Content
- Orange species and hybrids - great variety in shape and taste
- Great diversity of varieties
- Overview of the family of citrus fruits
- The main varieties of sweet orange
- Navel oranges have especially big fruits
- Juicy Valencia oranges
- Sugar sweet sugar oranges
- Fruity blood oranges
- Tips & Tricks
Orange species and hybrids - great variety in shape and taste
Orange and lemon trees were already popular ornamental plants at European farms in the 15th and 16th century. They were cultivated in pots or glasshouses, the so-called Orangeries. In warmer countries, the species is often planted as a tree.
Great diversity of varieties
The orange, Latin Citrus sinensis, shows a sheer unbelievable diversity of varieties. There are countless cultural and wild species as well as hybrids, d. H. Crosses of different citrus species. Citrus aurantium L., which is very similar to sweet orange, differs above all in its bitter fruits, a specific smell and strongly winged petioles.
It is used to make bitter orange jam. Citrus limetta Risso, the sweet lemon or lime, on the other hand, bears small round fruits with a thin, yellow-green skin and greenish, sweet-sour pulp.
Overview of the family of citrus fruits
The citrus family is home to a number of very ornamental plants, which are wonderful for the classic Kübelhaltung.
The main varieties of sweet orange
The most important sweet orange varieties include Navel, Valencian and Blood oranges.
Navel oranges have especially big fruits
Navel oranges are among the most popular orange varieties. Its big fruits are especially sweet, juicy and aromatic. As a special feature, these species have a small "fruit in the fruit". The plants produce in tub culture beautiful, dark green and dense shrubs. Navel oranges have strongly fragrant flowers that appear several times a year.
Juicy Valencia oranges
Valencia oranges are often referred to as juice oranges. The pulp of the tennis ball-sized fruits tastes a bit more acidic than the navel orange, but is very juicy. The oranges mature extremely late, usually only in May or June of the following year. With rich fruit hanging in container culture, the fruits can also remain much smaller. Timely fruit thinning in early summer helps to provide the remaining fruits with more nutrients. Orange trees of this variety form a dense, more spherical crown.
Sugar sweet sugar oranges
As with limes and lemons, the oranges also have low-acid forms, which in some countries are grown as a curiosity or for the children. Sugar oranges are often eaten by children or people who can not stand the high acidity levels of normal citrus fruits. The fruits have a sugar content comparable to normal oranges, but are almost acid-free and therefore taste very sweet.
Fruity blood oranges
Blood oranges attract attention due to their - depending on the variety - light red to almost blackish brown pigmentation. The red color of the pulp usually arises only in cold autumn temperatures. The fruits of the blood orange have a fruity blackberry aroma at full ripeness and thus differ from the normal orange juice.
Tips & Tricks
The blood orange variety "Tarocco" has larger fruits than the other blood oranges, is coreless and also the highest vitamin C concentration among all citrus fruits.