Citrus Variety Information Chart

Sweet Oranges Sweet oranges have been cultivated and enjoyed by people around the world for thousands of years. Varieties have been adapted to suit numerous climatic conditions and local taste preferences.

Washington Navel Orange California's famous winter-ripening variety. Sweet, seedless fruit ripens in ten months.

Trovita Orange Spring ripening. Good in many locations from coastal areas to desert. Few seeds, thin skinned fruit, heavy producer and excellent flavor.

Cara Cara (Pink) Navel Orange Early-ripening Navel Orange with medium red colored flesh. Fruit has rich sweet flavor. Venezuelan introduction.

Lane Late Navel Orange Spring/summer ripening seedless Navel Orange with fine, rich flavor. A Washington Navel hybrid developed in Australia. A new choice for oranges to peel and eat or juice in the summer.

Robertson Navel Orange Bestselling winter-ripening variety. Early and heavy bearing. Cultivar of Washington Navel.

Shamouti Orange (Jaffa/Palestine) Fabled orange from Middle East. Very few seeds. Spring to summer ripening. Good Flavor.

Valencia Orange Summer-ripening juice or eating orange. Fifteen months to ripen. Grow your own orange juice.

Midknight Valencia Orange Another excellent summer juicing orange. Fruit holds well on the tree.

Blood Oranges Blood oranges are commonly used in the Mediterranean to produce extremely flavorful and colorful fresh juice. In California, fruit coloration and flavor varies widely. The fruit need warm days for sugars to form and cool nights for color to develop.

Moro Blood Orange Deep red coloration, almost purple-red, even in California coastal areas. Very productive, early maturity, distinctive aroma, exotic berry-like flavor.

Sanquinelli Blood Orange A deep red juice and rind. Tart, spicy flavor. Stores well on tree. Best in the interior valleys of California.

Tarocco Blood Orange Largest fruit size of the blood oranges. Orange rind and flesh develop a red blush when ready. Grows best in warm climates. Fruit is juicy, with few seeds. Flavor is sweet/tart when mature but fruit quality declines quickly.

Sour Oranges Sour orange trees produce some of the most abundant, fragrant blossoms of all citrus species. They are more cold hardy than sweet oranges, and have been widely used in public and private gardens around the world for centuries.

Bouquet de Fleurs Sour Orange An ornamental valued for its massive clusters of intensely fragrant blossoms, attractive dark orange fruit and shiny foliage. Can be used as a shrub or hedge, or in containers for an attractive and fragrant accent plant.Upright foliage with closely spaced rounded leaves is reminiscent of a bouquet.

Chinotto Sour Orange (Myrtle-Leaf) Chinotto makes a small but highly decorative ornamental shrub. It is slow growing, with petite closely spaced leaves. It is great for bonsai or container growing. The small sour orange fruit grows in clusters.

Seville Sour Orange Essential for authentic English marmalade. Also used fresh or dried as a key ingredient or garnish in Middle Eastern cooking.

Bergamot Sour Orange An aromatic sour orange, prized for its pungent rind which provides the distinctive flavor of Earl Grey tea. Flowers in spring.

Mandarins Mandarins are becoming the most popular fruit sold in the US market. The smaller "snack-sized" fruit is often easy to peel and most desirable when seedless. There is great variability in fruit quality due to climate and soils. Cold nights and warm days make for more intense color and flavor. Mandarins tend to be alternate bearing. Two of our favorites: Gold Nugget and Owari Satsuma.

Gold Nugget Mandarin (Patented) Fruit is seedless, richly flavored and easy to peel. Remarkably frost tolerant trees begin bearing in March. Unlike many other mandarins, fruit holds well on the tree through summer.

Owari Satsuma Mandarin Hardiest tree of all mandarins. Fruit Ripens in November, December and is usually picked before the first frost. Seedless fruit peels easily.

Dancy Tangerine Often found on fruit stands at Christmas time. Heavily laden trees are popular for Chinese New Year.

Clementine Mandarin (Algerian) From North Africa. Ripens about a month after Satsuma, classic sweet/tart mandarin flavor.

Murcott Mandarin Spring ripening with orange colored flesh. Tender, juicy, mild and sweet. Also called Florida Honey. May need thinning for larger fruit.

California Honey Mandarin An early spring ripening mandarin, similar to the Murcott with its rich, sweet flavor. May need thinning for larger fruit.

W. Murcott Mandarin Also known as Afourer, this spring ripening Moroccan mandarin peels easily and has great sprightly flavor.

Kinnow Mandarin Attractive upright growth habit. Spring ripening, sweet juicy fruit with seeds. A major commercial variety in Pakistan.

Kara Mandarin A cross between King and Satsuma varieties, this spring ripening mandarin is best suited to inland regions. More frost sensitive than its Satsuma parent.

Page Mandarin Juicy, sweet cross between Minneola tangelo and Clementine mandarin. Round fruit has deep orange rind, which is thin but can be peeled. A good choice to complete a citrus collection. It is more productive with nearby pollinator trees: mandarins or the Valencia orange.

