Florida oranges date back centuries, as the first Florida orange trees were likely planted by Ponce de Leon, somewhere around St. Augustine between 1513 and 1565. Today, it's quite a bit more than just a few trees.
In fact, according to the 2010-11 Florida Agriculture Statistics Services Citrus Summary, "Slightly more than 70.6 million citrus trees are grown on just more than 473,000 acres in Florida."
All oranges types have their own set of characteristics in terms of taste (sweet, sour, tangy), the outside peel (color, markings, texture, thickness), the internal parts (color, rind and amount of seeds), the use (juicing, eating or processing) and the origin (all originally from the Far East).
Thanks to our ideal subtropical climate and sandy soil, oranges grow quite well in our Sunshine State and are harvested in three main seasons — from September until May (or even longer). There are early season oranges (September to December), midseason oranges (December to February) and late season oranges (February to May). Some seasons overlap, and some last longer than expected.
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