Cara Cara Orange Tree (Citrus sinesis ‘Cara Cara’)

Planting

Choose a location where your tree is going to get plenty of sunlight, 6 to 8 hours per day is best. They can tolerate some shade, but thrive in full sun. Potted plants do enjoy a daily misting for humidity but placing a tray with rocks filled with water under the plant will feed humidity to the tree as the water evaporates.

If your winter temperatures are consistently below 40 degrees, plant your tree in a container that can easily be brought outside in the summer months and inside in the winter. Choose a pot slightly larger than what it was shipped in that has plenty of holes in the bottom to allow for drainage. Be sure to plant in well-draining potting soil.

Immediately after planting, give your tree a deep watering until it flows from the holes in the bottom of the pot. Place your tree in an area of your home, preferably a South-facing window, where it is going to get plenty of sunlight.

Watering

After watering (usually once or twice weekly), allow the top 2 to 3 inches of the soil to dry out completely before watering again. Mulching can help retain the soil moisture and also combat competing grasses/weeds.

For potted Cara Cara Oranges, stick your index finger into the soil down to about 2 inches. If there is moisture present, hold off on watering until it feels drier at that depth. When you do water, stop once you see it escaping the drainage holes at the base of the pot.

Fertilizing

Feed your Cara Cara Orange Tree during the warmer spring and summer seasons with a citrus-specific fertilizer, like the one included in our Citrus Care Kit, generally once every six weeks. During the fall and winter season, ease back to fertilizing once every 2 to 3 months. Make sure to follow the application instructions written on the fertilizer bag.

Pruning

After the tree fruits, remove any dead wood and ventilate the center of the tree. Remove suckers as they form/grow from the base as they will steal away nutrients from the primary trunk of the tree. Pruning can be done at any time of the year for the potted Cara Cara Orange.

Pollination

Our Caras Caras are self-fertile, but for indoor trees, you can hand pollinate. Simply take a small, dry, fine-tipped paintbrush and stick it into the center of each Cara Cara bloom. Swirl it around and collect the pollen on the brush. Go to the next bloom and repeat the process until every bloom has been treated. Do this once daily and don’t wash the paintbrush until after the blooms have been pollinated.