Pixie Mandarin A late-maturing variety with upright, open growth habit. It is best suited to coastal and inter-coastal regions. Easy to peel and moderately juicy with pleasant, mild flavor.

Kishu Mandarin This early ripening mandarin, popular in Japan, produces very sweet, seedless, easy to peel fruit that ripens earlier than Owari Satsuma. Since the fruit is small and soft, it is not grown commercially, but it is becoming a gardener's favorite.

Lemons While most people will prefer either the mild flavor of Meyer or the classic taste of Eureka, we also offer some unusual varieties for those who wish to experiment.

Improved Meyer Lemon The gourmet lemon. "Improved" refers to the California state tested, virus-free clone, a collaborative discovery of Joe Grimshaw and Four Winds founder Floyd Dillon in the early 1950's. Very juicy; not as tart as Eureka. Prolific bearer nearly year-round; heaviest in winter. Mature fruit takes on a golden hue.

Eureka Lemon Produces large crops of lemons annually. Bears all year. Standard market variety. Easy to espalier, fewer thorns than other traditional lemons.

Lisbon Lemon Fruit quite similar to Eureka. Thornier, dense foliage. Ample year-round crop. Good inland. More resistant to cold than Eureka.

Ponderosa Lemon Extra large fruit of this citron-lemon hybrid are a favorite among collectors of novelty citrus. Fragrant blooms produce gigantic lemons with many seeds. Tree tends to be thorny and rangy with an open habit. Needs pruning to control shape.

Variegated Pink Lemon Distinctive green and yellow variegated foliage. Lemons have pink flesh, clear juice and acidic lemon flavor. Fuchsia colored new growth and flower buds. Excellent landscape tree prized more for interesting variegated foliage than for fruit quality and quantity.

Yen Ben Lemon Similar to Lisbon, this variety is the primary cultivar produced in New Zealand for the Japanese export market. It is smooth skinned with a thin rind and low numbers of seeds. Produces abundantly throughout the year with over 60% of harvestable fruit developing in winter.

Mediterranean Lemons These selections are some of the most popular lemons grown in the Mediterranean region. They are prized by chefs and citrus connoisseurs for their distinctive flavor and character.

Villafranca Lemon Said to have been introduced from Sicily around 1875, this variety combines characteristics of both Lisbon and Eureka. Fruit are virtually indistinguishable from Eureka, but winter harvest season corresponds more nearly to Lisbon. Tree shape is similar to Lisbon, but less upright, not as thorny, and with less dense foliage.

Genoa Lemon (Genova) Italian Lemon - Introduced into California from Genoa Italy in 1875, this variety has similar characteristics to Eureka. In regions of Chile and Argentina where it is grown commercially it is appreciated for its vigorous growth,cold resistance and lush, dense foliage.

Limonero fino Lemon This winter bearing Spanish variety is a Lisbon type lemon. It is thorny and vigorous, with fruit produced abundantly throughout the tree.

Limettas Limettas are similar to common lemons but have distinctive characteristics that set them apart.

Millsweet Acidless Limetta A vigorous tree with lemon-like shape, except that the leaves are more rounded and oval. Blossoms and new leaves are bright purple. Medium-sized, slightly bumpy fruit is yellowish-orange at maturity. The pale yellow interior is low acid with few seeds, thus the name's reference to its sweetness. It flowers primarily in spring and produces fruit in winter which hold well on the tree.

Marrakech Limetta This highly acidic limonetta is in every other way very similar to Millsweet.

Limes Limes are one of the most varied groups of all citrus species. They can range widely in shape and form from one another, but all are cold sensitive and need to be protected from frost. Fruit stays green in tropical climates, turns yellow when ripe in California.

Bearss Seedless Lime (Tahiti/Persian) True lime. Fruit larger than Mexican lime. Good in cool areas. Year round.

Kaffir Lime (Kieffer/Thai/Wild) Leaves, zest, and juice are used in Thai, Cambodian, and Indonesian cooking. Bumpy fruit.

Mexican Lime (Key) Small, sometime seedy fruit with genuine tropical flavor year-round. Frost sensitive.

Thornless Mexican Lime A pain free version of the Mexican (Key) Lime, the traditional pungently flavored lime preferred for Key Lime pie and certain Mexican drinks.

Mexican Sweet Lime Round, thin-skinned fruit is sweet, juicy and nearly acidless.

Palestine Sweet Lime Round, medium-sized juicy yellow fruit. Has less sugar and acid than the Bearss Lime. Similar to sweet limes from Mexico, which also originated from the Mediterranean. With its mild flavor and few seeds, it makes a refreshing, cooling drink.

Rangpur Lime Tart reddish orange fruit is used like lime, although it is a sour Mandarin from India. The overlap of prolific fruit and purple tinged blooms make this a wonderful ornamental tree. Popular in mixed drinks or simply sliced for ice tea.

