Georgia is a horrible place to grow healthy peach trees. They have a peach industry there solely because of massive amounts of chemical agriculture and because they replace trees when they are still young. I am not in any way criticizing those folks, or anyone else who grows trees in sub-optimal areas, but that’s not a good way to evaluate a tree’s maximum lifespan. Eucalyptus trees don’t live very long in Oklahoma, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t live much longer elsewhere.
They used to grow peaches around Grand Junction, CO and some were a lot older than 25 years. There used to be a couple of 60+ year old peach trees in Sedona, AZ. You can find dozens of 100+ year old peach trees in southern and northern California. There is nothing that genetically predisposes peach trees to living less than 25 years. The problem is that they are being grown in areas in the US that are not well suited for peaches.
They still do have a huge peach industry in CO near GJ and Palisade, CO. Every summer the big deal at the local supermarkets are “Palisade peaches” and to be honest - they suck! LOL I mean for a commercial yellow peach I guess they;re OK but I mean when you’ve been growing super sweet and juicy white peaches at home since before a white peach even showed up in a grocery store you kind of become biased in a way against store bought fruit, especially plain yellow. =D
I would not even be trying to grow peaches here to be honest but the mother tree was in this yard when my grandparents bought the house and ever since that one there has been babies growing in the yard. I tried to grow variegated pink myers lemons (albeit indoors) because the fruit is just amazing but after failing 6 times in 20 years and after growing a tree for over 20 years and never getting a crop of fruit I gave up because its just too much work. I want to try growing Chicago hardy figs because I love figs but I am wary as to if they are REALLy hardy in cold weather haha =)
If there is anyone in Denver (Downtown) you can come clip a branch right off the fallen trunk if you want a clone. I don’t want money, not for that anyway. If you;re In Denver message me for the address, the tree is accessible right from the alley and please take form the fallen branch.
White peaches are not everyone’s cup of tea. When I was young my mother used to get very excited when she could purchase Babcock peaches, raving about their “delicacy”. To me that delicacy is based on a lack of acid, which I happen to like in my fruit.
The only white I grow on my property that isn’t a fairly acidic nectarine is Lady Nancy which is a sport (mutation of a branch) of Jersey Queen, a very much loved version of a great big free stone yellow peach. When I first came to NY state in the '70’s a peach farmer told me that whites were lady’s peaches- he claimed most of his customers that loved them were women.
The actual palisade peaches are mouth watering and harvested almost ripe and gone in a week for each harvest window(2). Most all are sold to southern Cali as they pay premium and the guys you are finding on the road stand are selling you California peaches since they are always there at the wrong time of the year.
I call yellow peaches plain because that’s the basic color of a peach. Pink watermelon, green honeydew, orange cantaloupe, red tomatoes, white potatoes, red raspberries etc etc… thats all BORING to me. I grow white, yellow, orange flesh watermelon, green cantaloupe, orange honeydew, blue potatoes, blue and purple tomatoes, gold and white raspberries etc. That makes your fruit and vegetable salads interesting and also gives your dinner guests a very lasting impression. I still have people who remember a watermelon salad with red, white, yellow and orange watermelon I served almost 23 years ago.
There’s hundreds of variety of peaches, both yellow and white (and pink apparently because I had a pink tree in 1999-2003 which was a white flesh clingstone which gave the flesh a dark pink tint all the way to the peeling) but in the case of the trees that grow in MY yard the yellow peaches are boring, they are acidic and taste like a normal peach. The white flesh peaches have at least 50% more juice and at least 50% less acid (I have a bleeding ulcer I cannot eat acidic food and cannot grow tomatoes anymore unfortunately) so that is why I personally LOVE the white that grow in my yard on that large 40 year old tree.
The only decent yellow flesh I have ever had were the special science created varieties they sell every year, peach pie and peach cobbler. Or white saturn
I’ve driven out to palisade to pick them off a tree and I dont want to seem biased or snooty (but hey what can i say haha) but they did not impress me at all. Dont get me wrong they are great commercial peaches, maybe the best you can buy at a store. But theres no comparing it to what I grew up with. [shrug]
Heres another edit I am post limited again *************
****Maybe THIS is the perfect place to find answers to my decade-long search for PEACH ICE CREAM. LOL Has anyone noticed there is no peach ice cream anymore? Dolly Madison made a great one but they went out of business maybe 20 years ago. Dreyers and Breyers both made PEACH ice cream and they even still advertise it on their web page BUT you cannot find the actual ice cream anywhere and even if you contact them directly to purchase they will say out of stock (since 2007?) No brands sell peach ice cream. Not even ben and jerrys. Theres peach sorbet but not peach ice cream. Peach is the only kind of ice cream I like and its a hassle to have to make it every time I want some. I used to like to get quart of Dolly Madison peach and a stick of pepperoni from the Italian deli down the street and watch tv late at night when i was a teenager LOL
If you dont believe me, try looking for peach ice cream next time you are out. Not the specialty little millennial hipster ice cream spots that sell them for 10 bucks a scoop. Im talking peach ice cream I can buy at a grocery store.
Please tell me someone out there knows where to buy peach ice cream? haha
The orange saucer peach looks like the TangO’s peach created in NJ through the Rutgers breeding program. When we have a relatively dry season it can be extremely good, with a unique, firm texture. It gets higher brix than most. I call it a Mango peach and my customers go ape for it, but when we get normal rainfall too many split pits occur that go right through the peach and tend to rot it. I hear it’s catching on in the west where they don’t have to worry about summer rain- just about not getting any through winter.
I’ve had an ice cream maker since the 80s (not the same one haha). But that’s the thing its a pain in the arse to have to make ice cream from scratch every time you want ice cream. Also its a real challenge to get it to stay “soft serve” because peach ice cream always wants to turn solid as a chunk of ice.
Sometimes I just like to open a container of ice cream and serve and eat without having to create it in my kitchen first, ya know? =) But alas, peach ice cream honestly doe not exist in America’s supermarkets and grocery stores anymore and I don’t know why…
I know Rutgers created the “Saturn peach” which is a white flesh saucer shaped peach and theyre pretty good too. I don’t know exactly who created the yellow one but it was pretty good as well. Sciene peaches that are lab created are the only peaches I have ever tasted that are as sweet and juicy as the peaches from the “giant” tree in my backyard though it isn’t fair to compare a home grown fruit or vegetable to a commercial variety.
Peaches originate in China. You have a ways to go. Their white peaches of which there are many varieties are incredible and large. Yours looks to be a deriviative.
I haven’t tasted any of the other saucer yellow peaches but have tries all of Rutger’s creations. I believe TangO’s is the only saucer yellow that is making inroads in the commercial industry on the east coast, but given CA produces most of the nation’s peaches, the yellow ones in the plastic container may be Sauzi which is produced by Dave Wilson.
But every ice cream recipe I’ve ever used has asked for corn syrup and still the ice cream becomes almost as solid as ice. I want ice cream to be as soft as when it is first being made in the ice cream maker. After you stick it in the freezer its ruined. lol
You talking about Saturn? They are the tastiest of whites here, but their shape seems to encourage rot in our humid climate and the birds and the bees can’t get enough of them on good seasons for them. Still they are probably easier to grow than TangO’s so I’m starting to grow them in my nursery again.
