Are people having better results with Indian Free or NZ Black? I have a Lovell rootstock sucker I dug up and I think should be large enough to graft this year. And a second one that probably needs a second year. I mostly prefer white nectarines/peaches, and the red fleshed ones obviously look extremely cool and sound tasty. I’d like something that’ll actually thrive and produce though in my area.
In my environment (coastal northern California), they’re very similar. While I’ve seen photos of IF fruit that are mostly white with red edging/veining, mine are mostly all red with only an occasional bit of white near the pit. By contrast, BB are always all red here.
Other differences: here, IF tends to be slightly larger, but BB is usually more productive. BB may also have slightly more intense flavor. As I understand that IF is non-self-fertile, if I were going to choose only one, I’d pick BB. As it is, I have one of each, and count on BB to pollinize IF. Since you have two rootstocks, that might be a good approach for you, too.
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Sorry to have missed your caveat there. Carry on!
My IF and NZ BB (both from Raintree) are literally next to each other. They both produce the same looking fruit for me. White with red streaked flesh. My NZ BB has an overhanging branch from a maple that might account for the 1 week difference in ripening. They look identical, but my BB has more blush. They taste the same to me though.
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I also grew both and found them similar. The NZ BB was a touch more mealy.
This year I got my first crop of Peche de Vigne from Arboreum. They were a bit earlier than IF and were very red in the flesh and very tasty - a bit stronger flavored than IF if memory serves. I should re-add IF at some point, I have not had it for several years as my original tree died.
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I have an Indian free peach in it’s 4th year and its simply an amazing peach, best tasting I’ve ever experienced. I live in VA at 2500’ elevation and no-spray my trees. My IF peach gets hit with leaf curl every year but always rebounds and comes back with perfect leaves! I’m new to growing peaches and this is the only variety I currently have so I’m wondering if anyone can tell me if this is normal for peaches that get peach leaf curl? Also, it’s listed as not self-fertile but it most certainly is at my house. Also, the pink blossoms are an absolute show stopper
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I have an Indian Free Peach Tree. The peaches are a bit small. And they have a ‘bitter’ (?) taste - unlike my other peaches and nectarines. I am surprised to hear rave reviews about the taste of this peach, as it has a quite unusual flavor. The variety description mentioned this bitter attribute - but I was curious to try the Indian Free - so ordered one in spite of this. The color of the fuzzy skin of my Indian Free is also unusual. It has a gray cast to it! I’ll also mention that this peach is a very heavy-setter. Even with severe fruit thinning - the peaches remain smaller than my other varieties.
My other peaches are Red Haven and Reliance, with the Red Haven being our absolute favorite. We have come to prefer our nectarines, Mericrest and Harko - to any of our peaches. The flavor of these nectarines is so intense - and both have that ‘traditional’ peachy flavor - with a touch of tart. If left on the tree to fully ripen - and if able to dodge the raccoons and possums - they can be very sweet. Not so, with the Indian Free.
I will add - that there seems to be several ‘Indian’ - named peaches. And perhaps what one person believes to be an authentic ‘Indian Free’ - could actually be one of the other similarly named varieties. And . . . as sometimes happens with apples - trees from different nurseries can produce fruit with a slightly different appearance and taste. I have experienced this - and perhaps others here on the forum have had the same experience?
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I probably already said this but just in case. Indian Free is an acquired taste. I myself love it. It is probably a seedling of Indian Blood. Thomas Jefferson grew both and you probably can find info at Monticello. If I remember right some say it’s the first hybrid. What is sold today if probably yet another seedling as the pollen appears viable. Many red fleshed peaches from china that exist that ripen at different times are not available or are hard to find. Remember all peaches came from China. Native Americans got the first seeds from Spain when they tried to colonize parts of South America. Marco Polo probably brought them to Europe. Polo introduced the Chinese to the Americas native pepper. All that Thai food didn’t exist until long after Polo brought the pepper to China.
I have three seedlings of Indian Free and they are all like Indian Free probably Fantasia is the pollen parent or self fertile examples. Two of the seedlings ripen earlier. Arctic Glo nectarine is red fleshed and tastes a lot different than Indian Free. Ripens August 1 here. Crossing with Glo you could get earlier ripening red peaches.
Arctic Glo
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