Cara Cara Navel Orange Tree

A Fruit Bowl Explosion of Taste with Each Bite

Cara Cara Navel Orange (Citrus x sinensis 'Cara Cara') is like no other citrus fruit you've ever tasted. This navel orange is less acidic and sweeter than other navel varieties, with a unique flavor combination that includes undertones of sweet cherry, raspberry, cranberry, and blackberry. As you cut into this succulent fruit, another delightful surprise awaits you -- reddish-pink flesh instead of the traditional orange color!

• Sweet, colorful fruit
• Seedless navel oranges
• Easy to grow in containers

The 'x' in Cara Cara Navel Orange's scientific name lets you know that it's a cross between two orange varieties. This is why there are so many benefits to growing this orange; it contains the best qualities of two different types, rolled into one delicious package. You'll want to order more than one of these trees because when you take your first bite, you'll wish you had more than one!

Dooryard Fruit (and Why that's Important to You)
Some types of oranges are best left to the commercial growers, but dooryard fruit is recommended for non-commercial gardeners like you. Literally meaning fruit you grow in the yard outside your door, these types can be easily grown by backyard growers. Cara Cara Navel Orange trees don't require the intensive maintenance that some oranges in commercial orchards need, even though they are very prolific and bear fruits that have exceptional taste.

Intoxicating Orange Blossoms
When the flowers bloom in early spring, they bring a dazzling display of white to your landscape, but their visual appeal is rivaled by the fragrance that follows. You'll want to plant Cara Cara Navel Orange trees near your veranda, deck or patio where you can enjoy the nostalgic scent of orange blossoms that waft on the breeze when the trees are in full bloom. And you won't be the only one attracted to the sweet-smelling flowers -- be on the lookout for butterflies that flock to your yard because they can't resist the sugary nectar inside the blooms!

Striking Landscape Tree
You'll order Cara Cara Navel Orange for the luscious fruits it produces, but you'll also be rewarded with a double benefit because of its value as a landscape tree. Growing into a beautifully rounded to oval shape with a mature size that fits into any yard, Cara Cara Navel Orange reaches a potential height of only 20 feet and a maximum width of up to 12 feet. If you have room for only one tree, it makes a stunning specimen plant. But if you plant multiple trees in a mass planting, you'll have an easy-care orchard that is as beautiful as functional. Although the foliage is predominantly green, you may see some variegated leaves. Occasionally, even some twigs are variegated, which may produce oranges with striped peels!

Grow Cara Cara Navel Oranges for your Health
Packed with Vitamins C and A, Cara Cara Navel Oranges are also rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that gives the flesh its red color. Ongoing research suggests that antioxidants may help boost the immune system and improve cell function. This means that Cara Cara Navel Oranges can be a part of your heart-healthy diet, and by growing them yourself, they're just outside your door -- you can't get fresher fruit than that!

A Must-Have for Your Favorite Recipes
Whether you're a gourmet chef or a home kitchen cook, you'll want to grow your own Cara Cara Navel Oranges in your edible garden for:

• Fruit salads. Cara Cara Navel Orange sections look similar to miniature versions of Ruby Red Grapefruit. But the taste won't make your mouth pucker '– it's sweet instead of sour!

• Green salads. Add sections of Cara Cara Navel Oranges to your favorite green salad.

• Salad dressings. Juice a Cara Cara Orange and whisk it with your favorite balsamic vinegar for a citrusy vinaigrette salad dressing. Add minced gingerroot for a little zing.

• Juice. There is nothing like the taste of fresh orange juice from oranges you harvested just before breakfast! Cut Cara Cara Navel Oranges in half and simply use a wooden citrus reamer to release the juice without having to purchase an expensive juicer.

• Fresh snacking. You don't even have to be a cook to enjoy fresh oranges right off the tree!

How to Grow Citrus Fruit no Matter Where You Live
You may never have considered growing citrus trees because you live outside their hardiness zones, which are the climates where they grow as perennials. Cara Cara Navel Orange is reliably hardy only in the warm climates of USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 9 and 10 (although some microclimates in Zones 8 and 11 may support perennial growth). But did you know that you can grow Cara Cara Navel Orange in a pot, which you can move indoors during cold weather? Although their mature, in-ground height may reach 20 feet, container culture limits their growth so you can effectively grow them as smaller plants that will still bear fruit for you!

Order yours today!