Here are some bloom times this year for some cultivars I grow in inland Southern California. This will be of more interest for cherries and pluots, where pollination depends on this.
But first up were the peaches and nectarines:
Desert Delight was first, in late January (I removed earlier cultivars). The flavor of this cultivar is outstanding even in coastal areas, so I converted it from a sucker on my Flordaprince, which had been variable depending on the year.
Eva’s pride came a week later, first week of February. The flavor of this peach is also outstanding. The flowers are beautiful and the fruit is very aromatic. Those are reasons to grow this one.
The second week of February came:
Desert Dawn
(note that Desert Dawn fruits earlier than Desert Delight in DWN descriptions, but actually Desert Delight is earlier in inland So Cal). Desert Dawn is quite good, rather small, pretty and a bit firmer in flesh. It tends not to get thrips for me. My kids love it but I do prefer Desert Delight, which can get quite ugly from thrip damage, but is fantastic).
Arctic Star:
(Arctic Star is supposed to be amazing, but mine has to mature more before I experience that first-hand. It was watery for me last year).
Mid-Pride:
Mid-pride is considered one of the best. I thought it was just good. No objections, but Eva’s Pride was better for me last year.
3 Star Daily News was just an experiment, a graft I put on some rootstock. It actually is rather beautiful. I hope it tastes good! My favorite of the forgotten mid-twentieth century So Cal cultivars is Peacot.
This was a mystery scion. It was a mislabeled “Indian Free” from the SCV CRFG scion exchange a couple years back. Now a large branch, I still can’t figure out what this is:
A yellow, large peach, It wasn’t all that spectacular.
My bloom time in North Central Florida 9a looks to be about the same as yours.
My Flordagold peach, Sunracer nectarine, and Scarlett Beauty plum bloomed first week of February this year, just thinned the fruits this week.
My Spalding pear is blooming this week and my Dorsett Golden apple looks like it’s just about to bloom, likely early next week. My Baldwin pear which is supposed to bloom at the same time as the Spalding for cross pollination is still dormant, 
hoping it will bloom before Spalding is all finished.
We’ve been having an unseasonably warm late winter!
In Ventura County, my first blooms were candy heart pluerry, followed by midpride peach. Then later Arctic Star nectarine and emerald drop pluot. Everything else is asleep.
James, do you remember the names of any of those? Were they not worth it?
Tropic Snow would bloom in late December. Fruit could be (the same year) good but could also lack sweetness.
Flordaprince would bloom in early January. Fruit could be amazing, or just bland.
I am keeping trees whose fruit is uniformly great, both within the same year and from year to year.
Thanks. I need to try emerald drop, to pollinize candy heart. How would you rate the flavor of emerald drop?
I have no idea. I grafted a year ago and this year will be the first blooms. I just hope it’s enough to pollinate the candy heart. My candy heart blooms every year with nothing else blooming at the same time. But I do see one or two emerald drop flowers blooming while the candy heart is at full bloom. Hopefully some pollination will happen during this wet weather.
My earliest bloomers in 2023:
02-07: Flavorella Plumcot
02-12: Emerald Drop Pluot
02-13: Tomcot Apricot
02-15: July Santa Rosa Plum, Nicole Apricot
02-16: Peche de Nancy Apricot
02-17: Shekar Pareh Aprium
02-18: Blenheim Apricot, Serafin Blenheim Apricot, Robada Apricot, Paviot Apricot, Satsuma Plum, Fairtime Peach
02-19: Losse Blenheim Apricot, Redsweet Apricot, Howard Miracle Plum, Geo Pride Pluot
02-20: Catalina Plum, Adara Myrobalan
In NW Vista CA.
Bloomed, with petal fall and fruit set:
Eva’s Pride Peach
Hood Pear
Blooming:
Katy Apricot
Sprite Cherry-Plum
Pink Tips:
Cot-N-Candy Aprium
Santa Rosa Plum
Warren Pear
Catkins:
Placentia Walnut
Dormant:
Apples
Flavor Delight Aprium
Flavor Grenade Pluot
Beauty Plum
Seckel Pear
Fuyu Persimmon
San Fernando Valley:
(All these trees were planted bare root 1 year ago)
Blooming:
Eva’s Pride
About to bloom:
Weeping Santa Rosa plum
Burgundy plum
Sweet Treat pluerry
Gold Kist apricot
Cot’n’Candy aprium
Red Baron Peach
Double Delight nectarine
Flavor King pluot
Babcock peach
Dormant:
Fuji apple
Pink Lady Apple
Fuyu persimmon
Welcome to Growing Fruit!
Thank you, Richard!
Red Baron that gets full sun in the morning is still dormant. These trees are 15 yards from each other. My conclusion is one can use morning shade to increase chill hours. This works for peaches and nectarines, at least in terms of bloom timing.
It has not worked as well with other stone fruit species, but I am still learning.
A California evergreen oak? The leaf fall from those trees is one of the best to put in the basins of most fruiting perennials, roses, camelias, etc. Not so much for edible figs though, who would prefer something with neutral pH.
