In my location most peaches don’t get much above 13 most years, but we’ve had lots of sun and warmth for the last couple of weeks and some of my Indian Free are ripening well ahead of schedule, maybe ten days for my region.
I just cut a fairly large one and it passed 17 on my refractometer- only certain nectarines have accomplished that at my site before. The peach is also highly acidic and a definite WOW peach for fruit snob types like me.
It is a very difficult peach here, being highly susceptible to brown rot having this loose stem to flesh connection that probably lets rain water into the fruit. The high brix also encourages stink bugs and it often doesn’t set a lot of fruit.
This year the tree started with a good crop, but fruit just kept rotting until there was only maybe 40 fruit on the whole tree.
Im waiting on my Indian Free to mature… impatiently.
Im slowly collecting all of the red fleshed peaches and nects and i myself am an acid head when it comes to them. I think the key is lack of water as far as i can tell… to get the deep blood red flesh along with high brix and high acid?
For some reason, I haven’t seen any with that wonderful deep maroon flesh this year. I love that color.
Here they always have high acid and are generally a high brix fruit even when conditions are more moist, but probably a couple points down from what they are this season. Peaches don’t generally even reach 15- a good one by my tastes needs to get just over 13.
We have somewhat different standards by the east coast- high brix peaches are not the norm. I’ve had low acid nects get over 25 quite often, but never get over 17 or so with nects that aren’t bred to be low-acid.
What red-flesh nects to you grow? I haven’t heard of them.
Beautiful picture, BTW. Now I needn’t bother- yours are more beautiful than mine this year. .
Arctic Glo is the main one …not sure it counts as red flesh but its not yellow
Raspberry Red which im passing on for now is supposedly related to Indian Free… has red flesh. I love my raspberries… i love my nectarines…but i dont really want a raspberry flavored nect or vice versa.
Im going to try to see if Flavorich fruits here… supposedly it gets red flesh.
Spring Snow peach can also get red flesh… under certain conditions.
Also next year should be my first crop of Iowa White/Navajo etc peaches which can be red fleshed on certain conditions…
not my pic… just envious.
The pic is from Tall Clover farm…he mentions that the flesh isnt always like that…only some years (drought?)… and has pics of them in a normal year.
Red in the flesh isn’t the same as red-flesh. Many peaches get a certain amount of red in them, some orange ones get quite a bit. Artic Glo to me is a standard white Nect and here, I believe, Silver Gem is the superior nect almost in its season, although AG ripens about a week later.
I was hoping you knew of a nect with flesh like Indian Free. That would be something, but I’m with you that lots of red streaks is an attractive feature.
im just going by Drews pics… his Arctic Glo nects look red to my eyes…whereas his Indian Free which is ‘red-flesh’…isnt very red fleshed to my eyes. Im just getting started with them honestly and going by other growers examples.
Im sure there are variances season by season and climate and all that to take into considerations.
I have found through the years that the first even second harvest of nectarines can lack flavor. It’s happened to a couple of nectarines I grew. And a couple were good from the start. So flavor can vary at first or may not! I grow four nectarines Arctic Glo which does have a red flesh tastes nothing like Indian Free. See Dave Wilson photos and description to confirm. That photo is the least red they have been. Usually totally red. But color does vary year to year. A hard nectarine to grow. I find whites hard to grow the squirrels can smell the sugar.
So can yellowjackets. I also grow the nectaplum low acid white. Easiest to grow. Article Jay an acidic white. And Fantasia a huge yellow. The first two years it was terrible not even edible. The third year it was like a creamsicle. It was so sweet, wow creamy too. Fantastic texture. I almost culled this one now my favorite. Give all fruit at least three years, maybe four before culling!!
Of course it may be different in different climates but here it is a white and white nectarines usually have some red in the flesh, especially near the pit but mine has never born fruit that looks like Drew’s pic.
Van Well’s photo of it shows white flesh and Dave Wilson’s photo of it shows nectarines like Drew’s. Weird. never known a variety that can look so different, even near the same coast. I want one like Drew’s.
I got my trees from Adams County N. and they get the Zeiger varieties from Dave Wilson- so go figure. I really can’t believe they are the same variety- the difference is just too great.
I got my tree from Grandpa’s nursery. One year my orchard flooded and I lost three trees. Arctic Glo was one. I replaced it and it’s the same as the first.
Again bought from Granda’s nursery.
