First Cara Cara’s of the season
evdesert 9B Indio, CA
6 years ago
I pulled my first of several Cara Cara’s that are hanging on my tree. This was the first edible fruit I’ve gotten from this tree. It had nice color, pinkish, sweet with just a little tartness. I’m going to wait a couple more weeks and pull another fruit to see if it gets any sweeter. Here are some pics.
And the tree itself.
Hope everyone is staying warm and safe on the east side of the country. We’ve been hovering at the 80 degree mark for the last week with lows around 55 at night.
Evan
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Comments (11)
evdesert 9B Indio, CA
6 years agoRelated Discussions
cara cara tree
Comments (9)Beautiful tree, boxofrain! Where exactly are you? Since you're able to grow Oleander, I would say your in the warmer parts of the Bay Area (East, North or South), so you should be able to grow Cara Cara with no problem. I was wondering the same thing as Randy in regard to the dark soil around the trunk of the tree - is this just compost top-dressing, or did you actually amend the soil it is planted in? Generally, the recommendation these days is to NOT amend the planting hole, since the roots will not want to venture out and instead circle around this hole and (potentially could) choke itself to death eventually. Some other thoughts: 1) Create a slightly larger watering basin and mound the edges. When watering allow enough water to fill and let seep down. Remember, water citrus thoroughly and deeply and let rest between waterings, at least once/week to start. Doing this consistently during the growing season will be key. 2) Based on the level of your grass, I see that the tree may be planted a little too deeply. Especially in clay (which most ALL of us have here in the Bay Area have) or any water-retentive soils, it is imperative that you plant your tree a bit raised (root flare slightly showing is good) so that the trunk does not sit in moisture, which is a good recipe for trunk and root rot that may not show itself for a few years! One should only plant the root flare/trunk interface a few inches deeper if you are CERTAIN that you have good drainage. 3) Mulching up to about 6 inches of the trunk with bark helps to conserve moisture, keep the roots cool, helps to prevent weed growth, and breaks down to organic matter with time, so do consider this. 4) Removing the wooden support allows the trunk to strengthen. If wind is a concern, you may keep the support (probably a bit further from the trunk, however), but only loosely tied so the tree's movement isn't hindered. 5) Keep grass/weeds away from the drip line of the tree so they don't steal nutrients. 6) Feed (every Valentine's Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day) with fertilizer [like GreenAll's Citrus and Avocado fertilizer especially made for citrus) as close to NPK ratio of 5-1-3 as possible, and contains the essential micronutrients of Fe, S, Ca, Cu, Mg and Mn. 7) Try not to prune during the next couple of years to help strengthen the tree, build reserves, and enable fruit production, and 8) Speaking of fruits, your Cara Cara is self fruitful (doesn't need pollinating) and is self thinning of both flowers and fruit, so don't worry if majority of baby fruit drops. Good luck! Tim Good luck! Tim...See MoreNeed help with Cara Cara dwarf
Comments (8)What Silica said. Then, remove that much more. The absolute WORST place you can plant a citrus tree is in a lawn. If this tree is being hit by your lawn sprinklers, it will just be a matter of time before it develops foot rot, due to constantly having the trunk be hit by water. You may be better off moving it to a non-lawn area. Treat with an appropriate product for Citrus Leafminer PRIOR to evidence of disease (search our forum for both Imidacloprid systemic options which as not organic, and Spinosad/Hort oil such as Neem or Volck, which is). I'm not sure why you think your low fruit is "bad"?? It isn't, just leave it and enjoy it when it's ripe this late winter/early spring. It does pay to leave your Cara Cara on the tree a little longer than is stated out there, especially on younger trees. At least, this has been my personal experience. They seem to need a bit more time to sweeten up, but when they're at their peak, they are delectable. My favorite navel orange hand's down. And, they make a beautiful fruit salad, the flesh is so pink. Now, comment to make - your lawn appears to be absolutely spectacular (can't say mine looks this nice, you clearly know how to grow a beautiful lawn). This leads me to think you're probably putting down a fair amount of insecticides, fungicides, etc., that may not be labeled for edible use. Your citrus tree will be soaking up all those chemicals, and will be in the fruit. So, think about what you're applying to your lawn, because those chemicals will be in your fruit. I try to stay organic as much as I can (with some specific exceptions I have to make). That way, I KNOW what I'm eating. So, think about what's going down on that lawn, because it's being taken up by your Cara Cara and will be in the fruit you eat from that tree. Patty S....See More1st 'Cara Cara' of the season
Comments (9)Yes, Axier, in the cooler areas it helps to leave navels on a little longer. I am zone 23, and get just enough coastal influence to moderate my warm summer temps. So, sometimes certain things don't ripen quite as fast as warmer zones. Especially my grapefruits, so I tend to leave them on a bit longer. Valentine pummelo is a really good example. They are supposed to be ready in February, but mine are much better a month later. Rio Red grapefruit as well, and to some degree, my Cara Caras. This weekend I'm going to go back up to my Cara Cara and look harder. The tree is so dense, there could be some fruit hiding that I can't see because they haven't colored up, yet. That happened with my Red Smith Valencia, which I've had in the yard for 4 years, now, with no fruit. Large, super super robust tree, but no fruit. I thought. As I was walking back down my front slope, I happened to glance back at the tree and caught 3 or 4 ripening fruits down at the base of the tree. So, first Red Smith valencias this year from this tree. Looking forward to see how pigmented they are compared to my Moros, Sanguinelli and Taroccos. Patty S....See MoreBrite Leaf Dwarf Cara Cara Navel Orange
Comments (20)I hope everyone is doing ok and enjoying the start of the Holiday season. I was looking through my Photos and remembered I received my Cara Cara in November of 2018, So I thought it would be nice to share a couple of pics for the One year update. This little tree has Exploded in size I’d say about four times from when I received it, and at the end of summer I re potted it to a 20 inch container due to the roots making their way out of the box I had originally built for it. I am still really happy with this Dwarf Cara Cara from Brite Leaf and I hope that this coming Spring it’ll flower for the first time. Take Care everyone and talk to you soon....See More
uncle molewacker z9b Danville CA (E.SF Bay)
6 years agoevdesert 9B Indio, CA thanked uncle molewacker z9b Danville CA (E.SF Bay)evdesert 9B Indio, CA
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
Ike Stewart
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agouncle molewacker z9b Danville CA (E.SF Bay)
6 years ago
Monyet
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
myermike_1micha
6 years ago
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