Our Mission
Building the Future of Citrus in Northern Climates
Citrus has always followed warmth.
From its origins in Southeast Asia, citrus cultivation spread across Mediterranean climates and subtropical coastlines where temperatures allow trees to grow year-round. For centuries, this relationship defined where citrus could be grown commercially.
Traverse Citrus exists to challenge that assumption.
Our mission is to explore how citrus and tropical fruit can be grown successfully in northern climates through practical experimentation, efficient thermal systems, and thoughtful habitat design.
Rather than relying solely on traditional greenhouse models, our work focuses on developing low-energy growing environments that capture, store, and redistribute heat in ways that allow citrus to thrive far beyond its natural range.
Hands-On Research and System Development
At the core of Traverse Citrus is an ongoing program of hands-on research and applied experimentation.
We are actively exploring hybrid thermal systems that combine several approaches to climate moderation, including:
• Ground-to-Air Heat Transfer (GAHT) systems that store solar heat in the soil beneath growing structures
• passive solar greenhouse design that maximizes winter heat capture and natural light
• seasonal heat storage through thermal mass and subsurface exchange
• heat recapture opportunities from nearby infrastructure such as industrial processes, wastewater systems, refrigeration systems, and data centers
These systems allow heat—often treated as waste—to become a renewable agricultural resource.
By combining passive heat storage with recovered thermal energy, northern growing environments can be stabilized in ways that dramatically reduce energy requirements compared to conventional greenhouse heating.
Designing Habitat for Citrus
Growing citrus in northern climates is not simply a question of temperature—it is a question of habitat design.
Traverse Citrus is developing low-cost, scalable structures designed specifically to support perennial citrus trees in regions with cold winters while allowing those same trees to benefit from full outdoor conditions during the growing season.
These structures prioritize:
• winter protection during extreme cold
• efficient capture and storage of solar heat
• seasonal airflow and ventilation during summer
• simple construction methods that allow broader adoption
The goal is to create growing environments that are efficient, durable, and economically accessible, rather than relying on highly energy-intensive greenhouse systems.
A Strategic Advantage of Northern Climates
Many of the diseases and pests that threaten citrus orchards in warmer regions depend on subtropical climates to survive and reproduce.
In colder northern regions, winter temperatures create natural biological barriers that limit the survival of many vectors responsible for spreading citrus diseases.
By combining this natural protection with controlled growing environments, northern cultivation may offer an opportunity to grow citrus with reduced disease pressure compared to traditional producing regions.
At the same time, recent extreme weather events—including unexpected freezes in major citrus producing states—have demonstrated the vulnerability of outdoor orchards in regions once considered ideal for citrus production.
Exploring alternative growing geographies is becoming increasingly necessary.
A Long-Term Agricultural Question
Traverse Citrus is not simply an installation project.
It is part of a larger question:
Can citrus be grown commercially in northern climates through intelligent thermal design and efficient energy use?
Our current work with container citrus, tropical fruit trees, and controlled habitat structures represents an early stage of that exploration. Each installation, system test, and seasonal observation contributes to a growing body of practical knowledge about how citrus performs in northern environments.
Over time, this research may help inform larger systems capable of supporting more substantial citrus production in regions previously considered unsuitable for the crop.
Why This Work Matters
Citrus production in the United States faces increasing pressure from climate volatility, disease spread, water constraints, and geographic concentration in a small number of growing regions.
At the same time, agricultural communities in Northern Michigan—long shaped by specialty crops such as cherries—are navigating economic pressures that make diversification increasingly important.
Exploring viable citrus cultivation in northern climates is not a horticultural curiosity.
It is a strategic agricultural and economic question.
If citrus can be grown efficiently in controlled northern environments, new production geographies could:
• strengthen domestic citrus resilience
• reduce vulnerability to regional crop failures
• diversify specialty crop opportunities for northern growers
• extend the productive use of agricultural infrastructure in cold climates
Traverse Citrus exists to explore that possibility through practical, systems-based experimentation grounded in real growing environments.
Citrus on the Shores of Grand Traverse Bay
Northern Michigan may seem an unlikely place to explore the future of citrus cultivation.
Yet the region’s climate, strong agricultural heritage, and access to emerging energy infrastructure make it an ideal location to begin asking these questions.
Traverse Citrus is working at the intersection of horticulture, environmental design, and agricultural experimentation—continuing a centuries-old tradition of container citrus while exploring how modern thermal systems may allow citrus cultivation to expand into new geographic territory.
The citrus tree has traveled across continents and oceans for thousands of years.
Our mission is to explore how intelligent design and energy systems may allow citrus to grow where it never could before — and what that shift could mean for the future of American agriculture.
