What type of orange tree do I have?

I am in southwest Florida. I have two orange trees in my yard. The tree branches have small thorns on them. The fruit doesn't look too healthy and when tried is sour. I think they're Navel (because of the thorns) orange trees. Any citrus experts out there?





I have started to prune some of the dead branches to get more light in. They are heavily fruited, some orange, most green. I will be trying to see about how to care for them so they can produce good fruit.

What type of orange tree do I have?
Navel oranges are not particularly thorny as citrus go. They are called Navels, because on the bottom (blossom end) of the fruit, most of them will have a navel, like your belly button. Navels should be sweet by now, and have a tendency, in south Florida, to begin to dry out, particularly the top of the larger fruit.


Citrus fruit turn orange, when they are mature, in response to cool night temperatures (usually below 55 degrees F). The color change is not related to ripeness, so it is not unusual to find green oranges in Florida that are very sweet.


Given that you describe the fruit as oranges, not tangerines, and that they are not sweet at all, you do not have an early season variety. You may have a midseason variety, such as Midsweet or Pineapple, which would be sweet in about January. Or you might have a late season Valencia, which would be sweet in March or April.


As for re-juvenating the tree, put on an application of citrus fertilizer now and trim out the dead wood. Keep the tree watered from now on. You won't see much benefit from the fertilizer till spring, but the tree will pick it up and be ready for a strong spring flush. In the spring, spray the tree with a citrus nutritional spray, and citrus oil (they can be mixed together). Small bottles of these are readily available at garden centers, and a small bottle of each will last a long time.


I am also in SW Florida. Send me an email. If you are close by I will stop by and look at them with you.


*It is possible that you have a sour orange or other rootstock sprout. However, sour orange, and most other rootstocks, have very large thorns, up to 2 inches long.
Reply:I suspect you have what is called a sour orange. Citrus trees are usually grafted, that is a delicious variety is grafted to a disease resistant rootstock. Sour orange used to be one of the most common rootstocks. It has thorns and it is very very sour. Depending on the size of the tree, you may be able to graft in a new variety or you may want to rip it out and get yourself a new one!