It’s hard to judge a variety based on commercial growers, who don’t usually target eating quality as much as they target size and appearance. While Andy’s orchard is known to try to produce high quality fruit, it’s hard to do that with tasting events, as many varieties will have to be picked outside the optimum picking window. If I try a variety from a commercial source and it tastes great, it is likely to be a great variety, but if it does not taste good, I really can’t judge that it is a bad one. In addition, if a variety is not good one year, that does not necessarily mean it is inconsistent, perhaps the weather did not cooperate or the trees that provided your sample where not mature enough, or other growing conditions were suboptimal.
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Well, although I am very tempted to buy the trees, my husband said think it is worth the risk esp. it is an hour a way.
However, if going to Costco for the needed toilet paper, that is definitely worth the risk 
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You are right, @Ahmad. In fact, the honey series nectarines I tasted there weren’t too special either and we all know that @fruitnut has been fruiting them consistently at high Brix. Although, I did hear from a couple of local gardeners that they weren’t able to reproduce the same taste of Rapunzel from a couple of years back. These anecdotes still shouldn’t discourage anyone to try this variety, but I wasn’t sure if its worth a trip to Costco now 
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Is that from not wanting further exposure, or just not wanting to waste time on lawn maintenance (weeding/feed, etc)? I’m on board with the 2nd one
As far as fertilizer (for fruit trees, not lawns…), I was able to get an 8 lb container of delayed release Miracle Gro from Costco for the same price HD had a 4.5 lb container ($4 sale).
Both are on Nemaguard, which Burchell seems to like using. My Heath Cling on Nemaguard is still doing OK after 3-4 years, but the tree I got from Burchell a few years ago died after the 2nd winter. It didn’t seem that healthy to start, so I’m not sure if it was the rootstock.
Yes- I liked this winter, as winters go. Though I wouldn’t mind if it didn’t get below 20F instead of 10F (the low here). Even better would be for winter to only last long enough to get the chill hours needed.
Ah- you are just starting. You’ll be a more experienced member when it is hard to count high enough. I think I’m somewhere over 150, but don’t really know. Though some of them are very small mini-dwarf apples which haven’t been all that productive.
I just moved mine outside today. The 10 day low is 33F and no leafy growth has started yet, so it’s time to get them acclimated
I was shopping there anyway and noticed them. Those trees are actually a good deal, at $17.99 each. The caliper was only 3/8" to 7/16", but I’ve had peaches like that grow pretty quickly in the past.
They actually just out of TP when I was there. I saw someone with it in their cart, so I just missed it. They did have paper towels (1 case per person), which I got, as were down to a couple rolls. I went a week or so earlier and that time an employee said that both TP and PT were selling out within an hour or two of opening each morning (and I was there around 5pm…). If you are going to drive an hour for TP, you should probably call ahead.
I saw a couple threads and a youtube video, but it didn’t seem all that conclusive that Snack time and Rapunzel are actually the same. Especially since ST is supposed to be white fleshed and Rapunzel is yellow. Well, I don’t mind rolling the dice for $18.
I just ordered a tiller from HD (it wasn’t in stock locally) and the shipping was free. Which reminded me that you can just order whatever you need on-line, as long as you group it into a $45+ order.
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@BobVance
"Is that from not wanting further exposure, or just not wanting to waste time on lawn maintenance (weeding/feed, etc)? I’m on board with the 2nd one "- Both. And the 3rd reason is my bummed right shoulder. I’d like to save my limited physical abilities for only fruit tree growing this year.
“I was able to get an 8 lb container of delayed release Miracle Gro from Costco for the same price HD had a 4.5 lb container ($4 sale).”. Is it something similar to Osmocate?
Too bad. I’m very interested in Snack Time. Nemaguard is less likely to live long in my colder zone. We’ll see because one of my Costco nectarine in ground is Nemaguard.
I’ve never thought about ordering soil and fertilizer on line. We have Lowe’s and Home Depot within 5 minutes from home. Maybe, I’ll look into ordering something on line that the boxes/container can be left outside for a while.
You may get production from your Costco peach and nectarine this year. I did last year. I’ll wait for your report.
