PEACHES,NECTARINES,APRICOTS

This symbol denotes a disease resistant variety

This symbol denotes an

antique or heirloom variety

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"Thanks to you and your knowledgeable staff...seems like I'm always bugging y'all with fruit tree questions. So far I've received 18 assorted apple trees from you and have had a phenomenal 100% survival rate...I'll probably be buying some peach and plum trees next winter, too..."

Thanks again,

Gary

Home Orchard Spray Schedule & Supplies

PEACHES, NECTARINES & APRICOTS

The plant nursery has closed for retirement.

We thank you for your pratronage through the last 26 years. Bill Ford is available for consultation and presentations. Please feel free to use the following pages for reference. Happy gardening!

PEACHES

Belle of Georgia (a.k.a. GA Belle)

This antique variety is has long been held in the memories of southern childhoods as one of the best peaches ever eaten. The large freestone peach ripens to a greenish-white with a slight blush. White and melting, the very sweet flesh is excellent for fresh eating and ice cream. Ripens early August.

High chill. Zones 6 - 9. (850 c.h.)

Bounty

Recommended as a replacement for Loring, Bounty is a very large, firm freestone peach of exceptional quality and flavor. The winter hardiness and red color exceed that of Loring. Resistance to bacterial leaf spot is good. Great for fresh eating, cooking and canning. Ripens mid-late August.

Zones 5-8 (800 c.h.)

Contender

A very pretty and large freestone peach that is making its mark on the fruit scene. The firm flesh is sweet, aromatic and flavorful. The tree is hardy and very productive with one of the highest chill requirements at 1050 chill hours.

Ripens in mid to late August. Zones 4-7. (1050 c.h.)

Elberta

The best known variety of freestone peach, Elberta has red blushed skin over yellow melting flesh. With a sweet flavor, it is used for fresh eating, canning, cooking and desserts. Ripens first part of August.

Zones 5-8. (850 c.h.)

Encore

Encore! Encore! Who wouldn’t want more of this gem? Large, firm evenly-colored peaches hold freestone, extra sweet and juicy flesh. Late-ripening to finish out the season wonderfully. Trees are reliable producers, cold-hardy and resistant to bacterial leaf spot. High chill. Ripens late Aug – early Sept. Zones 5-7. (950 chill hours)

Intrepid

Like its namesake, Intrepid is a sure fire hit with large crops of large, firm freestone fruit. The peaches color up to red over yellow covering sweet, yellow flesh. The tree and buds are especially hardy even to temps of -20°F, with a very high chill requirement of 1050 chill hours. Ripens in mid to late August. Zones 4-7. (1050 c.h.)

Loring

A requested variety, Loring is a large attractive freestone peach with bright red color over yellow. Flesh is firm with excellent flavor and quality. Good for fresh eating, cooking, canning and freezing. Tree is vigorous and highly productive. Resistant to bacterial leaf spot. High chill. Ripens mid to late August. Zones 6-8. (800 c.h.)

Raritan Rose

The best of the early white peaches, Raritan Rose has held it’s popularity since the 1920’s with good reason. The white with pink skinned fruit are freestone with melting, white, juicy and sweet flesh. Great for fresh eating, ice cream and jams. Fruit are produced prolifically on the hardy and vigorous trees. Ripens Late July. Zones 6-8. (750 chill hours)

Manon

This white semi-freestone peach is large and firm with a red skin. The flesh is smooth and sweet excellent for fresh eating with low-acid flavor. Attains great size for an early season variety. Moderately resistant to bacterial spot.

Zones 5-8. (950 c.h.)

Messina

This firm yellow freestone has good sweet flavor, grows very large. This "classic peach look" make it a winner with highly colored skin nearly full red blush over yellow large, and is of very good quality. Ripens last of July. High chill.

Zones 4-8. (1050 c.h.)

White County

These large attractive red-skinned freestone peaches hold an aromatic white flesh. The firm fruit mature to a melting smooth texture inside with an exceptional sweet flavor. Great for fresh eating, cooking and canning. The low acid content is preferable for those with sensitive stomachs. Developed by the Univ. of Arkansas, White County shows resistance to bacterial leaf spot and highly productive.

Ripens mid July. Zones 5-8. (750 c.h.)

NECTARINES

Fantasia Nectarine

One of the best, Fantasia is a very large red freestone. The firm smooth yellow flesh is juicy and has a great sweet flavor. Eaten fresh or used for cooking and freezing. Ripens mid July to early August. Zones 6-9.

RedGold Nectarine

Our longtime favorite for productivity, sweetness and cobblers! Red Gold has pretty solid red skin over the large fruit. A yellow freestone with melting juicy flesh. Trees are very productive, winter hardy, and early bearing. Self-fruitful. Ripens early August.

High chill. Zones 5-8.(850 c.h.)

APRICOTS

Goldrich Apricot

Goldrich fruit are large and oval with nearly equal halves. It has firm, deep orange flesh with a fine texture, good flavor andquality. Vigorous and productive, excellent for fresh eating as well as drying and cooking. Though partially self-pollinating, larger crops are achieved with cross-pollination with another variety. Ripens late July into August.

Zones 5-8.

Orangered Apricot

Orangered has it all! This apricot has beautiful reddish blush over a bright orange background. The fruit is firm, and of high quality. It makes a brightly colored jam and is great for fresh eating, drying, baking and juice. Needs cross-pollination from another variety. Ripens early July. Zones 5-8.

Tilton Apricot

Well suited for theSouth with its higher chill and resistance to late frost. Fruit is medium sized with a golden color. Flesh is firm, flavorful and excellent for canning, drying and freezing. A vigorous grower, Tilton is self-pollinating. Ripens early July. Zones 5-8.

Planting Information

For beautiful, productive, and healthy trees, we recommended that peaches and nectarines be planted in full sun with a minimum spacing of 18-20 ft. for good sun and air circulation. A soil pH of 6.5 - 7.0 is preferred, so most soils will need added lime; check with your extension agent for a soil test. All the varieties of Peaches we offer are self-pollinating, and the expected bearing age is 2-3 years old.

High chill varieties (750+ chill hours) bloom later in spring and are recommended in Zones 5 - 7. Start your trees off right with our Orchard Starter Tablets, then fertilize the following springs with a complete fruit fertilizer. Liming may be needed annually also. With heavy crop sets, thinning to every 6" along the branch when the fruit reaches 50 cent size is important to keep fruit size and quality at a maximum. We only carry standard stone-fruit trees because dwarf rootstocks for these plants start to decline after 7 years. Standard trees can be easily kept to a dwarf size using the open bowl pruning method and yearly pruning.