Valencias grown in the tropics

[Mike T]

Climate has a big influence on how each variety of citrus fruit looks and tastes. I am too warm for navels and minneolas and they get giant with little colour and poor taste. Valencias on the other hand get extra large, have thin skin, poor colour when first ripe but are very sweet. They could perhaps do with a bit more acid. Another trait is a prolonged season in several flushes so fruit can be harvest over about 6 to 9 months in most years. Hang on I'll take some pix before it is dark.




Here are some green ones a few months off ripening


Extra sweet.

I am sure people have stories to tell of how citrus fruit develops differently in their particular climate if it is colder,warmer,drier,wetter,more seasonal etc than standard areas where they are grown.

[jcaldeira]

Mike, I am encouraged by your note.  I currently have a few unripe valencias and navel oranges on my trees and are eager to learn how they taste.  I know the nice orange skin color will never be there, but am hoping to at least have some worthy flavor now on the valencias.

[starling1]

Tangello is iffy down my way too Mike. Blood oranges get sweet but never develop any 'blood', I prefer them to most other varieties nonetheless though.

[bangkok]

Tangello is iffy down my way too Mike. Blood oranges get sweet but never develop any 'blood', I prefer them to most other varieties nonetheless though.

My first ruby red pomelo was also yellow inside. I hope the next one will be ruby red or that tree will go on the bbq.

[Mike T]

jc you should be ok with Valencia there but I'll eat my hat if you get a navel that is worthwhile. Potash helps sweetness I am told and it seems to with passionfruit. Epsom salts (for Mg) and generous S probably help also.
Starling tangelos seem to be ok on the tablelands up here so I am surprised if Brisbane is marginal for them.
Bangkok pomelo should get its red ok there even if it has some grapefruit crossing. Maybe if left longer or as the tree ages the red would come out more.

[BMc]

Mineolas are fine in Bris as far as I've known. Got a 10kg box from a fellow fruit clubber and they were great. Juiced most of them up and had to water it down a bit.

[starling1]

Mineolas are fine in Bris as far as I've known. Got a 10kg box from a fellow fruit clubber and they were great. Juiced most of them up and had to water it down a bit.

I have mine in the ground at a site that contains a lot of crusher dust from a shed foundation. I wonder if this is what is causing mine to struggle. Love tangelo, might be my favorite citrus.

[Millet]

With all the foundation dust, the pH must be quite high. Citrus like a pH of 6.5- Millet

[adriano2]

i got back from Mexico just yesterday. I noticed they sell valencias in open markets. 350 pesos for 5 year old tree. That is not much, but i am sure they would decrease the price additionally only if i asked. 

[Millet]

Citrus flowering is recurrent under tropical and semitropical conditions, with inflorescence and flowers being produced throughout the year.  As a result, fruit at different stages of development and maturity can be present on  a  tree at the same time. This complicates the harvest of properly mature fruit, resulting in a preponderance of juice quality fruit. Thus, commercial yields of fresh market fruit are typically low.  In semi-tropical and tropical citrus growing areas, winter water deficit stress is imposed on citrus trees of all cultivars to promote flowering, This compensates for inadequate exposure to low temperature during mild winters. - Millet

[bangkok]

This is one of my navel oranges grown in Bangkok. I bought this grafted tree on Chatuchak market.

I will place another pick when it's ripe. So far it's looking great.

[LEOOEL]

I've been very fortunate to have been eating prolific quantities of Valencia Oranges from my tree during the past couple of weeks. I find them to be really delicious.

[Millet]

LEOOEL. do your Valencias turn a nice orange color in your zone 10 location? - Millet

[From the sea]

A lot of the oranges down here stay green or get a funny black fungus on the skin but they taste good.

[LEOOEL]

LEOOEL. do your Valencias turn a nice orange color in your zone 10 location? - Millet

Mine get a light greenish color. As far as I know, the nice bright classical orange color is obtained with ripe oranges in the central Florida area. If I waited to pick them off the tree when they achieved the orange color, they would be past-due/rotten inside.

Of course, if I had my choice, I'd like them to be orange colored and ripe at the same time. But, I give it no thought. What I like to do is to knife peel the outer skin off several fruits, cut them in half, put them all together inside the fridge, and just enjoy snacking on them several times a day. And, that's hard to beat, natural, healthy, no pesticide fruit to eat as much and as often as one likes. I consider myself lucky and I'm grateful for that.

[Mike T]

Valencia oranges and a few mandarins do fine in the tropics to at least 10 latitude and probably all the way to 6 or 7 latitude with defined seasons and enough colouring to make them commercial.My valencias go quite yellow but are good to eat well before colouring.Plantations here at 16 latitude do alright so long as the climate is not too rainy.It is different in equatorial areas (5 latitude and less ) where poor colouring and less defined seasons are typical.
It seems some climate classifications like warm temperate,sub tropical,tropical,semi tropical,ultra tropical cause confusion and relate to specific classifications other than Koppen.

[fruitlovers]

Mike, is that Washington naval orange you're talking about? There's a few different types of navels. They all do well here, but if one doesn't for you best to try another type. I think navels do a lot better here than valencias. But Minneola tangelos do fine here also. And yes they do color up on outer rind, but not as much as in colder climates. Taste is great. We enjoy nice sweet orange juice every day. Main crop is in winter, but probably get some type of citrus 9-10 months out of the year.

[Mike T]

Oscar Washington navel is a dud here but so are 2 others I have heard people try.It might be Lanes Late and a red navel I have forgotten the name of.Minneola is just a dead loss.The heat and humidity are probably to blame and maybe the concentration of rain during the monsoon. I think even tropical plants don't like the wet humid weather when days are over 35c for weeks.These same varieties do OK west of here at 500m altitude in drier zones even though day temps can be higher.

[fruitlovers]

Oscar Washington navel is a dud here but so are 2 others I have heard people try.It might be Lanes Late and a red navel I have forgotten the name of.Minneola is just a dead loss.The heat and humidity are probably to blame and maybe the concentration of rain during the monsoon. I think even tropical plants don't like the wet humid weather when days are over 35c for weeks.These same varieties do OK west of here at 500m altitude in drier zones even though day temps can be higher.

Rain alone is not reason for poor performance as i think our rainfall is higher than yours. The other types of navels are Fisher and Cara Cara (the red colored navel).

[Mike T]

Oscar I think it is more that 70% of the rain falls in 3 months and the summer is so oppressive with heat and humidity.Today is 34c to 25c at night so not like what is has been like but the humidity is almost absolute.J can't think of other climate related reasons.Yes it was Cara Cara I was thinking of.

[jcaldeira]

With my Washington Navels, I get a good quality, sweet fruit if I pick during the cooler, drought-stressed season.  The same trees yield watery fruit if picked in the warmer rainy season.