How to Care for Orange Trees

Orange trees are easily grown in Florida, California, Texas and Arizona because of the moderate temperatures. Orange Trees just require a few basic elements to produce fruit and become an attractive part of your landscape.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Soil:
   Orange trees will grow in a variety of soils from sandy to adobe clay, but the soil must drain well to get your orange tree to produce fruit. If your soil is sandy then you will need to water and fertilize your trees more than in a clay soil. Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium, Sulfur and Calcium are essential to Orange Tree production of fruit.
2. Temperature:
   Orange trees need lots of sun to produce fruit and will not tolerate frost. The critical temperatures for orange trees are 27-28° F. When temperatures threaten your trees, water during the day to get the heat from the soil to rise up and use fans to blow the warmer air through the trees when the temperature drops. Commercial producers used oil burners in the past, but now depend on wind and water to protect their crops.
3. Water:
   Water is critical to your tree’s life. Water containing high salt contents will damage your tree's fruit and burn their leaves. Flowering begins in early winter and continues into spring depending on the tree. The trees require extra moisture during and immediately after flowering to produce good fruit.
4. Pruning:
   Do not prune orange trees! Pruning opens the tree up to disease. Commercial producers trim the tops of their trees for ease in picking (cheaper too!) and the sides they trim like hedges to allow more sunlight into the tree. A few trees in the backyard do not require this procedure.
5. Planting:
   Planting seeds from an orange will not give you the desired orange tree. Trees are formed from a rootstock for disease resistance and the top is a bud of the desired tree variety. Go to a reputable nursery to purchase your plants.
6. Pollination:
   There are some trees that require pollination from insects and some that do not. Make sure that you ask when you purchase your trees if your yard is lacking in insects like bees.

Tips & Warnings

• The "wild oranges" you see growing on the side of the road are too tart for juice, but make a nice Tart Orange Pie!
• Unlike other fruits you can leave oranges on the tree after they are ripe. They will not continue to ripen once they reached their peak.
• Do not pick oranges from a commercial crop. It is against the law and you can damage the trees by plucking incorrectly.