Big flavor, big trees, and some of the best winter fruit you can grow in the desert. These grapefruit varieties range from richly sweet-tart reds to the mild, nearly acid-free Oro Blanco.
Ruby Red: Ruby Red is the classic red grapefruit: juicy, thin-skinned, nearly seedless, and pleasantly sweet-tart. The fruit develops its best flavor as it hangs through the cooler months, so you can harvest gradually instead of picking everything at once. The tree grows quickly and can become quite large. Grapefruit is frost sensitive, so give it a warm, protected spot and be ready to cover young trees on cold nights.
Projected harvest: Late fall through early spring
Rio Red: Rio Red is a great desert grapefruit with deeply colored, juicy flesh and a balanced sweet-tart flavor. The fruit is usually seedless, slightly smaller than some grapefruit, and may develop a red blush on the peel as it ripens. The tree is vigorous and can grow large, so give it room. It handles inland heat well and produces a mid-to-late-season crop that can hang into early spring.
Projected harvest: Late October through early spring
Oro Blanco: Oro Blanco is the grapefruit for people who think they do not like grapefruit. This grapefruit-pummelo hybrid has pale, tender flesh with lots of juice, very little acidity, and almost none of the usual grapefruit bitterness. The thick peel stays greenish to golden yellow even when the fruit is sweet and ready. It is seedless, self-fruitful, and well suited to warm climates.
Projected harvest: Winter through early spring
Harvest timing varies with weather, microclimate, tree age, and care.
Big flavor, big trees, and some of the best winter fruit you can grow in the desert. These grapefruit varieties range from richly sweet-tart reds to the mild, nearly acid-free Oro Blanco.
Ruby Red: Ruby Red is the classic red grapefruit: juicy, thin-skinned, nearly seedless, and pleasantly sweet-tart. The fruit develops its best flavor as it hangs through the cooler months, so you can harvest gradually instead of picking everything at once. The tree grows quickly and can become quite large. Grapefruit is frost sensitive, so give it a warm, protected spot and be ready to cover young trees on cold nights.
Projected harvest: Late fall through early spring
Rio Red: Rio Red is a great desert grapefruit with deeply colored, juicy flesh and a balanced sweet-tart flavor. The fruit is usually seedless, slightly smaller than some grapefruit, and may develop a red blush on the peel as it ripens. The tree is vigorous and can grow large, so give it room. It handles inland heat well and produces a mid-to-late-season crop that can hang into early spring.
Projected harvest: Late October through early spring
Oro Blanco: Oro Blanco is the grapefruit for people who think they do not like grapefruit. This grapefruit-pummelo hybrid has pale, tender flesh with lots of juice, very little acidity, and almost none of the usual grapefruit bitterness. The thick peel stays greenish to golden yellow even when the fruit is sweet and ready. It is seedless, self-fruitful, and well suited to warm climates.
Projected harvest: Winter through early spring
Harvest timing varies with weather, microclimate, tree age, and care.
