Another in Texas - Cypress

Jump to latest Follow Reply
You let your husband wear WHITE anything????????? LOL Sorry! But THAT is what stood out to me looking at your pictures!

That is a skink. They are good to have around.

That yard work looked like fun! I bet your help slept real good after that!

CUTE kids! Glad to see themworking!

Window "art"--------I see a spider. at 7:00 position you can see his "bottom".

Are you sure it was hubby and not the boys???? hum???????? Oh wait he IS one of the boys! LOL

Kim
 
For the spa blower - I didn't even know what it was but glad my PB did it.we love it & I can turn it on for the kiddos- they think the spa is on ;)
 
First off on the heater topic, the thing that gets confusing about weighing gas heat vs heat pump is that gas heat is typically 80% thermal efficiency, meaning about 80% of the energy in the natural gas goes to heating the water, by contrast a heat pump is moving heat from one place to another (much like an air conditioner does) it is making the water warm while making the air colder, so can effectively be far more than 100% efficient, typically 400-500% under ideal conditions. Meaning under ideal conditions that electricity on a per KW bases vs, KW of heat generated by natural gas can be 3-4 times higher than the natural gas cost and a heat pump can still cost less to run. Of course in the real world those numbers can be much worse which adds a lot of confusion as heat pumps perform their best when the air temperature is as warm as possible. Fortunately places like Houston on the gulf coast often have fairly high daytime temperatures year round making it a nearly ideal place to run a heat pump for a pool. You can do more detailed research on here, as the above is a vast over simplification, but the fact is even with very low natural gas prices, heat pumps can still be the better choice in milder climates like Houston.

Now to that Orange tree:

First off, what kind of Orange is it, is it on grafted stock or is this something you tried to grow from a seed? What kind of mulch is that, and have you done a soil test, most importantly a pH soil test. (most garden centers have little soil test kits for under $10), also what sort of mulch is that? (mulch in our climate can cause root rot)

Ike

p.s. I suspect skimmer #1 would perform better on the southeast part of the pool vs the southwest (ie around where the auto-fill is currently located), that is if your prevailing wind patterns are like ours in SW Louisiana. You want the skimmers located down wind, which I suspect would be from either the south or from the west or northwest most of the time, very rarely from the north east which is where it is currently optimized for.
 
The orange tree looks like mine! A Texas republic. It's grafted onto something native (I can't remember what). Mine was about a year when we had to dig it up for the pool. It was in a planter for the past 9 months & we re-planted it 2 weeks ago. I water it every day for a month (my neighbor's suggestion) it's just started to green up and get new leaves.
 
Isaac-1 said:
Now to that Orange tree:

First off, what kind of Orange is it, is it on grafted stock or is this something you tried to grow from a seed? What kind of mulch is that, and have you done a soil test, most importantly a pH soil test. (most garden centers have little soil test kits for under $10), also what sort of mulch is that? (mulch in our climate can cause root rot)

Ike
Click to expand...

Thank you for the detailed heater explanation. We're going to look into a heat pump.

I'm not sure what kind of orange tree it is. We got it two or so years ago from a local nursery but it's never looked much better than it does right now. I'll need to get a soil test kit. Can our pool kits test soil PH too?

The mulch is brand new and just put on it. We got it from the Boy Scouts when they can around selling.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You may be able to use your pool pH test kit, but it does have limited range. If you want to try it there are instructions online including apparently youtube videos, the process involves wetting the soil with deionized water. There is also a crude test using just, vinegar, baking soda and deionized water, which will likely tell you enough for citrus. Generally citrus is happy in a broad range of pH soils as long as they are slightly acidic, so somewhere between 6.0 and 7.0, of course as you know your pool test only goes down to 6.8.
 
twinkiesmommy said:
This orange tree is two years old but hasn't done very well despite our efforts. Any green thumbs with some advice?
Click to expand...
Outdoor cirtus is out of my relm, but i can make some guesses. My experience is that most fruit trees are sold grafted with a hearty root stock on the bottom and something taxty on the top. (Flying dragon is a popular root stock for citrus). Sometimes you will get suckers from the root stock part of the plant if you can see a scar on the trunk thats where the graft is. Any little twiggy branches below that should be pruned off... those are root suckers If tbe tree was planted too deep the graft line might beburried. Im not at home so i cant see how obious citrus graft scars are. I know on apple trees its reLly obvious. The stuff popping up out of the ground should deffinitly be prunned off. Im actually thinking this looks like the grafted topmportion might be dead and you should get a new tree.

Another question. Have you done anything to it like pruning or fertalizing? I think a soil test is a good idea. Our local agg extension does them. The form has a spot to tell them what you want to grow and they will tell you how to ammend the soil.
 
Upon closer look at the photo I think the graft union may be just below that fork in the tree, it is hard to tell in that photo though. If it is then all that green growth is from the root stock and not from the orange which is likely dead. There are few types of citrus that will thrive outdoors in NW Houston without active freeze protection (covering and warming with christmas lights, etc. during freezes) , but many types at are sold to the public at nurseries and garden centers. Different types of citrus have different levels of cold hardiness, which also vary with type of root stock used, citrus trifoliata, also called poncirus trifoliata is the most cold hardy root stock, also popular is Swingle, and latest popular one Flying Dragon which is a dwarfing root stock, both being trifoliate hybrids (there are others, but these are the ones you most likely will see used in Texas). Generally speaking if citrus gets cold enough to loose all its leaves then chances of its survival is a dice roll.

