I live in north central Florida and have a 5 yrs old Florida Navel Orange tree that finally this year produced a lot of oranges. The fruits have never been sweet. They are juicy but with no flavor. What can I do to improve the taste? Does it depend on the fertilizer used or is the tree just a dud? The fruits are almost ready to be picked. Can I do something to save this crop? Thank you!
Navels are not usually sweet until late Dec or early Jan. Mine are starting to turn orange now, but it will be another month and a half or longer before they are ready.
Differences in sweetness in citrus fruit is more a function of climate and environment than just about anything else, although as Millet said the first couple years of a tree's production tend to be not as good as it will be. The sugar content of citrus fruits also increases with time, while the acid content may decrease, so like Lazz said, they will get better on into Jan. Cooler winters tend to produce sweeter oranges--warmer summers tend to increase flavor.
Hi: I'm having a similar problem, allthough I live within about about 400 yards of the ocean in Cape Canaveral. My young tree has produced for the first time. The fruit, as it falls off, is both dry and flavorless. It is large and has good color on the outside, but on the inside the fruit is light yellow in color. Is there any reason to think I am too close to the ocean for the fruit to be good? I do have very good Key Lime fruit. Thanks! Rick
Often the first few yrs of production are not as good as it will be when the tree matures. I don't think the proximity to the water has caused the fruit to be dry--it could be other environmental factors.
sometimes it is tough to find when the right time of the year is to pick the fruit off of you're tree. when a citrus is ripe is not always when it is nice and yellow/orange depending on the fruit type and that all depends on variety wheather/how much water it gets, fertilizer and maybe even rootstock. i have picked navels that where still mostly green with just a hint of yellow and where very sweet and juicy.i have picked some that where nice and orange and where dry inside so the trick is finding when you're fruit is ripe for you if you have allot of fruit than try them at different stages just because it does not look ripe does not mean its not good if they are dry and falling off then sounds to me like they are way over ripe i would try them earlier and see when you like them. i am by no means an expert i am still trying to get my soil a little more acidic so i will start getting fruit on my citrus and did spray them earlier in the year with potasium nitrate so hopefully that will also help
