Best's Seedless

Description

Best's Seedless is a classic New Zealand selection of navel orange whose mother tree is an old tree in Blenheim that is still healthy and bearing large crops after many years. The tree is a dependable, rounded grower that produces masses of medium-sized fruit with relatively smooth orange skin. The flesh is sweet, juicy and near-seedless, maturing through spring with the main New Zealand harvest running from August to November. It is the archetypal home-orchard dessert orange: easy to peel, lunchbox-friendly, and excellent eaten fresh, with surplus fruit juicing well for immediate drinking. Like most navels it is best eaten rather than stored long, with moderate keeping quality; fruit also holds reasonably on the tree through its harvest window. New Zealand nurseries note that, as with all seedless citrus, fruit can develop seeds if cross-pollinated by another citrus flowering at the same time. Plant in full sun in deep, well-drained soil, water deeply through establishment and fruiting, mulch, and feed with balanced citrus fertiliser in spring and summer. Available on standard Trifoliata rootstock (3-4 m tree) or dwarfed on Flying Dragon (around 2 m, suited to pots and small gardens).