The Honey and Arctic series are great, but they get brown rot here like crazy (I don’t seem to be able to stay on top of it with Monterey Fungi Fighter), while my peaches go untouched. They also seem to attract stink bugs more than peaches, as well as thrips. It’s making me insane. I’m not sure if I should remove the trees completely or try and graft something else on to them (I’ve never successfully grafted anything). Has anyone given up on nectarines? Is it reasonable to be done with them?
They are definitely more difficult than peaches. At one point I gave up on them for the reasons you mention (and also much greater susceptibility to curculio and OFM). I later added some new ones but its not clear if they will be a permanent part of my orchard or not. This spring the curculio got a much higher % of nectarines compared to peaches. They tend to be more prone to rot but not all varieties are - John Rivers for example is an old variety which is pretty good as far as rot goes.
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that’s the sad part about nectarines. After a few years of planting them directly on the ground, realized it is too much trouble for something perpetually under ‘touch and go’ and uncertain circumstances. One could keep them potted and baby them in semi-controlled conditions. Had some degree of success with that, but it is too much trouble as summers here are brutal. And being potted, the specimens will give you just a few fruits each, so must plant them in great numbers for just a few years of production since they decline relatively quickly. Brown rot is fortunately not a problem here, but we do have squash bugs/others in stinkbug family which attack the fruits, so whatever few fruits we manage to grow are often no bueno
if you want something that confers a sense of permanence, or if you want to grow something that is labor- and cost-effective relative to production, then you are definitely done with them.
otherwise treat it like a disposable investment by growing a few potted ones, and just not expect to be sharing fruits with your neighbors. A couple of potted jays and stars perhaps.
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You guys are just trying to make me change my mind about trying another one
I planted a Sunred nectarine this spring and three plums 2015. I know they are not dependable but I can’t just eat apples, pears, blackberries, and blueberries. Well I guess I could just eat those. I’m reading each of the related stone-fruit post hoping I can learn enough to get a few fruits to mix in. I’m a stone-fruit dummy so keep the post coming.
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