Blood Orange Surprise

After two years of bitter (or should I say sour) disappointment since the last crop of oranges from my potted Blood Orange, I was unexpectedly rewarded. Over the horrific and dismal winter, the tree struggled to produce fruit much larger than a golf ball. I became disinterested in Blood Orange husbandry and left the crop to fall to the ground and rot away. However, this afternoon I cut one open and was blown away by the depth of colour and shortly after that, the intense and developed flavor. I'm now sure that I picked the first crop too early and that was the reason they were more sour than a Warhead. There may be hope for growing Blood Oranges down south after all. The half wine barrel is definitely an insufficient vessel for the tree though and may go some way to explaining the biennial bearing. Time to get one in the ground I think.