Grapefruits Grapefruits and Pummelos develop the best tasting fruit in areas with warm summer temperatures. The exception is Oroblanco which sweetens without summer heat. In areas with cooler climates, these types of citrus species often tend to have slightly thicker rinds.

Oroblanco Grapefruit In Israel, known as "Sweetie". Mid winter Oroblanco produces sweet seedless fruit even in areas of low summer heat. Huge, intensely fragrant flowers and attractive glossy foliage.

Rio Red Grapefruit Popular red-fleshed sport recently introduced from Texas. Needs summer heat to sweeten fruit.

Star Ruby Grapefruit Tart red fleshed grapefruit is widely grown in Texas and Arizona. We prefer Rio Red because its foliage doesn't get yellow mottling, but some people request Star Ruby because of the name recognition.

Chandler Pummelo A vigorous large leafed tree with open growth habit. Produces large pink-fleshed fruit which are somewhat larger than standard grapefruit. Heavy producing in the right location, provided sufficient summer heat and frost protection.

Cocktail Grapefruit Extremely sweet and juicy, this cross between Frua mandarin and pummelo produces delicious, succulent low acid fruit from November to February.

Chinese Grapefruit Actually a pummelo, this tree bears large fragrant blooms, followed by yellow pear-shaped fruit which are low in acidity. Height: 8-12 feet at maturity.

Melogold Grapefruit Delicious yellow grapefruit/pummelo cross. Does well in hot interior climates. Fruit holds on the tree better than Oroblanco, and has a thinner rind.

Kumquats All kumquats have sweet, edible skin and tart flesh, few to no thorns, and extremely fragrant blossoms, in areas with warm to hot summers. They also have exceptional cold-hardiness, making them some of our favorite species of citrus.

Nagami Kumquat The most widely available kumquat in North America. Olive size and shape, bright orange fruit. Nagami flowers best in areas with warm summers. Late winter or early spring ripening fruit.

Meiwa Kumquat Fruit is more round than Nagami, with a bit more sweetness. Good candied or in marmalade. Produces best in hotter locations.

Indio Mandarinquat A kumquat-mandarin hybrid with orange, bell-shaped fruit much larger than a typical kumquat. The sweet peel is eaten along with the tart flesh for a unique flavor combination. Slice in quarters for garnish or eat right from the tree for snacks.

Centennial Variegated Kumquat This variegated sport of a Nagami Kumquat is an attractive finely textured tree with upright growth habit. Variegated pale yellow and cream leaves are complemented by yellow and green striped fruit which become quite large and turn orange at maturity. Ripeness occurs in late winter and fruit holds well on the tree into the summer.

Nordmann Seedless Nagami Kumquat Clusters of petite orange colored fruit holds well on the tree, making this, like other Kumquats, an attractive ornamental tree. Fragrant flowers in summer, seedless sweet-tart fruit is ready to pick in late winter orearly spring.

Marumi Kumquat Similar to the Nagami, except with much smaller leaves and produces more round shaped fruit. The peel is also slightly thinner and sweeter. Rarely produced outside of China and Japan.

Eustis Limequat A cross between Mexican (Key) Lime and kumquat. Prolific bearer of small yellow oblong fruit which can be used like limes.

Citrons One of the oldest and least common species of citrus available today, citrons are a unique selection for serious citrus enthusiasts.

Buddha's Hand / Fingered Citron Fruit forms finger-like sections resembling a human hand. It is much esteemed for its delicate lemon fragrance in China and Japan. Fruit has virtually no pulp, but can be sliced and candied in syrup. It is extraordinary as an evergreen ornamental with multiple "hands" hanging from the branches. No frost tolerance.

Etrog Citron (Ethrog) Fragrant lemon-like fruit with thick peel is used for the Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles.

Other Interesting Varieties Each member of this group of varieties does not fall easily into one of the common categories of citrus species. They all have unique characteristics which make them some of our favorites.

Minneola Tangelo Deep reddish-orange colored fruit in winter. Leave fruit on tree for rich tangerine-like flavor in late spring through summer.

Australian Finger Lime (Microcitrus australasica) This somewhat thorny, tiny leafed relative of citrus produces finger-like fruit with tart, round, juicy, light colored vesicles. Sometimes called "citrus caviar", fruit flavor is reminiscent of Mexican lime. Primary fruiting season in California is November - December. The plant has white and pink flowers May-July.

Yuzu Also known as Japanese Citron. In the fall, this thorny tree produces lumpy, medium-sized, yellow to orange fruits that are uniquely fragrant and highly prized as flavoring agents in Asian cuisine, and for marmalade. Trees are among the cold-hardiest of all citrus.

Calamondin (Kalamansi; Philippine lime) Prolific fruit production. Zesty acid juice. Handsome compact habit. Outstanding in containers.

Variegated Calamondin Fragrant bloom is followed by tart, petite, orange fruit like its Calamondin cousin. Immature fruit is strikingly green and yellow striped. Variegated foliage has a compact habit, suitable for indoors or patio containers.