For me Fantasia is an excellent yellow and Arctic Jay is a great white with enough acid to offset the high sugar. Very interesting taste. I have no plans to add others. Four types is plenty. Although I do keep meaning to cross Indian Free with Arctic Glo.
So many good peaches out there. I want to try Kaweah. I had grafted twice and lost both trees before I could try it. I’ll keep trying. I’m really crappy at grafting, but persistence has worked. I will have it one day. Kaweah Peach | DWN Variety Finder
Wow, these are all favorites of mine and most of the ones mentioned are an inconsistent pain here in central California. Aside from critters, Indian frees is a crapshoot every year as to crop size, sizing, flesh color and flavor. One thing I do agree with is that over watering is a death blow to flavor for Indian Free, but if you want size early water is important, its a fine line. Some years everything works and then you cut it open and it is an off white flesh with little red and no flavor. I feel that it is somewhat climate driven. Then Arctic Glo, when its good its the best! But here brown rot will have its way as soon as the sugars start to form. Then the same as with the Indian Free, without the red radiating into the flesh the flavor is never quite there. Being so early i believe this is climate related as well. In my travels around the state and country I see all the differences cited and adds to my belief that these 2 varieties are climate collectively sensitive. Meaning it could be a number of difference imbalances on any give year that affects the outcome. I do see red fleshed selections at the Zaigers but nothing yet that has excited me. 2 other notes, I have never seen an August Pride that deep colored, that’s got to be coming from the soil,Where are you growing those? Next Flavor Rich Pluot is Orange flesh and can get deep orange but never seen it red, that’s Flavor Supreme and Flavor King. Last i see a few White Nectarine names thrown in to this chat, i’ll add a reall good Acid/Sugar balanced white Nectarine Jade, has anyone grown that outside of zone 8-9?
This is a great variety which we featured as a taste test video against O’henry, We all thought they were similar, but gave the edge to Kaweah for flavor and crop hang time. They both really are great
Yes, Jade does well in zones 6 & 7 here in the northeast and mid Atlantic. It used to be offered by ACN nursery for many years. However, I think Arctic Glo is far more superior. It is one of the best tasting high acid white nectarines I have had.
I try growing it here but it cracks like clay in a drought. only it does it with normal rain hear in the NE.
To my tastes my white Artic Glo produces inferior fruit to Jade and is much smaller. The size of Jade is one thing that seems to make it more prone to cracking.
Therefore, my best early white is consistently Silver Gem and often produces when the other two fail to. It was bred for east coast conditions so no big surprise it is a much better producer here based on my experience.
Pic was posted 2 days ago at Hobby Fruit Growers and picked in Yucaipa CA. (not my pics).
My theory is that in extreme water restriction that the flesh pulls that redness out of the seed as its last hope for hydration… just a theory though… but looking at pics of some cultivars and their growing conditions and climate it makes the most sense to me.
I think Fruitnut does severe water restriction to near the point of killing the tree to maximize brix and flavor.
I guess a person would either have to grow in a greenhouse…or in a pot and cover the top of the soil if it rains…or tarp the ground if planted in ground to get that effect? Or maybe just ground that doesnt hold moisture?
I do see that most hobby growers on the social medias like to water things during droughts or when it doesnt rain…even irrigate or place pipes in the ground to deep water… so its rare to see pics of severely hydrated fruit… unless that person just doesnt water at all plus no rainfall during ripening.
Im not sure that there is a correlation between the deep dark red flesh of indian free and brix and acid…versus the opposite…
At most nurseries and old writings the name of the indian free is Indian Free White Peach. Im not sure if a grower could get it solid blood red with hydration… that part is not talked about much. Or if it becomes solid red fleshed without hydration. Those points seem to be missing from what i read.
Or perhaps its soil? Maybe the sand holds no moisture and the clays do?
Good to know, I recall in late 2009 we were still getting reports of Arctic Glo not doing well on the east coast from Adams County. Love the input as I am playing catch up on some like Arctic Glo. The Jade has always done very well and doesn’t crack when its only west coast competition, Snow Queen is a cat facing nightmare. I will have to do some research on Silver Gem
Arctic Glo does very well for me in Maryland. It is one of the best nectarines in my orchard, maybe only Freckled Face is better.
Re other varieties mentioned above, Kaweah is also a great peach for me. It is similar to Rio Oso Gem in having a strong classic peach-y flavor.
I grew both Black Boy and Indian Free and they were extremely similar but BB was a bit more prone to mealiness. Other great red flesh peaches for me are Sanguine Tardeva and Peche de Vigne. They all have high Brix more like good nectarines.
