Which type of blood orange

11 years ago

I have three to choose from Tarocco (where i can't find who sells it so probably wont be able to get it) Vaniglia Sanguigno or the spanish Sanguinelli.
I've been going online and everyone is saying how delicoius tarocco and vaniglia are but i really love tarocco's color >.and Sanguinelli is a bit tart.
Now i know blood oranges need a bit of cold to develop their color, i live in zone 7b how would tarocco or vaniglia hold up? our coldest month is february where temperatures drop to mid 20's doesn't last too long, our winters are mostly in 30's and 40's.
Thank you everyone.

Featured Answer

hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA

11 years ago

Well, the best colored blood orange of all blood oranges would be the Moro blood orange. Right behind that would be the Smith Red Valencia, both available through Four Winds, btw. Both are nearly black red under optimal conditions. My Moros are very dark red, almost black. Both of these deeply colored varieites have an excellent flavor, and, the Moro has an unusual, and good (to me) taste. It has sort of a blackberry taste. But, the Tarocco is considered to be the best tasting of all blood oranges. It will not color up as well as the Moro, but certainly better than the Sanguinelli, which yes, is definitely more tart than the above two. You will have PLENTY of chill to get any blood orange to develope it's anthocyanin coloration, so no worries about that in zone 7b. Your biggest issue will be protecting from freezes. Vaniglia Sanguigno is only mildly colored, much like the Sanguinelli, but it has a very unusual taste. It has a robust orange flavor with almost no acid. It is quite good. It tends to get a bit of a bad rap I think, as it frequently gets tossed into the "sub-acid" category, where there are some very insipid citrus, like the Palestine Lime, which tastes nothing at all like the Vanglia Sanguigno. It IS insipid, tasting like watered down lemonade. I just toured the Riverside Heritage Citrus Park last weekend, and had all my fellow CRFG members taste the Vanglia, and they all just loved it, and were very surprised, as several had thought it was a typical "insipid" citrus. Any of the blood oranges will need protection, so if you can plant the tree on the south side of a north wall for warmth and protection, as well as heat radiation, and are willing to cover it up and take some precautions with those cold temps, you may be able to grow one successfully. Of all my blood oranges, the two the held up the best with my 5 days in a row of nighttime temps in the mid-twenties was my Red Smith and my Moros. They all came through just fine, but those two had the least amount of damage (mainly leaf drop).

Patty S.

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Comments (7)

katsols
Original Author
11 years ago
This is great info! would you tell me how do you water blood oranges in pots? do you let it dry a bit in between or constantly moist? i know it needs well draining soil.
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hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
11 years ago
I would suggest you search for "511 Mix" on our forum. It will give you a great recipe for well draining potting mix for container citrus. It is a good idea to keep your citrus a little moist, and not all dried out. Most folks use a stick to test for moisture, inserted down to the bottom of the pot. If the stick comes back wet, don't water, if it comes back just moist or worse, dry, then water thoroughly. This is a well draining mix so most folks will water with 1/4 to 1/2 strength fertilizer with each watering, the lesser concentration in the winter and stronger in the spring, summer, and early fall.

Patty S.
Ryan
11 years ago
I live in 7B in North Carolina all my citrus are in pots. Of the bloods I have Moro, sanguinelli, Tarocco & vanilla blood. By far Moro is the best, most reliable producer, colors up well here and best tasting, better then tarocco, in my opinion. Seek out Moro it is available and worth getting. The 7B climate makes for some unique oranges too, from the cold/warm nights/days My oranges typically have the tartness& full flavor of California but from the high humidity, thin skin & juiciness of florida grown citrus.If you can pull it off you are in for quite a treat.

Watering them in pots is really no different then other citrus. in the summer it really doesn't matter all that much, they would be fine moist all the time. just don't over do it. Winter is much different only water when relatively dry, not too dry or they will start dropping fruit, you will just have to learn it by trial and error. its best to keep the roots above 54f. Are you growing in a greenhouse or taking them inside for winter? I have a greenhouse and allow the temp to drop low at night 35f min but warm during the day 70F, if you start this in early November, your blood oranges will color more then you will imagine, some of them by this time(feb-march) will be almost black on the inside.

This post was edited by RyanLo on Wed, Feb 27, 13 at 16:19
mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
11 years ago
if you can find one I would get an AB positive.

Mike
katsols
Original Author
11 years ago
I'm gonna be bringing them up inside in winter. Guys you mentioned fertilizing it with each watering with half the strength, that's a good a idea because many people have been telling me to only fertilize them once a month. Including nursery growers.
Adam Opez
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I live in Europe and have tasted the three main blood oranges at their place of production.

The Tarocco orange is definitely the sweetest and best tasting of all the blood oranges, assuming it is well ripe, etc..... The Sanguinello is the most sour (tart) tasting of the three. The Moro is probably the most reddish of the three, but also the most bitter of the three. And this of course is my personal experience and opinion.