Seasonal produce
When is grapefruit in season?
In the US, grapefruit is a fall-to-spring fruit in Texas and Florida and a later one in California. Texas A&M AgriLife lists the common Texas grapefruit at October to May. University of Florida sources put Florida’s season between September and June, depending on the source and variety. A University of California chart for Riverside starts most grapefruit in February and runs into summer. Each window below names its source.
Grapefruit season at a glance
Texas: October to May (Texas A&M AgriLife). Florida: September through June, or narrower by variety (UF/IFAS). California: mostly February into summer in Riverside (University of California). Mid-October is the start of the Texas window. Grapefruit is a warm-climate crop. A UF/IFAS guide notes that citrus is limited to areas that do not regularly freeze, so outside the citrus states your grapefruit is shipped in and these windows describe where it came from.
Texas grapefruit season
Texas A&M AgriLife’s table of common Texas citrus lists Marsh, Ruby Red, Henderson/Ray, Rio Red and Star Ruby grapefruit all at October to May. A Texas A&M crop guide says commercial Texas grapefruit is hand-harvested from October to May, and a Texas A&M youth guide says Texas grapefruit matures in late October.
Florida grapefruit season
UF/IFAS Home Citrus says fresh grapefruit season typically runs from September through June. A UF/IFAS home-landscape guide gives narrower windows by variety: ‘Marsh’, ‘Ruby Red’, ‘Rio Red’ and ‘Flame’ at November to May, and ‘Duncan’, ‘Thompson’ and ‘Star Ruby’ at December to May.
California grapefruit season
UC ANR Publication 8472 charts grapefruit in Riverside from February to June for ‘Rio Red’ and ‘Star Ruby’ and February to August for ‘Marsh’. A UC Cooperative Extension Riverside County Q&A says Southern California fruit can mature as early as November depending on variety, and some can hold on the tree until September depending on location. It says ‘Star Ruby’ ripens in early summer and ‘Flame’ in late summer in the Riverside area. For the hybrids, Publication 8472 charts ‘Oroblanco’ and ‘Melogold’ at December to March in Riverside, while the Riverside County Q&A says ‘Oroblanco’ ripens in January and holds well into early summer, with ‘Melogold’ similar. Publication 8472 says grapefruit have high heat requirements and do well in desert regions, and the Riverside County Q&A says ‘Rio Red’ needs summer heat and does well in the lower desert valleys, while ‘Star Ruby’ needs some heat but is not suited to the desert. This guide has no Arizona-specific dates; ask a local grower or market.
Why grapefruit doesn’t ripen after picking
Texas A&M AgriLife’s Aggie Horticulture says that, technically, citrus has no ripening process: fruit passes from immature to mature to overmature while it is still on the tree, and the changes are slow, spread over several months. Once picked, citrus does not get sweeter or ripen more, as peaches do; it can only decay or slowly dry out. A Texas A&M youth guide adds that the longer Texas grapefruit stays on the tree, the larger and sweeter it gets. The UC Riverside County Q&A says most citrus will store on the tree for a short time, but mature fruit should be picked before the weather turns hot.
Red, pink and white varieties
White-fleshed: ‘Marsh’ (Texas A&M; UF/IFAS), which UC ANR Publication 8472 says began as a chance seedling around 1860 in Lakeland, Florida, and became the most widely planted grapefruit as the first seedless variety promoted; and ‘Duncan’, which UF/IFAS calls one of the best for home use despite its seeds. Red- and pink-fleshed: ‘Ruby Red’ (typical red flesh), ‘Henderson’/‘Ray’ (redder than Ruby Red), ‘Rio Red’ (dark red flesh) and ‘Star Ruby’ (deep red flesh), all from Texas A&M’s table; plus ‘Flame’ (red flesh) and ‘Thompson’ or Pink Marsh (pink flesh) from UF/IFAS. UC Riverside also bred two grapefruit-pummelo hybrids, ‘Oroblanco’ and ‘Melogold’ (Publication 8472). ‘Cocktail’ looks like a grapefruit but is a mandarin and pummelo hybrid (Publication 8472).
How to pick a good one
Do not shop by color alone. Texas A&M says rind color is a poor sign of ripeness, because many citrus fruits color up long before they are good to eat; taste is the real test. UF/IFAS Home Citrus agrees that flavor is always the best indicator, though it says color can often be one. Since grapefruit will not sweeten on the counter, buy fruit you would eat now. Check the skin: Texas A&M says citrus with cut or scratched skin rots fairly quickly, while fruit with perfectly sound skin is fairly decay-proof. Pass on fruit with cut or scratched skin.
How to store grapefruit
Texas A&M AgriLife says citrus with perfectly sound skin will last several weeks in cool, moist storage, 38 to 48 degrees F with 85 to 95 percent relative humidity. Kept dry at room temperature, citrus develops off-flavors and shrivels within a week to 10 days (Texas A&M). Those figures come from Texas A&M’s advice for home-harvested citrus.
What to eat it with this month
A Texas A&M youth guide suggests grapefruit sections in salads and salsas, or chilled juice. Pair it with other fall fruit: see when clementines, persimmons and pomegranates are in season, plus the November produce guide and the produce checklist.
Recipes and related guides
November produce guide · When are clementines in season? · When are Meyer lemons in season? · When are persimmons in season? · When are pomegranates in season? · Produce checklist
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