Blood Orange - Ruby

Description

Blood Orange Ruby is an older Mediterranean variety of blood orange that produces medium-sized, slightly oblong to oval fruit with a rich flavour and tender, juicy flesh. The flesh shows red anthocyanin pigmentation over an orange base, sometimes with a red blush on the rind, but Ruby is famously one of the most inconsistently coloured blood oranges: local climate governs how much red develops, and cool autumn and winter nights during ripening give the deepest colour, so New Zealand fruit varies by district and season. The flavour is sweet and juicy with the distinctive berry or strawberry-like note that sets blood oranges apart from standard oranges. Fruit can carry some seeds. In New Zealand it ripens mid-season and is eaten fresh as a premium dessert orange; it also makes striking fresh juice and segments for salads and desserts. Keeping quality is moderate. Grow in the warmest, sunniest, frost-free position available, as warmth plus cool ripening nights gives the best colour and sweetness; standard citrus care applies with full sun, free-draining soil, regular water in fruiting season and spring-summer feeding.