Variegated Orange Tree (Naranja Variegada)

About the Variegated Orange Tree (Naranja Variegada)

A sweet orange with a designer twist. Its leaves are marbled in green, grey-green and creamy white, and the young fruit is striped green and pale yellow like a little melon before it colours up as it ripens. It is as much an ornamental as a fruit tree: stunning by a terrace, at an entrance or in a large glazed pot, and still edible, with juicy, sweet-tart orange flesh. Because part of each leaf lacks chlorophyll, it grows a little more slowly and stays more compact than a regular orange, which suits small gardens.

How to Care for It

Full sun to very light afternoon shade; the pale leaf areas can scorch in extreme heat if the plant is dry. Use fast-draining soil or a large pot with drainage holes. Water when the top few centimetres dry out and feed lightly but regularly with a citrus fertiliser with micronutrients. Prune off any all-green shoots, which grow faster and can take over the variegated canopy. Protect from frost.

Fresh limes for every taco and juice from your own tree. Persian, Colima and criollo limes, Valencia and navel oranges, five mandarins, grapefruit, pomelo and Yucatán's own lima de chiche, grown on our farms and shipped by DHL to most of Mexico.

Growing Profile

Botanical name

Citrus × sinensis (variegated form)

Family

Rutaceae

Native to

A variegated sport of sweet orange; sweet oranges originate in southern China

Mature height

2.5–4 m

Plant spacing

4 m

Years to first fruit

3–4 years

Light

Full sun

Water

Moderate

Cold tolerance

down to -2 °C

Best climates

Humid tropics, Dry tropics, Subtropical, Mild highlands

Grows in a pot

Yes

Ships from

Our farms in Yucatán & Chiapas