Well, it is supposed to get to 75 here in Wilmington, NC, over the weekend. And the extended forecast says it will never go below 36 in the next month or so. At the moment, I have my dormant trees in the garage. I also have available a south-facing patio that is a microclimate and almost never sees a freeze.

My question is - What would you do? My options are:

A) Keep the pots in the garage through the hotter weather and wait for it to gets cold again;

B) Move them all to the patio and tarp on nights that actually freeze, or

C) Stick them outside but in the cooler side yard to ride out whatever winter we get here.

It's just a hard choice in this semi-tropical environment. I'm pretty much at capacity indoors with new cuttings, so making them houseplants is not an option. I just don't want to have trees budding out and dying later (if I can help it). Thanks.

I would take all my cuttings and put it in  a circle and I sit in the middle and throw a blanket over us. We sit and wait until spring.

I would keep them in the garage. I would think it be a more constant temp. If they're outside the sun might warm them too much causing new growth to start. At.least the garage would shield them from the sun's heat and the extreme fluctuating weather.

I agree with Tony.  Keep dormant until the weather is more consistent.  Don't trust the weather forecast!!

A) Keep the pots in the garage through the hotter weather and wait for it to gets cold again;

Thanks for the input. I like the consensus answer, especially because it involves the least amount of labor. Took a while to get every pot into the garage; arranged, and finally protected from the cats. I was not relishing the thought of the big migration again so soon.

John save your back for the fig shuffle come spring.  ; )

I may soon be growing oranges next to my figs!

Currently a balmy 47*F.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/science/earth/2012-was-hottest-year-ever-in-us.html

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/01/08/science/earth/record-setting-heat-across-the-us-in-2012.html?ref=earth

I've got citrus growing inside, next to my cuttings. The lemon is getting ready to blossom again.

Yeap,
My small/potted 'Improved Meyer Lemon', inside my GH, currently has tons of blooms/flowers.
I did some hand-brush pollinating (a bee's job), and hopefully I may get a dozen+ large lemons.
BTW, the IML is not a true-lemon, just a hybrid that produces not-so-sour fruit; not sure I like it though...

That's the lemon I have, too. I wanted to get an Italian Feminello variety but couldn't find one. Shipping of citrus is very tricky apparently.

Gorgi, no need to pollinate your Meyer Lemon.  It is parthenocarpic - produces fruit without the need for pollinating :-)  And, I love my Meyer lemon, too.  It is hugely prolific, and I make a really terrific Limoncello with it (highly coveted and secret recipe, lol!!)