Citrus Season Calendar

In the Northern Hemisphere, citrus season runs from late fall through spring, with most winter citrus at its best from about December to March. That includes navel oranges, blood oranges, mandarins, grapefruit and Meyer lemons. In the Southern Hemisphere the same fruit peaks roughly from June to September.

In the Northern Hemisphere, Valencia oranges are the main summer orange, with a peak from about June to October. Lemons and limes are sold all year, and some grapefruit varieties ripen through summer.

Not really. Lemons and limes are available fresh all year because different growing regions supply different months. Meyer lemons are the exception, with a short winter window, and Key limes are a more limited specialty fruit.

Supermarkets bring in fruit from growing regions in the opposite hemisphere, and some fruit is stored after picking. Fruit from the middle of its local season usually tastes better and costs less.

They are typical, rounded windows, not promises. Each variety ripens on its own schedule, and weather and region move it by weeks from year to year. Where a Southern Hemisphere source was not available, the window is estimated by shifting the Northern one by six months, and the page says so.