Citrus

In this part of Florida, citrus trees can grow and thrive with a bit of protection when the temps really dip. We have 7 Navel Orange trees and 2 Pineapple Orange trees in large 45 gal pots. These are too heavy to pick up, so Bill has epoxied these to pallets so he can lift them with a forklift attachment to the tractor and move them into his shop when subfreezing temperatures threaten. We have 2 Temple Oranges planted in the ground (pictured above) that are so happy with their location and soil that we must top them off every year to keep them to a 10' height so that we can wrap them in frost cloth. Finally,we have a Lime tree in a large pot that sits on the driveway on the east side of the house. Lime harvest is more continuous and spread out than many other citrus and they hold well on the tree, so they are available many months of the year. I use them quite a bit for cooking and seasoning, so I prefer this tree close to the kitchen.

We coddle the potted Navel and Pineapple Oranges and relocate them whenever the temperature is predicted to drop below 28 degrees. The Navel Oranges are the best fresh eating orange, sweet and nearly seedless. Pineapple Oranges provide the best fresh squeezed juice I've ever tasted. So yes, it's worth the 30 minute move process that occurs several times during the winter. The Temple oranges are not nearly as tasty and we wouldn't be devistated were we to lose these. As a result, we only wrapped these with frost cloth this past week when the temp was predicted to hit the upper teens. (19 degees was our official low). They have survived several hard freezes uncovered, with no fruit loss and minimal leaf damage. Although they are not the best orange (actually a tangelo) for fresh eating, they make a surprisingly good juice that freezes well, as opposed to the Pineapple that is better fresh. Because they are in the ground instead of pots, they produce hundreds of fruits rather than the dozen or two from a potted tree. The experts say that citrus trees will be damaged at 28 degrees and killed at 26 and below. The Temples survived 23 degrees unprotected and 19 degrees wrapped. The Lime tree unprotected was unfazed at 23 degrees. Although the Lime is in a warmer mico-climate, as it sits on concrete and is protected by the house, it is supposed to be the most temperature sensitive of all citrus. I'm thinking that established citrus will acclimate a bit to cold weather and would like to see more research done in this area. Areas of Florida just a bit south of us grew citrus on on a large scale until a devastating freeze wiped out major groves in the 1930's.


Orange Salad

Navel orange sections, with sliced banana and pecan halves. Amazingly good and easy.