Anyone Growing These Nectarines in Cold Areas?

General Fruit Growing
#1

Harko

Independenace

Mericrest

If so, how re they working out?

Taste & harvest size?

I’d like to try some in 5b NH

#2

I’ve seen a 7 to 10 year old tree, that’s probably Independence or Fantasia, produce intermittently here in zone 6b at 4000’ in Bend OR. If you try a nectarine in your zone, my advice would be to keep it small, 5 or 6 feet, so you can easily cover it for late frosts. If you don’t mind having to cover multiple times for frost in the spring, you might get some fruit with the cold hardy varieties. I’d also recommend with a young tree that you might want to insulate the roots and base of the tree with straw and maybe cover it the first winter or two if/when temps drop below zero, so that it has a chance at a decent start in life.

#3

I am in NE Ohio and I planted 2 Mericrest when I got my first handful of trees 4 or 5 years ago. I got my first few fruits off of the trees last year. They tree is hardy for my winters but it just flowers too early to survive our frosts and struggles with pollination that early in the season.

If I knew then what I know now I would have planted cold hardy peaches instead but now that I have other trees producing fruit I enjoy them more as I think they will be a treat when I do get some fruit off them

#4

I droped in a Harko & an Independence, as experiments.

We’ll see…

#5

I’m in 5b/6a Utah at 4500’ and grow Fantasia and Flavortop nectarines. I have had fruit 13/15 years with no problems; one year we had 21F in late May and last year we had snow on the ground past flowering but otherwise fine. My local nursery sells Harko so it must be okay here.