Two years ago i brought a decent sized Cara-Cara Orange tree from a (won't name names) Garden centre. This year i waited for citrus season with joyful anticipation of a colossal bounty of it's very first harvest. With at least 20 fruits coming on it was also exciting at how prolific this Cara-Cara was in such a short time. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that i began to suspect that something was afoot, when the "Oranges" seemed to flatten out in shape, much different to the typical navel orange shape that you would expect in a Cara-Cara. As soon as the fruit was a ripe yellow(!) i picked one to taste and confirmed my worst fears, that yes this was in fact a dreaded Grapefruit! Grapefruit are a paradox of sorts in my mind. They are vigorous trees that grow quickly and fruit abundantly compared to other citrus. The only thing is very few people like the taste of the bitter/sour Grapefruit and the fruit often go to waste on the ground.
Luckily i had kept the original tag from the garden centre which clearly states that it was a Cara Cara. So after explaining the situation to the staff they offered to exchange the tree for a new sapling. Unfortunately i'll have to wait another two years to see any harvest. Hopefully thus time it will grow true to the label! I do however have a backup 2 year old dwarf Cara Cara inground that will yield about 8 fruit this year to sample. See below the Cara Cara on the left and the Grapefruit on the right.
