When to Plant Orange in Canberra, Cold / Highland Guide

Plant October to November. Right now in October you can plant.

Planting window
Plant in spring in the warmest sheltered spot or a large pot. Oranges will fruit here but may lack the sweetness of warmer districts.
Sunlight
Full sun, minimum 6-8 hours. More heat = sweeter fruit.
Soil pH
6.0-7.0
Shop price
$2.38/kg average

Published · Last reviewed · By GardenBuddy.au
Growing advice is reviewed by hand. Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.

This Orange guide is written for the Cold / Highland zone, which takes in Canberra, Cooma and Bright. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.

Not your zone? Cairns Brisbane Sydney Melbourne Alice Springs Perth

Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.

Orange

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Classic backyard citrus. Sweet oranges need more heat than lemons for sweetness development. Coastal Melbourne oranges are noticeably more tart than those from Mildura or the Riverland. Navel oranges (seedless, eating) and Valencia oranges (juicing, summer fruit) are the main types. Trees are medium-sized, attractive, and productive for decades. Grafted onto appropriate rootstock.

See what grows now in your own postcode

Best Planting Window for Cold / Highland

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
- - - - - - - - - P P -

P = Planting window

Plant in spring in the warmest sheltered spot or a large pot. Oranges will fruit here but may lack the sweetness of warmer districts.

Want a nudge when it is Orange sowing time in Canberra?

One email a week with what is worth planting in the Cold / Highland zone right now, Orange included, plus which veg has jumped in price at the supermarket. Free, and you can stop it in one click.

This month in Cold / Highland

In October the Cold / Highland zone normally runs 20°C by day and 7°C overnight, with about 58 mm of rain over 7 or 8 wet days. The coldest October night on record across the zone was -6.4°C, so a late frost is not out of the question. Averages 1991 to 2026, 15 postcodes, SILO.

The full twelve months are on the Cold / Highland zone page.

How to Grow Orange in Cold / Highland Australia

When to Plant

Plant in spring in the warmest sheltered spot or a large pot. Oranges will fruit here but may lack the sweetness of warmer districts.

Soil
Well-drained, slightly acidic. Same requirements as other citrus.
pH Range
6.0-7.0
Sunlight
Full sun, minimum 6-8 hours. More heat = sweeter fruit.

Companion plants: Nasturtium, Comfrey, Marigold

Avoid planting near: Grass right to trunk

Cold / Highland Growing Tips for Orange

Recommended Varieties

  • Washington Navel in warmest microclimate only

Key Challenges

  • Frost damage
  • Insufficient heat for sweet fruit

Pro Tips

  • Very marginal for oranges. Blood orange in a pot is the best option for colour development from cold nights.

Harvesting Orange

When ready: Full orange colour (some green at stem end is normal). Taste test. Sweetness develops with time on tree. Navel oranges ripen faster than Valencia.

How to harvest: Cut with secateurs or twist-pull.

Preserving: pressure canning

1 tested pressure-canning recipe for Orange: 1 where it is the crop being canned. Each one comes from published home canning guidelines. The conversion to Australian units is ours, with psi beside every kPa. Always follow your pressure canner's manual.

Recipes in this set

  • Grapefruit and Orange Sections

The full recipe details are for members on a paid plan: jar sizes, headspace, process time, the pressure for a weighted or dial gauge at your altitude, the ingredients, the preparation steps and the safety notes.

See the plans

Where to next

What orange costs in the shops right now, retailer by retailer, updated daily.

Also worth sowing in the cold and highland zone this October: Sweet Corn, Beetroot, Celeriac and Kohlrabi.

The pest most likely to find your orange: Queensland Fruit Fly.

Supermarket Price

Current average retail: $2.38/kg (12-month range: $1.33–$3.99)

Grow your own and save on grocery bills.

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Common Questions About Orange

When do you plant orange in Australia?

It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:

Which zone am I in?

Type your postcode into the box under the heading and the page tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Cold / Highland zone, Canberra is its reference city.