Orange 'Blood'
Citrus sinensis
Rutaceae family
Grafted
One of the more unusual citrus trees, the 'Blood' Orange produces red tinged orange fruit with striking red pigmentation on the inside. Beyond their interesting colour, blood oranges offer a balance of sweetness and tartness, with berry-like undertones. Eat fresh or squeeze for juice.
Tree Maintenance (Citrus)
Pruning
Citrus sinensis
Rutaceae family
Grafted
One of the more unusual citrus trees, the 'Blood' Orange produces red tinged orange fruit with striking red pigmentation on the inside. Beyond their interesting colour, blood oranges offer a balance of sweetness and tartness, with berry-like undertones. Eat fresh or squeeze for juice.
Tree Maintenance (Citrus)
Pruning
- When mature, prune half the tree after harvest to keep it healthy and shaped.
- Remove dead, inward facing or crossing branches. Remove any suckers from the rootstock below the graft.
- During establishment, water slow and deep each fortnight, more often if very dry or hot. As it matures, the tree will become more drought tolerant.
- Watering may be needed when young fruit is forming.
- Spring: liquid seaweed, compost around drip line.
- Summer: Compost around drip line, poultry manure, worm wee (10:1).
- Autumn: liquid seaweed, compost around drip line, sulphate of potash, poultry manure.
- Avoid applying fertiliser while trees are preparing to flower, flowering and up until fruit are larger than marbles.
- Keep soil well mulched, leaving a gap around the trunk to avoid collar rot.
- Spray with horticultural oil if sap-sucking insects or scale occur (avoid spraying on days where temperatures may reach above 30°C, or foliage can become burnt). Black sooty mould on the leaves is a symptom of these pests; ants are also an indicator that there is a problem, as ants will farm and protect the insects in order to consume their sweet secretions.
Orange 'Blood' at LCG December 2024 (photo credit: Jacqui Lachmann)
Orange 'Blood' at LCG September 2023 (photo credit: Graham Bond)
