🍊 Orange
Citrus × sinensis
Florida's favorite child, currently fighting the worst disease of its life.
Sun
Full sun, 8+ hrs
Days to harvest
3–4 years to fruit
Spacing
15–25 feet apart
Soil pH
6.0–7.0
How to grow
Plant grafted trees on disease-tolerant rootstock in the warmest spot you've got, ideally zone 9b+. In the age of citrus greening (HLB), backyard growers should buy certified disease-free nursery stock, control psyllids, and keep trees vigorously fed — a stressed tree is a greening magnet.
Water & feeding
Deep watering 1–2 times a week; citrus are shallow-rooted and Florida sand drains like a colander.
Common problems
- Citrus greening (HLB) — yellowing, bitter lopsided fruit; no cure, manage psyllids and nutrition
- Citrus canker — raised lesions on leaves and fruit; prune and destroy affected wood
- Leaf miners on new flush — ugly but mostly cosmetic
Harvest
Oranges don't ripen off the tree — taste-test one before picking the batch. Leave the button (calyx) on for longer storage.
Nerdy fact: Every sweet orange is a genetic clone — all of them descend from a single ancient hybrid of pomelo and mandarin. You're eating history's most successful copy-paste.