 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 Miho, 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 −11 °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
Sundgau and the Alsace Jura
Altkirch, Carspach, Hirsingue, Dannemarie, Ferrette, Lucelle
See the citrus trees for this area
The hills in the south of the département: −16 °C one winter in ten, −11 °C in an ordinary winter. Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 spend the winter here with a fleece on very cold nights; the other citrus trees stay in pots, brought in for the winter. The soil, often clay and chalky, stays wet in winter: plant on a mound.
Lucelle
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has chalky soils, silty soils and calcium-rich but barely chalky soils. 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 −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.
−17 °Cone winter in ten
Mulhouse and the Rhine plain
Mulhouse, Illzach, Wittenheim, Rixheim, Saint-Louis, Ensisheim, Meyenheim, Neuf-Brisach
See the citrus trees for this area
The plain, from Mulhouse to the Hardt, is colder than the vineyards: −17 °C one winter in ten, −11 °C in an ordinary winter, and −20.9 °C recorded at Bâle-Mulhouse in February 1999. Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 live in the ground here with a fleece on very cold nights, against a south-facing wall; the other citrus trees stay in pots, brought in for the winter. The soil is often silty and clay, sometimes chalky.
Bâle-Mulhouse (aéroport)
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has river alluvium, 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 −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.
−17 °Cone winter in ten
Vosges valleys and mountains
Munster, Thann, Saint-Amarin, Kruth, Masevaux-Niederbruck, Sewen, Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines
See the citrus trees for this area
In the Vosges valleys, cold air collects at the bottom at night: one winter in ten, Kruth (512 m) falls to −18.7 °C and Bitschwiller-lès-Thann to −19.3 °C, while Geishouse, on the slope at 618 m, stays at −14.9 °C. Count on −17 °C for the area. Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 live in the ground here with a fleece on very cold nights, on the slope rather than at the bottom of the valley; the other citrus trees stay in pots, brought in for the winter. The soil is often acid.
Kruth
The soil of the area and the rootstock
According to the soil map, this area mostly has river alluvium, ordinary brown soils and silty soils. In practice, the soil is often acid and silty.
Rootstock to favour: 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 −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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bergheim (INRAE) | 309 m | −9.1 °C | −14 °C | −16.9 °C (20 December 2009) | 16 out of 30 |
| Guebwiller | 273 m | −9.9 °C | −14 °C | −16.3 °C (20 December 2009) | 17 out of 30 |
| Kaysersberg | 246 m | −10 °C | −13.9 °C | −16 °C (20 December 2009) | 13 out of 21 |
| Trois-Épis | 656 m | −10.1 °C | −15.5 °C | −17.1 °C (19 December 2009) | 20 out of 30 |
| Geishouse | 618 m | −10.1 °C | −14.9 °C | −17 °C (19 December 2009) | 22 out of 30 |
| Rouffach | 285 m | −10.4 °C | −14.6 °C | −17 °C (20 December 2009) | 17 out of 25 |
| Carspach | 332 m | −10.5 °C | −16.3 °C | −17.7 °C (5 February 2012) | 15 out of 22 |
| Ribeauvillé | 220 m | −10.5 °C | −15 °C | −17.7 °C (20 December 2009) | 15 out of 23 |
| Mulhouse | 245 m | −10.9 °C | −16.8 °C | −18.2 °C (24 December 2001) | 21 out of 29 |
| Sewen (Lac d’Alfeld) | 620 m | −10.9 °C | −15.1 °C | −16.8 °C (20 December 2009) | 20 out of 28 |
| Bâle-Mulhouse (airport) | 263 m | −11.1 °C | −17.9 °C | −20.9 °C (13 February 1999) | 21 out of 30 |
| Colmar (INRAE) | 202 m | −11.2 °C | −15.5 °C | −19.6 °C (20 December 2009) | 23 out of 30 |
| Lucelle | 690 m | −11.4 °C | −15.9 °C | −19 °C (20 December 2009) | 22 out of 30 |
| Munster | 420 m | −11.7 °C | −17.2 °C | −19 °C (20 December 2009) | 20 out of 25 |
| Colmar-Meyenheim | 207 m | −11.9 °C | −17.4 °C | −17.9 °C (26 December 2010) | 25 out of 30 |
| Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines | 326 m | −12.4 °C | −16.6 °C | −18.2 °C (20 December 2009) | 17 out of 21 |
| Kruth | 512 m | −12.9 °C | −18.7 °C | −20.4 °C (24 December 2001) | 25 out of 30 |
| Bitschwiller-lès-Thann | 395 m | −14.8 °C | −19.3 °C | −19.4 °C (20 December 2009) | 22 out of 25 |
“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 20 December 2009, Colmar fell to −19.6 °C and Lucelle to −19 °C; in February 1999, Bâle-Mulhouse recorded −20.9 °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 the Haut-Rhin
- Choose the hardiest. In the ground, rely on citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3: without protection in the vineyards, under a fleece elsewhere. In the vineyards, the other yuzus and the hardiest satsumas can also be tried, with a fleece. Lemon trees, orange trees, clementines and kumquats stay in pots, brought in for the winter away from frost, like the other yuzus and satsumas outside the vineyards.
- Avoid hollows. Cold air flows down and collects at the bottom of valleys. The records show it: one winter in ten, Kruth, at the bottom of the Thur valley, falls to −18.7 °C, and Geishouse, on the slope, to −14.9 °C. Plant halfway up a slope or against a south-facing wall, never at the lowest point of the garden.
- Gain a few degrees. A south-facing wall, an enclosed courtyard or the corner of a house shelters the tree from the wind and gives it back at night some of the warmth of the day.
- Choose the rootstock for your soil. Here, the cold comes before everything: Poncirus is the most cold-resistant. In heavy soil or soil that stays wet in winter, plant on a mound. 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. From September onwards, no fertiliser and no pruning.
- 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 Mulhouse?
No. Lemon trees withstand about −5 °C, and Mulhouse falls to −11 °C in an ordinary winter. Keep them in pots, brought in for the winter. For a sour fruit in the ground, citrange, Yuzu and Yuzu 3 spend the winter without protection in the vineyards and with a fleece elsewhere; in the vineyards, the other yuzus can also be tried, under a fleece. See Lemons and lemon substitutes.
Which citrus trees withstand the cold best in the Haut-Rhin?
Citranges, Yuzu and Yuzu 3, which withstand −15 °C. They spend the winter in the ground without protection in the vineyards; in the Sundgau, in Mulhouse, on the Rhine plain and in the Vosges valleys, with a fleece on very cold nights. In the vineyards, the other yuzus and the hardiest satsumas can also be tried, with a fleece. 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 too little for the Haut-Rhin, even in the vineyards. Grow them in pots, outdoors in summer and brought in away from frost in winter.
My town is not listed: which area should I choose?
Take the nearest area at the same altitude, 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).