Sweet orange
Leading citrus species with a heavy spring nectar flow and the source of pale, fragrant orange blossom honey.
- Nectar
- Very good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Crystallisation
- Medium
- Height
- 4-10 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Orange gives the most important spring flow on the Mediterranean coast. Its white, strongly scented flowers secrete abundant, sugar-rich nectar; its pollen value is moderate. Secretion is highest on warm (about 20-30 °C), humid, windless days in irrigated orchards.
Flowering
In Adana, Mersin, Hatay and Antalya in April-May, lasting about 3-4 weeks in an orchard.
Honey and pollen
Orange blossom honey is very light amber, distinctly floral in scent and sweet. Within a few months it sets with fine, creamy crystals. Methyl anthranilate, a compound typical of citrus nectar, is a marker used to identify this honey. In some years honeydew from citrus aphids can darken the honey.
Note for the beekeeper
- For migratory beekeepers it requires strong spring colonies and timely supering.
- Insecticide and foliar fertiliser applications during flowering are the greatest risk; keep track of the local spraying calendar.
- In some seedless citrus varieties bee pollination can lead to seeds, so an agreement with the grower is needed.