In a recent article we discussed some of the most popular types of apples and how our growers supply company can provide the harvesting tools necessary to keep an orchard growing. We have everything necessary to get the tree from sapling to fully-producing tree.

But there’s no doubt that many of those who are stopping by aren’t looking to take care of apples; they’re here to get growers supply for their orange orchards. In fact, since oranges are grown in parts of the country that are almost always warm, our sale of items such as citrus sizers and penetrometers is pretty solid year around. Let’s take a look at the type of various types of oranges that our business supports.

But First…

What is an orange? Technically, oranges are berries, and they’re the fourth most popular fruit eaten in the United States. Originally from Southeast Asia, oranges were first planted in subtropical areas of the US around 1850 where temperatures rarely reach below 60 degrees. Oranges also provide the most popular fruit juice in the world.

Now, on to the oranges themselves.

Valencia Oranges

Valencia oranges are one of the most popular choices in oranges for two reasons. First, it’s a sweet orange that makes it a popular choice as a snack or to toss into a lunch bag. The fruit has the orange color that people are experiencing in an orange, both inside and out. Second, and more importantly, this is a juicing orange. In fact, it’s the source of most of the orange juice that people drink. The fact that many of of them are used in juicing means that the seeds really doesn’t matter.

Valencia oranges are named after the city of Valencia, Spain. In fact, the success of this orange after it moved to California gave the city of Valencia, California its name. Valencia oranges are harvested between March and October, and are one of the only oranges available in summer. While the Valencia hybrid was started in Mexico, California was the first location where production started on a grand scale. From there, orchards in Florida started growing them (and we sell orchard supplies to all of them!) While the hybrid was a secret at first, genomic testing has revealed that Valencias are hybrids between pummelos and mandarin oranges.

Navel Oranges

While Valencia oranges might be the most common type of orange because they’re grown for their juice, navel oranges are the most popular as a fresh fruit. As you can probably guess, the name comes from the fact that the divot on one end looks like an outie belly-button. What most people don’t know is that this navel is actually a second fruit growing on the primary fruit.

Why are navel oranges so popular? A variety of reasons, as it turns out. First of all, they’re less juicy; while this might first be seen as a bad thing, it makes them less messy to eat. Second, their thick skin makes them easier to peel and protects the fruit during shipping. They also have a longer growing season and are available during winter, and this supply makes them attractive to consumers from a price standpoint. We supply orchard supplies to growers in California, Florida, and Arizona.

More than anything, though, people love the fact that the navel orange is seedless. Because of this, navel orange trees are sterile and can only be propagated via cuttings. Good thing we have budding and grafting supplies to keep them going!

Blood Oranges

Despite their disturbing name, blood oranges are actually a very healthy variety of orange. The distinct dark red color of the juice and flesh comes from anthocyanins, the same antioxidant that gives cherries, blackberries, red cabbage, and many other foods with dark colors. While anthocyanins are common in fruits and vegetables, they’re not often found in citrus fruit, thereby making blood oranges rather unique. Their dark-colored juice is becoming more popular as interest in antioxidants grow.

It’s believed that the blood orange was a natural mutation, as opposed to a human-produced hybrid. This most likely happened in the southern Mediterranean, with distinct variants showing up in Italy and Spain. While they are the primary orange grown in Italy, blood oranges are also grown in California from November to May, and in Texas from December through March.

Clementines

Clementines are a hybrid between the sweet orange and the mandarin orange and are similar to tangerines. They are small, very sweet, and easy to peel, making them attractive to kids. They also segment easily without being too messy, making them an excellent fruit to share. Oh, and they’re seedless, too, making them even more desirable.

There are orchards in the United States that grow clementines, but the United States isn’t even in the top 10 in terms of clementine production. Clementines have been grown in California for more than a century. An interesting aspect of clementines is that they will grow seeds if they are pollinated with non-clementine trees, something orchards growers definitely don’t want.

Now you have a bit more information about four of the most popular types of oranges in the United States. We sell supplies to take care of them all, whether it’s the tree itself, the fruit, or the people who are using picking bags to harvest them. Trust in Frostproof Growers Supply for everything you need!