That's a nice tree, Evan, congrats! My CCNO is like a big messy bush - I like the look of yours.

Serge, thanks I appreciate it. I can't wait to see how the fruit tastes!
Evan

Very nice trees, evdesert. My Cara Cara's were really outstanding this year. It can be a very prolific producer. And, it also does something else very frequently - sport variegated branches. If you're so inclined, you can take a cutting and start a cutting or, graft to rootstock, and you can then have your own version of a variegated Cara Cara navel orange tree. Just be sure in your area of the country, to always plant variegated citrus trees so that they receive some amount of afternoon shade due to your intense sunshine and heat.

Patty S.

I have 4 Cara Cara orange trees at my lemon farm and 3 in Guatemala City in big pots on the roof; the potted trees are doing better than the others; because they get daily care. I might add that mine are all grafted onto Macrophylla rootstock.
The first time I tasted a CC I didn't even know what it was; but I knew I had to have it. In this climate the color of the inside is a dark pink and the flavor is excellent.

Thanks patty, I hope it does well in my heat. If it sprouts some variegated leaves I will definitely try and start a cutting on rootstock, I'd just have to find a place to buy the rootstock. I'd make it a patio tree because after about 2 in the afternoon my patio is in the shade. John, I am hoping my heat here in the desert gives the fruit some good color, if anything it should make it very sweet. I guess I will see hopefully sooner than later.
Evan

Heat units = sweet citrus. I think our outrageously hot week we just had out here sweetened up a lot of my citrus. Heat doesn't affect color. What actually affects skin color is temperature divergence between night and day. You should have pretty significant temperature differences between night and day, so your citrus should color up very well. Places like Hawaii for example, have green or partially green citrus when ripe, due to small changes in their night/day temps.

Patty S.

Sweet! No pun intended. That's what I am hoping for Patty. And yes, last weeks weather was a taste of what's to come in the next few months. I guess when you think about it, when it's 115 during the day and 80 at night that's a 35 degree swing in temps.
Evan

Dredging up an old thread to show progress throughout the years. Here is a photo of my Cara Cara this past weekend, 2 years after planting it in the ground. It has put on a show of growth I haven't seen in the past, looks like it will be over 6' tall by this summer and probably 8' tall by end of season.

The wall behind the tree is 6' tall for reference.

It's covered in blooms, I'm hoping this year I get some fruit from the tree.

Walking the garden yesterday afternoon it looks like my tree sprouted a variegated branch. I'm excited to watch and see if it'll flower and give me some variegated oranges, that'd be cool.

Evan

Update! I was checking out my yard at day break this morning and found that one of my Cara Cara oranges had fallen off of my tree. It was obviously not ripe, yet still fairly juicy. There is still another 4 fruit hanging on the tree, I'm hoping they hold on until January/ February when they should be truly ripe.

Here is the tree within the last couple weeks.

Here is what the fruit looked like cut open, it already had decent color!

Ill post more pics when the rest are pulled from the tree.

Evan

What a beautiful tree Evan! It is amazing how much it has grown in two years. I can't wait to see the rest of your fruit! Did your variegated branch ever produce fruit? Did you root it? I have a Cara Cara, but it is still small - growing vigorously though! John, how old are yours that are in containers, and how large are the containers? I take it they produce well...? Evan, how many fruits does the tree have? You have such great trees!!

Hi Laura, thank you! I can't believe how much it has grown in 2 years either. As for the variegated branch, no it did not flower this season, I'm hoping it does next season. My tree has 4 fruit left on it, this is the first season it produced. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get double that amount of fruit next year. The fruits that are on the tree now are very heavy, they're weighing the branches down and the fruit is almost sitting on the ground. I will probably have to support the branches before too long to keep them off the ground. I'm tempted to plant another Cara Cara where I just pulled the seedless kishu out of the ground. They seem to do well in the desert, every time we have a heat wave it pushes out a bunch of new growth. Laura can we see a photo of your Cara Cara?

Evan

Sure....but it looks like a twig compared to yours! I'm on vacation, but as soon as I get home, I'll take pics. I'm just trying to get a feel for how big and old it will have to get before I get fruit...I suspect at least 2-3 years for me.

Progress update on my Cara Cara, it has grown into a 7’ tall tree. It produces about 15-20 oranges of decent taste although it is still a fairly young tree all things considered. I trimmed it up and painted the trunk yesterday.

Evan

Evan, what rootstock is recommended for your area for navel oranges?

Hey Dave, I like C-35 on my trees if I can find it, that’s what this tree is on.

Evan