Actual size and flowering may vary slightly based on season.
Sanguinelli Blood Orange
Sanguinelli is a Spanish blood orange with a smooth, deeply red-blushed peel and red flesh. The fruit is sweet with a little tartness and has few seeds. It ripens a little later than most blood oranges, from about January into March. The small to medium evergreen tree is thornless and very productive.
Best for: late winter blood oranges for eating and juice, a thornless backyard citrus, spring blossom scent, and an evergreen fruit tree.
Sanguinelli has a smooth peel with a strong red blush and juicy red flesh. The fruit is sweet with a little tartness and ripens from about January into March.
The tree is small to medium in size, thornless and very productive. Trees are listed at about 8 to 20 feet, so give it about 15 to 20 feet from other trees.
Fragrant white blossoms open in spring, and bees visit them. Plant it in full sun, but keep it away from hot west walls where afternoon sun burns fruit.
Blood orange color needs winter cold, so warm winters give lighter color. Fruit runs smaller in heavy crop years. Bare trunks sunburn, and young trees need frost cloth on freezing nights.
- Row of trees with canopies meetingAbout 15 ft apart
- Single yard treeAbout 20 ft from other trees
A newly planted Sanguinelli tree needs water every few days in its first months, more often in summer. Water out past the edge of the canopy, not right at the trunk.
Soak the soil 2 to 3 feet deep about every 7 to 14 days in summer and every 3 to 4 weeks in winter. Let the top of the soil dry between waterings, and never water shallow and daily.
Feed with a citrus fertilizer three times a year. Apply one feeding in January or February, one in March or April, and one in May or June.
Prune lightly from late winter into spring, never in summer. Leave the low branches that shade the trunk, and paint any bare, sun-hit bark with white latex paint.
Sweet orange trees are rated to about 24°F, but the fruit is more tender than the tree. Cover young trees with frost cloth to the ground on freezing nights, and water the day before.
Drainage test first. Dig the hole and fill it with water. If water is still sitting in the hole a day later, you likely hit caliche, clay or hard soil, so fix the drainage before planting. If it drains very fast, the soil is sandy. Standing water around roots is a common reason new plants fail.
Weed cloth. Cut it away from the planting hole and where the roots will spread. Remove any plastic sheeting completely, since it keeps water and air out of the soil.
Rock or decomposed granite with no soil underneath. Bring in soil close in texture to your native soil, mix it with the soil below, and build up enough depth for roots before planting.
If you can break through. Use a breaker bar, pick, or jackhammer. Dig through the caliche and break out the solid chunks. Backfill with the soil you dug out, with no compost or manure in the hole. Confirm drainage before planting.
If you cannot break through. Dig narrow holes through the hard layer beside the root ball, not under it, and refill them with the same soil, not gravel. If it still will not drain, plant on a low mound of the same soil.
Root ball. Check the outside edges for any roots circling around. Loosen or cut those so they grow outward. Do not break up the center of the root ball.
Depth. The top of the root ball should sit at or just slightly above the surrounding soil level. Planting too deep can lead to rot and kill the plant.
Drip emitters. At planting, put the emitters on the root ball, on different sides of the plant. After about 2 months, move them to the outer edge of the root ball. Over the first year, add emitters farther out toward the edge of the branches as roots grow. Once a plant is rooted, never water only at the trunk.
What is a Sanguinelli blood orange?
Sanguinelli is a blood orange from Spain that came from a natural branch change on a Doblefina blood orange around 1950. It is known for a smooth, highly colored peel and few seeds.
Will a Sanguinelli turn red in the Valley?
Blood orange color needs winter cold to develop, and it builds through winter. Warmer winters give lighter color.
What does a Sanguinelli taste like?
It is sweet with some tartness, and less tart than a Moro. The flesh is soft and juicy.
When are Sanguinelli oranges ripe?
It ripens a little later than most blood oranges, from about January into March. Taste one to check, because oranges do not ripen after picking.
Sanguinelli vs Moro: which should I choose?
Moro ripens first and has the darkest, most tart flesh. Sanguinelli ripens later, has more red on the peel, and tastes sweeter. Its inside color is lighter than a Moro.
Does a Sanguinelli tree have thorns?
No. Sanguinelli trees are thornless, small to medium in size and very productive.
Why is my Sanguinelli fruit small this year?
The fruit is usually medium sized and oval, but it runs smaller when the tree carries a heavy crop.
Can I leave the fruit on the tree?
Yes. Sanguinelli fruit holds and stores well on the tree, so you can pick as you need it through the season.
How big does a Sanguinelli tree get?
It is a small to medium tree, listed at about 8 to 20 feet tall and wide. Plant about 15 feet apart for canopies that meet, or about 20 feet for a single tree.
How often should I water a blood orange tree?
Water deeply, out past the edge of the canopy, 2 to 3 feet down. Established trees need water about every 7 to 14 days in summer and every 3 to 4 weeks in winter. Young trees need water every few days at first.
How cold can a Sanguinelli take?
Sweet orange trees, blood oranges included, are rated to about 24°F. The fruit is more tender than the tree. Cover young trees with frost cloth to the ground on freezing nights, and water the day before.
Is a Sanguinelli tree safe for pets?
No. Orange trees are listed as toxic to dogs, cats and horses. Chewing the peel, leaves or stems can cause vomiting, diarrhea and depression, so keep pets from chewing on the tree.
Sanguinelli Blood Orange for sale in Arizona, delivered to you
Sanguinelli is the blood orange for gardeners who want a colorful peel, a sweeter flavor and a tree without thorns. It brings late winter fruit, fragrant spring blossoms and evergreen leaves. Below are the questions homeowners ask most, from color and flavor to harvest, size, spacing, watering and frost.
Sourced from trusted Arizona growers and delivered directly to your door, job site, or property. We deliver across the Valley and to nearby towns, and quote delivery anywhere else in Arizona.
What is a Sanguinelli blood orange?
Sanguinelli is a Spanish blood orange from around 1950. It is known for a smooth, deeply red-blushed peel, few seeds and a sweet flavor with some tartness.
Sanguinelli vs Moro blood orange
Moro ripens first and has the darkest, most tart flesh. Sanguinelli ripens a little later, with more red on the peel, lighter inside color and a sweeter taste.
When are Sanguinelli blood oranges ripe in Arizona?
Fruit is ready from about January into March, a little later than most blood oranges. The fruit holds well on the tree, so you can pick through the season.
Do blood oranges color up in Phoenix?
Blood orange color needs winter cold. It builds through winter and is strongest by about February, and warmer winters give lighter color.
Is there a thornless blood orange?
Yes. Sanguinelli trees are thornless, small to medium in size and very productive.
How far apart do you plant blood orange trees?
Plant about 15 feet apart center to center for canopies that meet. Give a single tree about 20 feet. The spacing calculator can count trees for a row.
Watering a blood orange tree in the Valley
Water deeply, wetting the soil 2 to 3 feet down and out past the canopy edge. Established trees need water about every 7 to 14 days in summer and every 3 to 4 weeks in winter.
When to fertilize blood oranges
Oranges get three feedings a year. Apply one in January or February, one in March or April, and one in May or June.
We deliver across the Valley, from Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa out to San Tan Valley, Maricopa and Casa Grande, and up to Prescott, Sedona, Payson and Globe. See delivery areas and rates.