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Pick oranges now or wait? Here's how to know

Taste-test the fruit -- every year can be slightly different

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED DEC 26, 2024

These Washington navel oranges are very close to ripe. Taste one if you're not sure -- but it's best not to pick them all at once. Kathy Morrison

In early December a few years ago, I arrived at my community garden and noticed that the little navel orange tree in the Garden of Eatin' area (available to all the gardeners) had been picked clean. Oh, no, I thought, those oranges weren't ripe yet.

Sure enough, one of the other gardeners mentioned that he had tried one. "It was sour!" he said with surprise. Yes, the fruit had been orange in color, but it was too soon -- the sweetness that develops with colder weather hadn't happened yet. Another (small) crop lost to inexperience with the quirks of citrus trees.

Growing citrus can be, as I noted once, like keeping a pet cat: You love it, but rarely understand it. The trees follow their own calendar, which is nothing like the timelines for cherries or apples. The master gardener help desk often receives questions about citrus trees or fruit from perplexed homeowners.

Some citrus can be used at various stages of ripeness -- limes being a good example -- but navel oranges need to be fully ripe to be enjoyed.

So how to tell? There are clues: They should have full color, be heavy for their size, and be firm but not rock-hard -- they should give just slightly when squeezed.

But by far the best test is tasting one, or two, really: One from each side of a full-size tree. (One from a container tree should be plenty.) If it doesn't taste ripe, wait a week and try again.

One of my neighbors traditionally picks all her oranges on Christmas Day. That to me is a gamble -- and unless she gives most of the fruit away, creates other problems. Storage, for one. (If you must: Keep them in boxes in a cold garage, in one layer. Or juice them and freeze the juice.)

Also, citrus does not ripen off the tree, so whatever stage that fruit was in will be the stage it stays in, until it's eaten or rots.

"Storing" the fruit on the tree is generally the best move, with one caveat: If a hard frost is expected, pick all the ripe fruit before the cold hits. Make sure the tree is well-watered, too. Orange trees can survive temperatures down to 21 degrees, but the fruit may be damaged below 27 degrees or so, according to the UC Cooperative Extension experts. (The Sacramento master gardeners' Garden Note 127, "Growing Citrus in Sacramento," has a wealth of information. It can be found via "The Home Orchard" page on the master gardeners' website; it's the first link under Master Gardener publications and videos.)

"Citrus sensitivity to cold also depends on how long it stays cold, whether the trees are exposed or in a protected area, whether the trees are in a low area where cold air collects, and how old the trees are," the information also explains.

So become familiar with the timeline for your own tree or trees, noting the changes in the weather as winter continues. And enjoy those gorgeous oranges you've been growing all these months!

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GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

oranges citrus navel oranges winter December backyard orchard harvesting citrus citrus and cold UC master gardeners help line UC Cooperative Extension fruit storage

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

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Aug. 18: Pollinators adore scabiosa, aka pincushion flower

Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact

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June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden

June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners

June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)

June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself

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May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?

May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs

May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power

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May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16

During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.

* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.

* Plant potatoes.

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.

* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.

* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.

* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.

* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.

* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.

* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.

* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.

* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.

* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.

* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.

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