Light
Full sun, eight hours if you can get it. Indoors, the sunniest window you have, or a grow light in winter.
Growing guide · Edibles
Citrus sinensis
How to grow Sweet Orange 'Hamlin'.
Breakfast, grown on site.
- Light
- Full sun
- Water
- Moderate
- Zones
- 9–11
- Size
- 12–15 ft in the ground; 5–7 ft in a pot
- Spacing
- 12–15 ft apart in the ground. In a pot, start with 14–18 in.
- Pets
- Not pet-safe; keep out of reach
Water
Water deeply when the top 2 in. of soil is dry. Citrus hates soggy roots more than it hates thirst.
Planting and soil
In the ground in zones 9–11, in fast-draining soil, slightly high. Anywhere else, a pot with drainage holes and a citrus or cactus mix, one size up from the nursery pot.
Feeding
Citrus fertilizer with micronutrients, every 6–8 weeks from late winter to early fall. Yellow leaves with green veins mean it wants iron or magnesium.
Pruning
Little needed. Remove suckers below the graft and anything dead or crossing, after harvest.
Through the year
Fragrant bloom in spring. Fruit colors and sweetens October through December.
If something's off
Scale, mealybugs and spider mites, mostly indoors. Leaf drop usually means a sudden move, a cold draft or overwatering. Bring it in when nights drop below 40°F.
Florida's early juice orange.
The early-season juice orange Florida's groves were built on. Medium fruit, thin skin, pale gold flesh, low acid and nearly seedless. It ripens October to December, ahead of most sweet oranges, and is one of the more cold-tolerant of them.
Why we stock it: Fresh-squeezed juice before the holidays, from your own tree.
Hamlin Orange Tree (Florida)from $99.95 · Arrives alive, or we replace it
Hamlin Orange Tree (Florida)from $99.95 · Arrives alive, or we replace it