how many freezes do you get? I figured houston was far enough south to not have to worry about it. If its just a few random times, I would plant in the ground whatever I wanted and just be prepared to make some temporary protection.

Julia:
I have a lot of citrus in the ground and in pots in Angleton, about 30 miles from you.

Eureka lemon does a lot better in a cooler environment. A Lisbon lemon can take the heat and tastes much like a Eureka. There may be some Lisbons at the fruit tree sales coming up.

A Mexican/Key/WestIndian lime will be O.K. in a container. Just don't take it from a 5 gal pot and move it into a half whiskey barrel if you want it to fruit. Keep it on the South or East side of the house and it will be fine. If you have an inside corner you might try a lime in the ground close to the house. If you keep it protected with a cover in cold weather it will make more, larger, and jucier fruit than one in a container.

I don't grow limes in the ground because I have so many other citrus and I can get limes at HEB for a few dollars a year and my valuable citrus space goes to growing fantastic tasting exotic hybrid mandarins.

If you need more tips just ask.

Larry

Limes will freeze in the Houston/Beaumont area unless protected from all freezes. Last year I sold dozens of lime trees to people with frozen ones. Your best bet is a meyer lemon that is cold hardy to 24F. Lisbon lemon is less cold hardy than meyer.

Here is a link that might be useful: mrtexas

The brief 14 degrees that showed up here a year ago provided a chance to see just how cold hardy the plants would be. The unprotected 10 year old Meyer lemon lost almost every leaf and some of the thinner branches, but that was quite good enough for me. It also only put on a few fruit this year instead of the usual big crop, but there is next year. The 3 year old Meyer lost 60% of it's branches, despite having 3 layers of protective wrapping. I'll take age over youth when it comes to citrus and freezes. Have you tasted Sunquats before? They can be used in places where lemons are used, and the peel is edible. My 4 (or so) year old unprotected Sunquat lost some leaves and a couple of thin twigs, and that was all. Importantly, it put on a full crop of fruit this year. I think that Sunquats need to upgrade their public relations staff and inform more lemon lovers about the fruit, especially where cold is a problem. There is an upcoming citrus tasting event in your region at the Brazoria County Extension Service on Jan. 29. Maybe you could taste Sunquats and other citrus of interest there.