orange tree

Question

I have a 3-year-old orange tree. This is the first year to produce oranges. The fruit is plentiful and big. Unfortunately, the fruit is very sour. Did I do something wrong? What do I need to do so next year’s crop is sweet? I don’t know the variety of oranges, except the tree blossomed late and produced late. The fruit stayed green for a long time. I actually thought it was a lime tree. It’s the middle of December and the fruit is finally a nice orange color. It also has many seeds. I made sure to water the tree and mixed in a soil mixture especially made for cactus, avocados and citrus. Thanks for your input.

Answer 1

Oranges require a long ripening period, so it could be that yours aren’t fully ripe yet. You could leave a few fruits on the tree and see if they gradually get sweeter.

Oranges also will be sweeter if grown in hot climates- that’s something you can’t change, but cool weather is a possible cause of sourness. Also, too much water, whether from overwatering or rainfall, can make the fruits less sweet. Since you don’t know the variety, there’s also the possibility that you have a sour variety of orange. But most likely you’ll be able to get sweeter fruits in the future.