PlantFiles: Grapefruit
Citrus x paradisi 'Oro Blanco'

'Oro Blanco' is a triploid from a grapefruit x pummelo cross. It is seedless. Geneticists R.K. Soost and J.W. Cameron of the University of California created it in 1958 and patented it in 1981.

This plant large and hardy and can handle temps down to 30F. It is my understanding it was developed for California inland citrus conditions. It is also my understanding that fruits should be allowed to fully mature on the tree. If picked too early, they will taste bitter. Other than that, I read the crops yielded are medium to heavy and may alternate bearing. This is a sweet tasting fruit that is tender and juicy and peels easily.

I don't like grapefruit very much. But I loved this fruit! It was rather sweet and had such an intense, unique flavor. Pure heaven! The blossoms are wonderfully strong-scented and apparently this variety doesn't need a lot of heat to ripen well. I'm in zone 9.

“Oro Blanco” is possibly the best tasting sweet white grapefruit available today.

It was developed at the University Of California in the 1970’s from a Grapefruit and a Pummelo (Citrus maxima).

It does not have the bitterness associated with a grapefruit but it has inherited the thick rind and small juice cavity from the Pummelo.

Grown now primarily in the Central and Coachella Valleys in California, the Oro Blancos are available from December through March.

The Product Look-Up (PLU) code is 3092.