Orange - Citrus X sinensis

Orange tree varieties in New Zealand can be categorized into four distinct groups, each offering unique characteristics for home orchards and edible gardens. Understanding these orange varieties is essential when using our fruit tree selector to choose the right fruit trees for your specific New Zealand growing conditions.

Navel Orange Trees: Navel orange varieties feature the distinctive 'navel' formation and tend to be seedless, making them excellent fruit tree varieties for fresh eating in home orchards. These orange trees require less heat to achieve optimum fruit quality compared to most other orange varieties, making them ideal fruit trees for New Zealand's cooler climates. While navel oranges aren't optimal for juicing (yielding less juice that becomes bitter in storage), they're prized for fresh consumption in edible gardens.

Common Orange Trees: Common orange varieties form the largest and most diverse group of orange trees, offering a wide range of tree-growth characteristics and fruit-quality options for home orchard planning. This diversity allows New Zealand growers to select fruit tree varieties that match their specific climate conditions and usage preferences.

Pigmented Orange Trees (Blood Oranges): Pigmented orange varieties, commonly known as blood oranges, develop their distinctive coloration from anthocyanins. These unique fruit trees add visual interest to edible gardens while providing exceptional eating quality.

'Cara Cara' oranges, while often grouped with blood oranges, are actually more closely related to navel orange varieties. These orange trees develop their pink-red flesh coloration from lycopenes rather than anthocyanins, making them distinct fruit tree varieties for New Zealand home orchards.

The red pigments (anthocyanins) in true blood orange varieties develop only when exposed to low nighttime temperatures, with optimal color development occurring during winter months in New Zealand conditions.

Bitter Orange Trees (Sour Oranges): Bitter orange varieties are named for their acidic and bitter juice characteristics. While not typically grown for fresh eating, these orange trees serve multiple purposes in edible gardens. The perfume industry values sour orange flowers, and these fruit trees are often planted as ornamental specimens in parks and streets to showcase their abundant, fragrant blooms and deep orange fruit.

Bitter orange varieties produce fruit particularly valued for marmalade production and glacé fruit processing, making them specialized fruit tree varieties for culinary enthusiasts in home orchards.

Growing orange trees successfully in New Zealand requires matching the right orange varieties to your local climate conditions. Navel oranges offer the best cold tolerance, while pigmented varieties need cool nights for optimal color development, and bitter oranges provide both ornamental and culinary value.

Use our fruit tree selector to determine which orange varieties are most suitable for your New Zealand climate zone and edible garden goals.