Another great nectarine. Here is another one that people should try to grow. Ime finding it better than arctic star, it is very sweet but has some spice to the flavor, very good taste. It really reminds me of spice z but mabye a little better. Spice z is not too far off for me so I should get a good comparison, although the jay is in a pot. I would say if you can grow it you should , well worth it here. Any other opinions?
I think Arctic Star is just as good or better than Arctic Jay but only if the brix is high enough, say 24+. I don’t find much spice in Arctic Jay. It is good and has some acid but every time I eat one I ask where’s all that acid some claim. Growing conditions have a huge effect. So in your conditions Jay may well be better, at least this year. Next yr depending on weather it could all change.
The Honey series beats the Arctic series all season long for my taste. I’ve got Honey Diva left. Just tried two and they are superb as usual even if clingstone. I wish they lasted into September. I’ve taken to drying my excess and they are very good dried.
Have to agree about honey series, although I only have kist and blaze. I hope adams county has royalle this year, I have to have it. They seem to me to be as good as fruit can be
I want to try the honey series, but I’m not a fan of low acid, so I’m afraid I won’t like them. Also it sounds like Jay is really not that high in acid, and also may be a dud for me. My wife would probably like them. Acid is deceiving though. Blueberries have a pH of about 3.3 and they can be very sweet. I was looking into canning blueberries, and they have enough acid to stop the growth of botulism with nothing added. You can can them whole as is, and a simple water bath is enough. I guess they are blanched before being canned, which makes sense to sterilize them.
I tried honeyberries this year for the first time and they were very tart, but the flavor I thought beat blueberries. Why you can taste the acid here, and not in some blueberries is not clear to me? I guess low sugar levels in the honeyberries? They were on a first year plant, so not the best example. I was very pleased though with the superior flavor. Probably not for the low acid crowd though.If you like currants, run and get some honeyberries!
Arctic Jay and Star are both very high on my want list. My Star grafts failed this year. I’ve tasted Honey Lite and it was really good but without the acid its a little too sweet for me. I think Star or Jay would be right up my alley.
I’d like to add Arctic Jay…
I like any nectarine. I rarely buy peaches anymore.
@warmwxrules, Yea, I’d like to add some nectarines this year as well. Many of the Arctic Series are off patent and it looks like Honey Blaze will expire at the end of this year, just in time for grafting next spring.
Is no one growing Honey Lite?
I’m growing Honey May, Fire, Lite, Blaze, Royale, and Diva. They are all roughly equal in quality except for H May. It’s good but so early that it doesn’t have time to really compete with the others. I grew H Kist for several yrs. It’s very similar to slightly inferior to Blaze.
In the Arctic series I’m growing or have grown Star, Sweet, Rose, Jay, Belle, Queen, Snow, and Mist. Related var I’m growing are Polar Light, and Spice Zee. None of those have much acid.
Arctic Glo on the other hand is an acid bomb.
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I have to try blaze one day. I won’t know if I like it till i try it! I may love it! Thanks for the info!
None of this series or the Arctic series seem to be recommended for Zone 5
Don’t let that fool you. Some of my peaches that I’m growing and have fruited this season supposedly weren’t zone 5 rated. I had all my pluots survive outside planted inground during the polar vortex. So go figure. I think some of those ratings are somewhat made up, a CYA if you will.
I’m thinking of trying a nectarine again, and have been assuming something like Mericrest is the way to go, or perhaps the only way to go
That’s one I want too, just as it probably will do well. Arctic Glo does well here. So far my favorite nectarine, but I have not tasted a lot of them.
Here’s the tree right now
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You’re certainly in the general vicinity of my zone - good to know that
My Mericrest turned into a brown rot magnet.
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All nectarines are tough to grow . PC likes them a lot too! I use three fungicides in two products, sometimes a 4th for brown rot. It’s working.
Drew,
What products do you use? Next year for me is going to be a few sprays then use the clemson bags. Just got a very long and informative email back from Juan Carlos Melgar. Seems very very promising.
Good to know
The last time I tried to grow them, I got the whole spectrum of rots and diseases
I’m thinking maybe now I know more about preventing these
I use Monterrey Fungi Fighter (you also could use Indar instead of MFF), and alternate with Bonide Fruit Tree and Plant Guard. I also am thinking of using something stronger for PC. Once a year I also spray Captan as I need it for my strawberries, and use any extra on the stone fruit for brown rot and scab.