Mallorca

"Orange and lemon trees, those beautiful southern plans, represented until recently one of the primary sources of wealth on Mallorca, and one of their most important ornaments. It seems that growing orange trees on the island has been known here since the time of the Arabs.

Orange and lemon trees are pruned every two or three years in the months of September and October. Generally, only the dry or semi-dry branches are cut back, that is, those that have already borne fruit or which have been locked in within the crown. Certainly worth noting is that we could learn a lot from Mallorcan orange growers.

As a general rule, these trees flower in May, and their fruits begin to mature in mid November. As such, it is around this time that harvesting and their consequent export begins on the island. The harvest is most abundant in December and January and can extend until July and August. Consequently, we often see flowers, green and mature oranges on the same tree.

For the time being, there are few mandarin oranges (taronges de test), though I have seen perfectly developed examples in Coma de Son Net in Puigpunyent and in other places. Lately, I have seen quite a lot planted in Sóller.

There is a large variety of lemon trees, their fruit, like the oranges, varying in shape, flavor and color depending on the soil, their cultivation and fertilizer. Harvesting this tree is very similar as that for orange trees though it has far less importance than the latter."

Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria. Las Baleares por la palabra y el grabado. Majorca: General Part. Ed. Sa Nostra, Caja de Baleares. Palma de Mallorca. 1982.

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