Star-Telegram, May 07, 2006

Very nice hobby indeed. We can enjoy it too, right now, without waiting for retirement. These people, just like us, oftentimes do it for the passion, retired or not. And we share and inspire others.

It is not true that the tolerance of citruses (ie, lemons in her case) to cold is just 27 deg F for 3 hours. Clearly my lemons have endured long bouts of 22 deg F temperature with very little damage. The key is that our winter temperature has very gradual decline so that most of my citruses have really hardened up before frosty nights come for weeks at a time. what really is very bad is the arctic blasts, the sudden cold spell that arrives without giving adequate time for citruses to harden for the cold. Once an arctic blast is in the forecast, I scamper to protect my trees, even if temperature is well above freezing.

I've corresponded with Dr. Sauls, who is quoted. I asked him for his opinion on the article. Here are his comments:

"Well, I knew the article was coming, but had not seen it. I was a bit
curious to know what I was quoted for saying, as well as what Ms. Thomas
had to say, and what the writer stated without quotes to any source. To
say the least, I am disappointed.


First, I did not recommend Helen's skills; I don't know her, nor have I
ever communicated with her. The only information I had about her was a
short e-mail from the writer, Kendall Anderson.


To correct the record, I did not state "the lack of humidity make
oranges an unlikely success", as humidity has relatively little to do
with it. I don't necessarily agree with some of Ms. Thomas's
comments--for example, "shelter from hot Texas summers" suggests that
the summers in the Dallas area are substantially hotter than in the
Lower Rio Grande Valley, or in Laredo or other areas of the state.
Another disagreement is with her quote that "humidity and balanced
fertilizer are key"--I seriously doubt that the humidity in Dallas is
consistently lower than what is normal in the Valley or upriver to
Zapata, Laredo and Carrizo Springs--where a lot of citrus trees are
grown.


The writer indicated that Ms. Thomas uses ladybugs to eat..."aphids and
thrips that kill trees by sucking the juice from the leaves"--neither
aphids nor thrips nor any other insect kills citrus trees.


It is apparent that all of the trees were grown from seed, as budded
trees produce in the second year from planting, whereas seedlings may
not produce for anywhere from a few years to 10-15 years.


Obviously, the keys to success in north Texas are a sufficient budget
to afford the large containers, some means to move them, and the
greenhouse into which they will be moved for winter cold protection.
Sunlight is critical, as citrus does best in full sun (Ms. Thomas
apparently has hers in the shade of overhanging oaks et cetera). "