@mamuang you can still get it with Nemaguard, plant it in a container for a few years, and then graft it onto an in-ground tree on Lovell. I think Nemaguard will do well in container, you will be able to try the variety for a few years before you decide on keeping it and you wouldn’t have spent too much money on the tree. Or perhaps you can just get a couple of scions from @BobVance and graft it right away 
.
I did the opposite. The nemaguard tree bought in 2018 went into ground before I thought to check the rootstock.
The lovell tree bought in 2019 is in a pot because I have no space left.
This happened when your desire overtook your brain 
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Since I got this without a pre-planned spot, I’ve been thinking about where I can put it. I think I’ll put it on the SW corner/side of a rental, which should keep it a bit warmer. I had tentatively been thinking of putting an apricot (preferably Early Blush) there, but it will be at least a year before I get that, so I think I’ll just take the spot. Maybe in a year I’ll have additional properties which may have good micro-climates for apricots.
How was the Freckle Face nectarine? When did it ripen for you?
FF was small and sour. It should be called moody face last year. I hope it improves this year.
September Free was good enough last year. I hope it will be better this year.
Bought Harko nectarine on Lovell from Costo last year. I’m impressed with it this spring. Every branch is loaded with flower buds.
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I was at Costco again today and noticed that they had some other trees, in particular, Double Delight and Summer Fire nectarines. I did a quick search on both and decided that DD was available from DWN and SF was clingstone, so I could pass on both.
Beside, the day before I dug up a seedling from a Heath Cling at a rental, to plant at a different one, so there really wasn’t any need for yet another tree. The seedling was almost as big as the trees which were at Costco and I’ll be interested to see what it produces, given how unusual Heath Cling is.
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@BobVance,
You are a brave man. This perod is the peak time of the virus here in MA. The number of people tested positive in our town is about 100 and the next city is over a thousand. We decide not to visit any store.
Thank you for the report. Only Snack Time nectarine interests me but it is not meant to be this year 
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It’s not bravery- I don’t see it as a big risk. The stores are relatively empty, so it isn’t like you are packed shoulder to shoulder with people and everyone is giving others plenty of space. I do take some precautions, as I use a Clorox wipe on my phone and hands afterwards and try not to tough my face. But I think it is important to understand that the risk isn’t massive, at least for the people in my household (though I shouldn’t jinx myself here…). If this was an ebola pandemic with a 50-90% fatality rate, I might be staying home until all the food runs out, rather than just shifting from almost daily shopping to weekly.
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@BobVance, et al,
The jury is in on Freckle Face nectarine. It is excellent. The ripe ones have a very good balance of sweetness and tartness (this is from someone who likes sweet fruit). It is more sweet but acidity is there to make it more interesting.
I ate this nectarine after enjoying Arctic Jay recently. Freckle Face is definitely more appealing and more interesting. It is a winner in my yard.
I bought it in 2018 and kept it in pot. I put it in ground in 2019 and it produced small and disappointing few fruit last year. This year, the tree has grown considerably and flowered quite a bit. I have kept about 3 dozen fruit. It starts ripening now.
Even after a lot rain we had recently, the first two I ate had brix at 15 and 16. As you know, brix does not tell the whole story. The one with 16 (in the pic) tasted more tart as it was not fully ripe. If your prefer a more acid kick, you probably will like it at this stage. The fully ripened ones were excellent (gave some to friends who said the same thing).
I am a lot happier with my first Burchell tree once it has established. Need to find room in the yard for my September Free nectarine.
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I didn’t have space for mine, so I put them at a rental. I may need to prune the arborvitae a bit to ensure they peaches get enough sun…
Both have grown well. Snack Time on left and Pink Diamond on the right:
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@BobVance Nice to see another grower of Snack Time. Did yours also turn out to be a yellow donut instead of white? How do you like the taste of both snack time and Rose Diamond?
I just planted both this spring, so it will be at least next year (or the next) before I’ll have any idea about the fruit.
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@mamuang @BobVance No Burchell trees at Costco this year? My local Costco at Danbury does not have any.
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Ahmad,
So far, no 
. We gave been watching.
I think Costco does not do it this year. Last year they offered fruit trees but the pandemic did not help their sale.
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All I can tell you is that I will buy Burchell fruit trees again when Costco offers them. The nectarines were really wonderful. Costco’s price can’t be beat.
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