Gardening

Citrus Show A Huge Success With 149 Entries

by Dr. William M. Johnson, Galveston County Extension Agent - Horticulture

December 21, 2005

Home-grown citrus is of superior quality to supermarket fruits. Shown above are several varieties of home-grown oranges that local citrus growers submitted for display and competition in the Upper Gulf Coast Citrus Show held in League City. Photo Credit: Herman Auer, master gardener

The 2005 Upper Gulf Coast Citrus Show was held on December 8 at the Walter Hall Park Pavilion in League City and area citrus growers submitted 149 entries for viewing. A remarkably wide range of citrus represented 13 types of citrus (ranging from grapefruits to kumquats to lemons) and 82 varieties.

Home-grown citrus is of superior quality to supermarket fruits. Many residents grow citrus not only for the fruit but also for the ornamental value trees provide to the landscape. Lastly, many types of citrus are easier to grow than many “traditional” fruit trees.

The Upper Gulf Coast Citrus Show was sponsored by the Extension Fruit & Pecan Committee. I extend thanks to the following committee members for their dedication and volunteer support with planning and conducting the Citrus Show: Jim Hall (Chairman), Santa Fe; Herman Auer, Santa Fe; Bill Chapman, Santa Fe; James McBride, Dickinson; Sam Powers, Santa Fe; Joe Swain, Santa Fe; and Louis Walden, Brookside Village. Bonnie Childers served as the Show Judge and is a Jefferson County citrus grower.

Entries in the 2005 Citrus Show reflect the wide variety of citrus grown in this area. If you would like to know what types of citrus can be grown here, look over the following list of ribbon and rosette winners and their citrus entries.

E. R. Browning, Santa Fe: Third Place, Navel Orange

Lawrence Caldwell, Texas City: Third Place, Ponderosa Lemon

Richard Carter, League City: First Place, Meyer Lemon

S. W. Cole, Alvin: Second Place, Limequat

Arthur R. Eernisse, Santa Fe: First Place, Thornless Mexican Lime; Honorable Mention, Trifoliata

Betty Fisher, San Leon: Third Place, Satsuma Cluster; Honorable Mention, Mexican Lime

Gerald and Marilyn Gerstmann, Friendswood: Third Place, Golden Grapefruit

Tommy Grissett, Freeport: Reserve Champion, Cocktail Grapefruit; First Place, Temple x Orlando Mandarin; First Place, Temple x Orlando OPS Tangelo; Second Place, Tomango Blood Orange; Third Place, Bloomsweet Grapefruit; Honorable Mention, Changshou Kumquat

Jim Hall, Santa Fe: Second Place, Bloomsweet Grapefruit

Valentino Lanier, Friendswood: Second Place, Ruby Red Grapefruit

Verne Lee J. Nagle, Clear Lake Shores: Third Place, Dancy Tangerine

John E. Panzarella, Lake Jackson: First Place, Changshou Kumquat; Second Place, Fairchild Mandarin; Second Place,‘Panzarella’ Lemon Cluster; Honorable Mention, Chandler Hybrid Pummelo

Buster Rice, Angleton: Best of Show, Satsuma Cluster; Second Place, Meyer Lemon

Shirley Roth, League City: Honorable Mention, Cara Cara Orange

Audrey Stadler, Texas City: First Place, Buddha’s Hand; Second Place, Persian Lime; Third Place, Key Lime

Luke Stripling, Dickinson: First Place, Honey Tangerine

Jim and Maria Wade, League City: First Place, Star Ruby Grapefruit; First Place, Ambersweet Orange; Second Place, Clementine Tangerine; Third Place, Indio Mandarinquat; Honorable Mention, Ujukitsu Lemon; Honorable Mention, Marrs Orange

Susan and Gaddis Wittjen, La Marque: Third Place, Satsuma

For some plant growing endeavors, my philosophy is “If you can’t pronounce it, don’t grow it!” However, on most occasions with citrus, not being able to pronounce it will not reduce your chances of growing some wonderful and delicious fruit.

If you are interested in growing your own citrus or in expanding your existing backyard citrus grove, be sure to make a notation on your gardener’s calendar to attend the Master Gardener Fruit & Citrus Tree Seminar & Sale. The 2006 Seminar & Sale will held at Carbide Park in La Marque on Saturday, February 4, 2006. Additional details are available on the website listed below.

Gardener’s Q&A

Question: I have always been told that a good cold winter will reduce the number of insect pests for the following summer. Will cold winter spells make a major dent in the occurrence of some of our more annoying insects?

Answer: This is a very tough question to answer. The answer is not a simple yes or no. Insects are a very resilient form of animal life. They have developed survival strategies that guarantee their return each spring.

One such method is a natural antifreeze they produce by reducing the amount of water in their blood. They can also tolerate ice crystals in their body. Insects will spend winter in different life forms such as an egg, larvae, or pupae. These life forms can tolerate cold temperatures very well especially if they are in a protected area such as underground or in leaf litter.

While a colder-than-normal winter may reduce the overwintering population of some insects, it’s not at all likely to have a major impact on most insect pest problems. In fact, the majority of our more common insect pests (such as aphids, scale, webworms, etc.) occur in other states where winters are notoriously cold.

Dr. Johnson is a horticulturist with the Galveston County
Extension Office of Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University. Visit his web site at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/index.htm

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