Orange 'Valencia' at LCG June 2025 (photo credit: Graham Bond)
Orange 'Dwarf Seedless Valencia'
Citrus sinensis
Rutaceae family
Grafted. Flying Dragon rootstock.
The 'Valencia' Orange is a highly valued citrus tree known for its excellent juice quality; also great for eating fresh. It is a late-season variety, producing fruit in late winter and early spring. The fruit holds well on the tree, getting sweeter the longer they are left - in this way the picking season can be extended right through to December. It crops very well in our subtropical climate.
Originally bred in southern California, it was named after Valencia in Spain, which is renowned for growing sweet Oranges.
Tree Maintenance (Citrus)
Pruning
Citrus sinensis
Rutaceae family
Grafted. Flying Dragon rootstock.
The 'Valencia' Orange is a highly valued citrus tree known for its excellent juice quality; also great for eating fresh. It is a late-season variety, producing fruit in late winter and early spring. The fruit holds well on the tree, getting sweeter the longer they are left - in this way the picking season can be extended right through to December. It crops very well in our subtropical climate.
Originally bred in southern California, it was named after Valencia in Spain, which is renowned for growing sweet Oranges.
Tree Maintenance (Citrus)
Pruning
- When mature, prune half the tree after harvest to keep it healthy and shaped.
- Remove dead, inward facing or crossing branches. Remove any suckers from the rootstock below the graft.
- During establishment, water slow and deep each fortnight, more often if very dry or hot. As it matures, the tree will become more drought tolerant.
- Watering may be needed when young fruit is forming.
- Spring: liquid seaweed, compost around drip line.
- Summer: Compost around drip line, poultry manure, worm wee (10:1).
- Autumn: liquid seaweed, compost around drip line, sulphate of potash, poultry manure.
- Avoid applying fertiliser while trees are preparing to flower, flowering and up until fruit are larger than marbles.
- Keep soil well mulched, leaving a gap around the trunk to avoid collar rot.
- Spray with horticultural oil if sap-sucking insects or scale occur (avoid spraying on days where temperatures may reach above 30°C, or foliage can become burnt). Black sooty mould on the leaves is a symptom of these pests; ants are also an indicator that there is a problem, as ants will farm and protect the insects in order to consume their sweet secretions.
Orange 'Dwarf Seedless Valencia' at LCG January 2025 (photo credit: Jacqui Lachmann)
Orange 'Dwarf Seedless Valencia' at LCG October 2023 (photo credit: Graham Bond)
