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DoctorSteve
12-19-2012, 08:46 PM
I was wondering who out there is growing blood oranges, and how they taste, and how well they produce.

I am looking at buying one but the information out there seems to vary wildly and was looking for information from those who are growing them.

I was interested in one of the following:

Moro
Tarocco
Sanguinelli
Smith Red Valencia



Some information for those interested:
blood_oranges (http://www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/citrus/blood_oranges.html)

parillo12
12-28-2012, 01:04 AM
I have a tree and they tast just like an orange, they tast only a bit different , but there not like a grapefruit, blood oranges have the sugar already in them. There a great tree to grow!!

Illia
12-28-2012, 03:58 AM
I've not grown any myself yet (maybe Moro down the road) but I've had some beautifully red, ripe Moro blood oranges before. They tasted like an orange, but to me, with an earthy berry aftertaste. To me the biggest appeal is the red rind. Most blood oranges are normal looking on the outside. Never had the normal ones before, so who knows, maybe Moros are a bit different. They're certainly different from a normal orange when it comes to taste.

parillo12
12-28-2012, 03:52 PM
This is a picture of my blood orange tree, and I cut open a blood orange to show.

parillo12
12-28-2012, 03:53 PM
This is the tree, the blood oranges taste just like oranges but with a little bit of raspberry.

DoctorSteve
12-28-2012, 06:30 PM
I Have since tried two varieties of blood orange, one unknown and one was Moro. The Moro is good, the flavor is different, still and orange though. The first time we had a blood orange it was very red, and the taste was like an orange but with some berry like flavors, it was very good but I have no idea what it was.

I also tried Cara Cara Navel, and that is very good. Mostly tastes like a navel, in fact Nicholas's orange looks just like a Cara Cara.

In the end I got a Smith Red Valencia. It is said to be more consistent in color, produces well, and may do well in the Santa Cruz area so I am told. This is due to its prolonged ripening period which may help in a cooler coastal area. That is only important because we want to move there someday and we are taking our plants.