If you want to know how long to grow a blood orange, plan for 3 to 5 years from planting before you get a steady crop. A young grafted tree from a nursery can give you a few fruits in year 2, but a full harvest takes longer to reach.
I planted my first Moro tree as a 4 foot (1.2 meter) grafted specimen. It grew leaves all through year one without a single flower. Year two brought a small flush of white blossoms and 5 to 10 small fruits that ripened by January.
Year three was when my tree hit its stride and gave me about 40 ripe blood oranges with deep red flesh. The blood orange tree growth rate picks up fast once the root system fills out the planting hole and starts to reach into deeper soil layers.
Your blood orange first fruit often shows up in year 2 if you start with a healthy grafted tree from a quality nursery. The branches form a stronger frame each year, and that frame is what holds the heavier crops you will see by year 4 or year 5.
The number of seed grown blood orange years to wait for fruit can stretch out to 7 to 15 years in many cases. The juvenile phase blocks flowering, and the tree must mature through years of pure leaf and stem growth before it can flip into fruiting mode.
A grafted blood orange timeline runs much shorter because the scion wood comes from a tree that is ready to flower. The rootstock just feeds the top growth and lets you skip the long wait for the tree to reach sexual maturity on its own terms.
When I tried to grow a blood orange from a store bought seed, the seedling reached 3 feet (0.9 meters) in three years with zero sign of flowers. That experiment taught me to stick with grafted trees if I wanted fruit within my lifetime.
Plant your tree in USDA zones 9 to 11 with full sun and good drainage. Feed it with citrus fertilizer every 6 to 8 weeks during the growing season. Give it a deep soak once a week in dry weather to push roots down.
Pinch off any flowers that show up in year one so the young tree puts all its energy into roots and branches. This simple trick pays back with a stronger frame that holds more fruit when the blood orange maturity age of 3 to 5 years arrives at last.
Buy from a known citrus nursery and pick a 2 to 3 year old grafted tree. This is the quickest path to fruit in your yard. Your patience pays off with sweet ruby fleshed oranges hanging from branches each winter for 30 to 50 years.
Choose a Moro for the deepest red flesh or pick a Tarocco for a sweeter taste with lower acid. Both fruit on the same timeline and both reward you with the rich winter harvest you have been waiting for.
Stake your young tree for the first two seasons to keep it straight while the trunk thickens up. A bamboo pole and a soft tie will do the job without cutting into the bark. This small step prevents wind damage that can set your tree back a full year.
Mulch around the base with 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7 cm) of bark or compost to lock in soil moisture. Keep the mulch a few inches from the trunk to stop rot. Your tree will reward you with faster growth and an earlier first crop.
Read the full article: Blood Orange Tree Complete Guide
