Apparently, it’s possible to grow oranges in Michigan.
I was in my local Lowes browsing the garden center and picking up some supplies for a project, when I walked past this pot
I knew immediately that it was some kind of citrus tree. It’s a dwarf navel orange. According to the tag, it should get up to 8′ tall, which is much smaller than a standard orange tree. It’s potted in a plastic pot, with some decent drainage. The medium is light and drains a lot like sand, which makes a lot of sense since they grow in sand in Florida.
When I picked it up, it didn’t look to be in too bad shape. Some of the leaves were curled and looked like it had been stressed. But otherwise it looked good, with a couple of small fruits, and a couple of early blooms.
Since bringing it home, I’ve put it in full sun. I don’t think I can give it too much sun at the 45th parallel! And I’ve given it a good soak about every day, this time of year it would be hot and rain about every day. The low temperature there is about the high most days here, so I was concerned about the cool nights. But, it seems to be doing well. There is quite a bit of new growth and some new buds.
Update – 1-17-2010
We finally picked the one surviving orange on our little tree. Daily water and as much sunlight as possible seems to be key. The orange seemed just a little bit on the small and light side, which may be normal for a dwarf tree, and a young one at that. I was afraid that the fruit may be dry, but it turned out to be perfect.