Navel Orange in Northeast US

14 years ago

Hello everyone!

Well my tropical fruit hobby has taken a turn for citrus. Last year I bought a Dwarf Keylime and a Dwarf Moro Blood Orange. The blood orange is too small to fruit still but the keylime has a small fruit growing. I just got an Improved Meyer Lemon and I have a Oro Blanco grapefruit coming next week. I want to add one more citrus and am leaning towards a Washington Navel or a Minneola Tangelo. I just got an email from Four Winds and they told me that Washington navels are the sweetest variety they sell and they are not a good choice for my climate because it wont get enough heat to sweeten the fruit. Does anyone here grow either navel or minneola tangelo, and are the fruits sweet?

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Comments (5)

birdsnblooms
14 years ago
Andrew, I have to agree with 4Winds about the Navel. My Navel fruits, but the problem is, lack of sun, natural warmth and humidity..Its fruit grow so big, but never to full maturity..therefore it's non-edible.
A green house could solve this problem..artificial light, heat and a certain amount of humidity and fresh air.

If you decide to get a gh, don't make the mistake we did..if you plan on growing trees, don't bother with 8x10's..
Invest in a gh that's going to be spacy..Remember, our trees are going to grow tall and wide..Of course, a larger gh is going to cost more..expect a gas and electric bill increase. Toni
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Andrew Scott
Original Author
14 years ago
Tony,
I am going to get 1,000 watt HID light setup. I know Mike grows navels but don't know if his are sweet either. I am aways away from a greenhouse since I am still living in an apartment. I would actually like to have a conservatory. There was a house around the corner from me that had one. Very nice size too. Wish I had been in a position to buy that house. Oh well, someday. Do you have the Oro Blanco grapefruit?
Andrew
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Mine does the same thing. Navels are more susceptible to fruit drop at a young age. Most of the time it is from over/under watering. Also, it might just be that your tree is too young and not ready to hold the fruit. Last year I got 2 oranges on my navel. I over watered ALOT. Also, it was surrounded by grass. I fixed all the problems and this year there is only one orange on the tree. I think when the tree is ready it will hold more fruit. The tree is only 2-3 years old and very small. Navels are known to do this at young age. Without pics we cannot tell if it from a disease but from what you describe, I doubt it. Just be patient:-) I know waiting for yummy oranges sucks but eventually it will pay off!
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My take on it is this is a lot of hype with some truth to it in better growing conditions, handling, etc. Root stock can make a difference. I just ran across an academic paper online the other day that was comparing the effects of different root stocks on juicing oranges, and based on their photos alone the difference in color and consistency of the juice was easily visible. Having said that, as I mentioned in another thread the other day, it is important to match root stock with local conditions, a root stock that performs well in western high calcareous soils may perform poorly in low pH sandy and sandy loam soils on the gulf coast and vice versa, this is before even considering disease resistance. As to the old line Washington Navel bit, I think it is 100% hype, Washington Navel oranges themselves are a relatively modern variety dating to the 1800's (likely a sport from about 1822 in Brazil and 1870 in the US), with some of the original US parent trees still surviving. (google Parent Washington Navel Orange) Also see http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/45/4/523.full
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meyermike_1micha
14 years ago
Hi Toni!!!!!!!!!!!! I am happy your are hanging around with us...Very!
When are you going to post a couple of pics and show off some of yours? They are beautiful..

Andrew, I grew 8 last year, and all my fellow employees ate them saying they were the sweetest, juiciest, seedless oranges they ever had..Yup! The owner of my company was so impressed, that he begged me to bring more plants into work and promise to grow him more..lol

Andrew look at my VERY fragrant plant from last year.
It is just starting to bloom again. I will take a recent pic..Check back tomorrow night.

Mike..:-)

Here is a link that might be useful: MY WASHINGTON NAVEL PICS
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Andrew Scott
Original Author
14 years ago
Mike,
I love that tree of yours. Do you have to use supplemental lighting to sweeten those fruits? Maybe I will give a try. BTW I put my meyer out side today and ended up with a bunch of buds that opened...over a dozeb now!
Andrew
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citrusnut
14 years ago
I heard the same thing about Navel oranges that 4 Winds told you, so I never wanted one and bought a Valencia orange instead (also my favorite orange). Well, my tree was mislabeled and turned out to be a Navel orange anyway. I was very disappointed and afraid that it would taste bad, but to my surprise, it did not. It actually tasted sweet and juicy. That was 2 years ago and it had 2 oranges. This year my Navel tree had one orange and my husband and I split it. Again, I was apprehensive about the taste, I just expected it to taste bland, but again, it was excellent - sweet and juicy. So, I'm happy with my Navel orange tree and hope that it keeps producing good oranges.

Of course, mine looks nowhere near as nice as Mike's tree does. You've got a really super nice one Mike.
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Navel Orange in Northeast US

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