Help ! One of the peach grafts (grafted by Dave Wilson nursery) is looking off. Leaves are wilting. (Massachusetts zone 6a) the other grafts look ok. It’s not leaf curl. We have had a ton of rain. Please look at photo.
Looks like too much water to me. Overwatered peach trees look a lot like extreme water deprived peach trees. That’s because too much water kills the roots so they can’t absorb water.
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What are some of the earliest freestone varieties?
One of the earliest is Rich May (-33). It’s probably one of the best of the early peaches, though a shy bearer.
Desiree and PF5B are a couple of decent ones which ripen about a week later.
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If you were responding to me you missed the freestone disclaimer.
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With early varieties, let’s use Desiree as an example, the first two years it crops it will be predominantly clingstone. After the first two years the % of freestone fruit increases dramatically. Desiree in particular is known to produce increasing amounts of freestone fruit as it matures.
Jim,
Can you tell me where you heard/read that? I had never heard that before. I’ve noticed early varieties are “clingy” some years more than others. I always attributed it to the weather, not the age of the tree. That said, I haven’t focused observing the age of the tree vs. cling/freeness of the stone.
I did miss that. Sorry.
The earliest full freestone variety we have grown is PF eightball. It’s a nice peach. This year it’s ripening about -11.
I hate labels. I hated them since I was a kid…sorry off topic, sort of.
So the Adams County Nursery website list Desiree as semi freestone.
What in the Sam Hill does semi-freestone mean?
So the orchards from which I’m had Desirees, the trees have been fairly mature and a fair estimate would be to say 85% freestone.
I haven’t paid attention to weather preceding harvest other than this year we finally started getting rain prior to Desiree’s harvest.
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I’ve got June Gold which is supposed to be a semi-cling as well. They mature from clingy to you can cut it in half without destroying the fruit. Basically half or less of the fibers holding onto the seed.
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Most Nurseries list Red Haven as “semi-freestone” too.
I believe it means that the pit only separates easily from the fruit when the peach is fully ripe
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I’d say that’s one answer.
Another might be a peach that you have to work at it but can pull the flesh free. I’ve had peaches and nectarines like that.
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This is how I’ve understood it:
Clingstone means the peach will not separate from the pit, regardless of how many ways it’s cut.
Semi-cling/semi-free means the peach can be removed from the pit, if it’s quartered and the knife is wiggled a little bit to “pop” the wedges out.
Freestone means you can cut the peach in half, twist the halves, and the peach will easily separate from the pit.
I’ve always read Redhaven is semi-free but most years it’s pretty much freestone here.
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Spring Snow is described as being sub-acid. What exactly does sub-acid mean?
A little or slight acid in the fruit.There are variances in the category.
I bought some Harrow Diamond and Spring Snow peaches from a local Amish orchard today (close to ACN). It’s my first time tasting these two peaches. To my surprise, both are excellent peaches. Harrow Diamond is totally comparable to some late season high quality peaches such as Loring. Spring Snow is very delicious, has a very strong Shuimitao smell and flavor, probably the only white peach I have tasted so far in the US that is so reminiscent of a good shuimitao in China.
So @Olpea got it right.
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Not sure if its been mentioned previously but it looks as though Spring Snow may fit somewhat into what some of us like with the red flesh of a white peach. Perhaps with @fruitnut style of water restriction it could be a ‘blood peach’…or some years of drought be so?
Pictures from UKY trials in 2006 (not sure if that was a drought year)?
https://www.uky.edu/Ag/Horticulture/masabni/cvevaluation.htm
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Great white peaches bred for bacterial spot resistance are the White varieties like White River, White County, White Diamond, and White Water. Rutgers releases are July Rose, Anna Rose, August Rose, and the just released September Rose. There’s China Pearl from NCSU and a few from USDA out of Byron Georgia. Bacterial spot resistance should be top priority for anyone in the East, there’s really no fungicide schedule that will control it other than resistance.
How much acid did it have? I grafted it this year, but I’m not really a fan of the no acid white peaches.
I’ve also found lots of white peach varieties have poor resistance to bac. spot. The Spring Snow trees I have (just have 3 left now) always have perfect foliage. I’ve not noticed any bac. spot on the leaves. Btw, technically, it’s treated with a bactericide not a fungicide, but I know what you meant.