Perhaps you do have a lime tree. Limes are picked and used while the rind is sill green. But they will turn yellow if left on the tree longer.

Yes, Coca Cola and some others (the Seminole nation, et al.) grew lemons for juice and peel oil for quite a while, until the series of major freezes in the '70s and '80s wipe them out. The two primary varieties were 'Bearss' and 'Avon'. Speaking of 'Bearss', here's what I recently posted to another forum: It occurs to me that this forum might be interested in an item of long-term confusion among citrus hobbyists. The issue of what is called "Bearss." 'Bearss' lime is a selection of 'Tahiti' (a.k.a. "Persian") lime, grown to a small extent commercially in California, and when you buy a plant from a California or Arizona nursery with the name "Bearss" associated with the plant, you will nearly always get this lime variety. In this case, it is correctly pronounced "beers," as in what you would call two Coors Lights and a Budweiser. 'Bearss' lemon is a true lemon (C. limon) historically grown commercially in Florida, apparently originally from Sicily. It proved to be better adapted to Florida's climate than Eureka or Lisbon, which are the more popular Western varieties. If you see a tree with the name "Bearss" associated with it in Florida, it will nearly always be this lemon. And in this case, it is pronounced "bears," as in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but the final "s" is hissed (unvoiced) rather than a "z" sound. The two have nothing to do with each other, and the origins of their names seem to be independent as well. So it's an odd bit of citrus nomenclatural history.

Bearrs lime for your climate (Mexican limes are probably the very most cold-sensitive citrus cultivar). Bearss has some lemon in its genetic history, and can withstand colder temps than the Mexican (Key) lime can. I like it a lot, larger, very high juice content, and seedless. As for a lemon, I would go with a Santa Teresa Femminello lemon if you can find it (try Four Winds online), or can't go wrong with Eureka. Also, I would move your conversation over to the Citrus Forum on GW. You'll have several Hoston, TX folks there who can give you specific recommendations on where to purchase in your area. Patty S.

Lime will raise the pH; it is applied to acid soils to do that; gypsum will improve soil structure, especially for clay soils; and improve water uptake, but will not affect the pH. So, I guess it depends on what you are starting with; and what you want to end with... I don't know nuttin about 511 mix; so none of this might be helpful. FYI lime Calcium carbonate; and gypsum Calcium Sulfate are often confused, even by farmers and vendors.