If you inspect and all the green is below the graft, and you decide to let it grow it will likely grow as some type of trifoliate which is also known as a sour orange, which is not really edible although some people do eat them as they contain slight levels of toxic substances. If you replant and want a citrus with a potential to thrive in NW Houston, plant a Satsuma. Owari Satsuma on Trifoliate root stock is the most cold hardy (other than kumquats, which I don't count), with known unprotected survival of mature trees down to about 14 degrees, although survival rates at that temperature are only about 50%. Freeze protection is strongly advised for all types of Satsuma any time the temperature drops below 25 degrees F and young trees for any hard freeze. By contrast most other types of citrus can't survive at below 30 degrees and many can't survive below 32.

So to sum it up, if you want to grow oranges in NW Houston and don't want caring for them to be a full time chore in the winter, plant Satsumas , if you don't mind actively covering and heating them every time there is a freeze, then consider myers lemon, of maybe Cara Cara or Washington Navel Oranges (or a few other similar types), leave the Florida oranges in Florida.
 
Thank you guys for the orange help!! I think that my poor orange tree may just be dead as all the green is below what looks like a graft line.

I'm going to ask my husband to take it out and look at some of your recommendations Isaac! I think we didn't take good enough care of it over the winter.



Goodbye my dear orange tree. You were cute for awhile and we'll miss you... Please look over your replacement when he moves in.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Isaac-1 said:
Oh, when picking out citrus look for a tree with a 3 way branch split to form the crotch, this is the strongest arrangement, and try not to buy from the big box stores.
Click to expand...

Should I try ordering online? Even our nurseries seem to be pretty "big box". Can I put in the comments, "please send one with a 3 way branch split forming the crotch" and they'll know what I mean? [emoji5]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Ordering online is often hit or miss as many of the online sources are really just brokers that ship from regional nurseries due to import restrictions many states have in place to prevent plant diseases from spreading (I don't know if Texas has such restrictions or not, Louisiana does, so do most other sunbelt states). Also you will pay about twice the price to cover shipping vs typical local price which should be around $40 or so for common citrus like Satsumas. As to places to try, have you looked at RCW Nursery just off beltway 8 on the Tomball parkway (249). I have never been in there, but have driven past on the way to my sister in laws house in Cypress. (looking at their web page they look good).

PS, if you are going with Satsuma, the Owari's get ripe around November, but there are also early varieties that ripen in September, of the early varieties St. Ann's and La Early are probably the two best ones, if you can't find those there is also Armstrong, but the flavor is not as good.

Oh also you may want to take a look at http://www.lsuagcenter.com/nr/rdonlyres/d88c319d-8f9d-41a3-af2e-8cf09f60c57b/81678/pub1234lahomecitruslowres.pdf they are a little conservative on their planting regions, but otherwise good.
 
Isaac-1 said:
Ordering online is often hit or miss as many of the online sources are really just brokers that ship from regional nurseries due to import restrictions many states have in place to prevent plant diseases from spreading (I don't know if Texas has such restrictions or not, Louisiana does, so do most other sunbelt states). Also you will pay about twice the price to cover shipping vs typical local price which should be around $40 or so for common citrus like Satsumas. As to places to try, have you looked at RCW Nursery just off beltway 8 on the Tomball parkway (249). I have never been in there, but have driven past on the way to my sister in laws house in Cypress. (looking at their web page they look good).

PS, if you are going with Satsuma, the Owari's get ripe around November, but there are also early varieties that ripen in September, of the early varieties St. Ann's and La Early are probably the two best ones, if you can't find those there is also Armstrong, but the flavor is not as good.

Oh also you may want to take a look at http://www.lsuagcenter.com/nr/rdonlyres/d88c319d-8f9d-41a3-af2e-8cf09f60c57b/81678/pub1234lahomecitruslowres.pdf they are a little conservative on their planting regions, but otherwise good.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much Isaac! I haven't been there. I usually go to Arbor Gate on 2920. I will see if we can check them out next weekend and maybe call them to ask what they have this week. Going to make DH read all this too. Maybe two of us can keep something alive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I am always impressed by these people that graft something like a dozen different types of fruit onto a single tree. I am (slowly) working on a grafting project now, growing some trifoliata seeds to get root stock to graft a good tasting, but unknown variety of Satsuma onto. I also have several other plant projects going on, such as propagating figs from cuttings, which is not going so good with this one tree, out of a dozen cuttings I have been trying to root for 6 weeks I only have 3 with roots so far.

Ike
 
So question about the back of the bond beam and plumbing. It was pointed out that my top builder choice leaves the back of the bond beam unfinished as standard (this is in the contract) and someone told me they've seen several of their pools when running the lakes in our neighborhood that have pipes in the back you can see. Is this typical or something to worry about?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Wow, so it's been about 3 weeks since I updated my own thread! We've had some hiccups but I think we're finally moving forward!! We just met with the pool builder we've selected. PB-C if you've been following (we even ended up with a PB-D but it's a long story) and tweaked some final things, filled out HOA paperwork, etc. She's revising the proposal and we'll sign as soon as they send it! Woo hoo!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply