Blood Orange fruit appearance:
The fruit is about 1/2 to 1/3 the size of a typical grocery store navel orange. But the skin of many of the oranges is splashed with red
There are 3 main types of Blood Orange trees:
Tarocco blood orange tree (native to Italy)
Less pigmentation than the other two. This one the sweetest and most flavorful of them all. The tree is vigorous and moderately productive.
Sanguinello blood orange tree (native to Spain)
Orange flesh with red streaks which is sweet and tender. The fruit often matures in February, but can remain on trees until April/May. The tree is small/medium in size, spineless, and very productive.
Moro blood orange tree (thought to have originated in Sicily)
It is the most colorful of them all; they can be ruby-veined to nearly black. Sweet flavor with a hint of raspberry and dense flesh. Some believe this orange is more bitter than the Tarocco or the Sanguinello. However, I have found the flavor to be variable even within a subtype. Some people have reported that the best flavor is often from fruit grown in inland valleys, perhaps from the heat. Fruit can remain on trees until April/May, but flavor declines if on the tree too long. Tree is of moderate growth/size and has a round-somewhat spreading appearance.
Landscaping use:
Plant them anywhere that you would plant any other citrus. They are a great long range focal point use. The evergreen foliage can hide/screen undesirable areas. Flowers smell awesome-even at a short distance. See above subtypes for specific growth habits.
Soil:
Dig a hole at least 2x the size of the pot it came in and liberally augment the soil. An extra nutrients reduce transplantation shock. In addition, the extra organic material will cut down on your water bill in the long run. I also inoculate the roots with micorriza.
Water:
water 1-to-2x/week in the summer. Infrequent and deep-heavy watering is much better than frequent light watering. You can usually cut way back on the watering in the winter after a tree is established. Mulching always helps retain moisture. Most citrus don’t like standing water.
Sun:
Full sun
Fertilization:
Balanced fertilizer in growing season (4x/y). Most citrus also need micronutrients yearly, which I give at the beginning of growing the season. Throwing in a random assortment of organic fertilizer whenever you have it is always appreciated (compost, worm castings etc).
Pests:
Some kind-of rodent girdled one of my trees by eating the bark at the base of the trunk.
Citrus leafminer is a big problem for all citrus
but there are ways to effectively deal with them.
