Late November into April are peak harvest times for one of the finest Oranges available!
The Cara Cara Sweet Orange possesses the most unique flavor of any Orange variety! Imagine cherry, berry, and orange flavors, all in one incredibly convenient fruit. Some people even say they taste raspberry, blackberry, and cranberry! That’s the flavor of a Cara Cara Orange!
Learn how to grow your own Cara Cara Sweet Orange and see what these unique Citrus taste like to you!
Featuring glossy green, aromatic broadleaf evergreen foliage, and incredibly fragrant white flowers, the light orange rinds and pinkish insides are wonderfully flavorful and juicy!
The Cara Cara Orange is sweet and a fan favorite, but also a nutritional powerhouse, with plenty of Vitamin C, Vitamin A, folate, and lycopene (which gives them their fantastic colored flesh!). These antioxidants give your heart a boost and protect your cells from free radicals. Pick them when they are firm, shiny, heavy, and have a great scent! Typically ripening from fall into spring, depending on where it is being grown.
The Cara Cara Sweet Orange Tree is an easy Fruit Tree to grow, so you can enjoy this healthy fruit from your own yard throughout USDA planting zones 9 - 10.
Not only is it adapted to any landscape wherever Citrus grows well, but the Cara Sweet Orange can also grow up to 8-12 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide when not pruned. However, for easier picking, container gardening, and pest control, the Cara Cara Orange is easily kept pruned at 6 to 8 feet.
Read on to learn about how to grow these fantastic fruit trees and their close cousins successfully!
#ProPlantTips for Growing Cara Cara & Orange Trees
Standard Citrus care is applied to the Cara Cara Orange!
Outside-grown Citrus needs a location where your Citrus Tree has a full day’s worth of sun. The more sun, the more flowers, and therefore, more fruit!
Citrus also grows best in slightly acidic soil. You can have a simple soil test done to determine the health of your soil. But usually, any fast-draining enriched soil with a 3-4 inch deep layer of pine bark mulch over the soil surface will work for your tree just fine!
Fertilizing is required for container-grown Citrus plants and helps support your in-ground plants as well. An organic acid fertilizer applied 3-4 times a year is recommended for your Orange tree.
Don’t Overwater Your Cara Cara
Watering timing and amount are always critical for Citrus trees, both in the ground or in a container. Your Citrus likes to be on the dry side. Overwatering your Cara Cara can result in common problems such as yellowing leaves, leaf drop, and lack of vigor.
This is of particular concern for both indoor and outdoor growers. The Citrus tree’s water requirements decrease dramatically once it is brought indoors and during the winter when Citrus do not grow as much.
Become familiar with your winter water needs while indoors. Check before watering to determine if your plant needs water by using the Finger Test.
Ensure your potted Orange Tree has very good drainage holes so the roots do not sit in water ever. Root rot is the death of a Citrus Tree!
Grow Cara Cara & Oranges Indoors As Container Plants
The Cara Cara Orange is also a perfect container tree, giving you a great patio specimen or an amazing accent container plant in the garden.
Container growing allows the Cara Cara Orange to be grown in the more marginal Citrus areas, and where in-ground locations are not the best, either due to poor soil or poor drainage. This way, you can move your Cara Cara to a protected location or cover your plant to help protect against the occasional winter cold.
The Cara Cara may also be the best Sweet Orange variety for extreme cold climates. This is where indoor-to-outdoor growing is required. The early ripening Cara Cara will benefit from being kept outdoors until the temperatures drop into the high to mid-40s, and then needs to be gradually brought indoors. That will allow the fruit to ripen as much as possible outdoors, benefiting from the extra sunlight exposure.
Protecting Container Citrus From Cold
Although famous for growing in warmer regions, Orange Trees can also thrive in colder areas as long as the tree is brought indoors prior to the first frost of winter.
If you're growing these tropical trees in the ground in the lowest of their favored growing zones, they need to be planted in a sheltered spot to avoid the worst of the chill. If a spot like that is unavailable, then you are better off planting in a large, deep container.
In borderline growing zones, begin slowly acclimating your tree indoors or into a protected location, eventually moving your tree inside in bright indirect sun for the winter if the temperatures in your area ever dip below the 40°F range. In spring, reverse this process and begin acclimating your tree to again be back out in the full sun all summer.
This gradual acclimation indoors and out each year significantly reduces stress and leaf drop. You can keep your trees happy indoors by ensuring they have adequate humidity, bright yet indirect sunlight, and close monitoring of their soil moisture.
Get Ready to Enjoy Bushels of Cara Cara Navel Oranges!
Not only a beautiful and easy-to-manage tree with fragrant blooms, but the Cara Cara Sweet Navel Orange is also a stunning porch, patio, and edible landscaping tree!
Sweet and juicy, self-fertile, and mostly seedless, the early to midseason ripening Cara Cara Orange will flavor your recipes, create flavorful juice, and boost your health!
A chance Washington Navel Orange Tree sport discovered at the Hacienda Caracara in Valencia, Venezuela, in 1976, the Cara Cara hit the market in the 1980s, and it’s been a favorite ever since!
Start growing your own today with the help of Nature Hills Nursery!
Happy Planting!
