Navel Orange Tree

Washington is a classic navel orange selection with seedless, easy-peeling fruit, fragrant white flowers, and evergreen leaves. It forms a rounded, somewhat drooping canopy and is a productive landscape fruit tree in a warm, sunny site. ## Fruit and season The [UC Riverside Citrus Variety Collection](https://citrusvariety.ucr.edu/crc1241B) describes Washington as a moderate-size tree whose fruit ripens from November through January at Riverside and can hold on the tree after maturity. The [Washington product profile from Stark Bro’s](https://www.starkbros.com/products/fruit-trees/citrus-trees/washington-navel-orange) lists white flowers, full sun, loamy well-drained soil, and a mature range of about 15 to 20 feet tall by 8 to 12 feet wide. Its size can be managed with pruning, though severe pruning can reduce harvest. ## Site and care Plant in full sun with good drainage. Water young trees regularly and deeply, then adjust irrigation to rainfall, soil, and heat. Citrus is frost-sensitive outdoors; the Stark profile recommends outdoor planting in warmer zones and containers for colder locations. ## Maintenance Remove shoots below the graft union and prune the canopy only for clearance or damaged growth. Keep the root flare visible, avoid waterlogging, and protect the tree when freezing weather is expected.