If you have trees from Burchell, make sure you don’t lose them! It seems they will no longer sell retail…
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That’s a bummer. I’m glad I got 3 or 4 this past winter.
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@Ahmad
Thanks for letting us know. I feel bad because I think Burchell stone fruit are very good to excellent.
Fruitnut, may I ask what varieties did you buy?
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I got Honey Halo, Freckle Face, Candy Sprinkles, and Snack Time ie Rapunzel.
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I love Freckle Face.
I can send you September Free scionwood if you would like. It ripens too late for me. It should work well in your green house
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That would be nice. It would probably ripen this time of year the way I’m running my greenhouse now. It’s been 6 months with highs mostly in the 90s. A few days in the 70s. Right now it’s 96 high and ~70 low. I could keep it a little cooler but not much in this heat.
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I have the following of their varieties, and am happy to share scions with anyone interested:
- Snack Time
- Diamond Ray
- White Diamond
- Honey Halo
- Candy Sprinkles
- Freckle Face
- September Honey (I think this one ripens around the same time as September Free, but is higher quality)
- White Knockout
All the above are nectarines, except the last is a cot.
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@fruitnut
Will send next Feb.
@ahmad wait to hear your assessment of their taste. 
I only am interested in the ones that ripen in time for me.
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Same here. I’ll have plenty of scions next winter. The only issue I’ll have is the need to take scions in mid January. That’s when my greenhouse will go from chill cycle to spring/summer.
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Anybody has experience of growing and tasting Sugar Saucer Nectarine?
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Does anyone have scions to share?
I know this is an old post but I have to add that I have grown Arctic Glo for ten years in zone 6 I would rate it to zone 5.
It produced fruit every year except one. Nothing produced fruit that year. I never seen P. mildew on any stone fruit here in SE Michigan. Also Michigan produces more peaches than 44 other states. One year we were 2nd behind California when the south had bad weather that ruined the crops.
As a matter of fact the peach created at MSU is the standard to judge all other peaches(Redhaven). So the zone 8 statement is just not true. A nectarine is just a type of peach. They were developed from a sport of a peach tree.
Having said that thanks so much for all the info! Very informative. Please if possible update us from time to time. You know Alan and I would consider testing for hardiness for you. I’ll probably pick a few trees up and report back here.
My daughter just acquired 12 acres and most of it is orchard. It’s mostly empty right now.
See needs me to help care for the trees. I wouldn’t mind adding some winners. Although over 50 trees are there. All tagged too. I have not had a chance to check out what’s there.
Another nectarine the most beautiful nectarine tree I have ever seen the Spice Z nectaplum grows very well here too. My bet is just about any of your nectarine trees will grow very well in zone 6.
I have also grown a large number of pluots here. Most work very well here. Some don’t do well, the main problem is pollination, not hardiness. All are certainly hardy enough to grow here.
The Dapple series is exceptional here.
Never failing to produce a ton of fruit.
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I had a lot of Snacktime nectarine this year. It was productive but nothing special. Small, a bit too acidic and no richness to the flavor. Just sweet and tart. Mine were about half or one third the size of that video and about 20 brix. No shortage of water early on to explain the small size.
Freckle Face and Candy Sprinkles had very poor fruit set. They have decent size and are good acid nectarines but again nothing special.
Honey Halo will be ripe soon. It’s going to be a lot bigger than Snacktime.
DWN had a low acid donut nectarine that I grew many years ago. It was better than the acidic Burchell varieties. But it was small and not very productive as I remember things.
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I already top-worked one Snack Time tree, but still have half a tree, which I may keep for a few more years depending on how it fares for me this year. Last year it was just acid, but I picked them early to beat Brown Rot and birds. Arctic Star ripens in the same window, and based on last year’s quality I would eat 100 Arctic Stars before I touch a single Snack Time.
Candy Sprinkles was nothing special last year and SunGlo ripened at the same time and was much better, so I top-worked half the tree with SunGlo; will give Candy Sprinkles another chance this year. I planted it because Ed Laivo said it has a great tropical flavor and sweetness.
Still have my full tree of Freckle Face. Last year I couldn’t ripen it properly because of Brown Rot too. This year my trees should do better, as I am spraying Indar and Merivon (vs lousy Infuse last year).
So far, Honey Blaze and its sisters (Lite, Kist, Royale and Diva) are so much better than Burchell’s nectarines, except for Honey Halo which is a serious competitor (to me it is low acid).
Edit: Forgot to mention that September Honey (from Burchell) ripens together with Honey Diva and is as good.
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My Freckle Face sets like crazy every year.
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Ahmad, sorry to hear that your results on the Snack Time and the Candy Sprinkles were not to your liking. But I am happy to collect the feedback. I am back working with the Zaigers and still working with assessing Burchell selections. I can assure you that this year here in California both the Snack Time and the Candy Sprinkles were outstanding. In reading some of the opinions i have to assume at this point that either these varieties don’t achieve the complex flavor in the colder climates or possibly, like the Zaigers (who I work with regularly and prefer sub to mild acid fruit), high acid/sugar fruit does not appeal to some. I am finding that all of the young people Teens, 20’s and 30 somethings, that i am working with in my videos prefer the higher acid fruit and are not as keen on the high sugar subs like Arctic Star. I might add that Arctic Star was the first variety of fruit that Floyd Zaiger ever shared with me when it was still a numbered selection. One bite told me I was in the presences of greatness.
So, this is all good information in growing the recommended adaptations of these different fruits and is part of what I’m focused on now. I will add that I find Sunglo to be a very tasty variety, but a little high in the sugar and not as balanced in the acid to sugar ratio that i am moving towards. That being said there are so many exciting selections of different fruits being developed and reviewed at Zaigers, that i am just having a ball in helping to selected new varieties.
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Thanks Ed for your follow up! I too suspect that some varieties need a lot of heat and sun (more than what I have) to reach their best. I will keep you posted with my results this year.
I really enjoyed my snacktime this year at 12 to 13 brix. I couldn’t imagine 20 brix.It didn’t have any competition except a few Flavorich peaches and it may have benefited from thinning.
We had a relatively cool rainy spring.
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Your Snack Time is much bigger than mine. My Honey Halo is ripe now and about that size. I like Honey Halo more than Snack Time. And my Snack time was 18-20 brix. But it’s a bit too acidic.
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