I planted a Javid’s grafted tree Fall of 24. Got down to -21°F that winter and there was zero damage. In fact, it grew very good the following summer. Only got down to 6°F this year so obviously doing great. I’m supposedly 5b, but we get down to -30F some winters, so I’ve been slowly converting all my trees to cold hardy and Javid’s grafted, seems to fit the bill.
We have had Javids from Englands for a few years, here in Z6 Illinois just North of St. Louis, Mo. Many are 4 inches i diameter and 15 feet tall. With no spraying, we grew a small crop last year.
Flavor is good, robust. Almonds are small with hard shells. However, I do not believe any other almond would grow here.
I’m trialing both in N Vermont. The Ukrainians died over the -20 winter, (-65 wind chill,) but Javid’s looks great and is blooming!!!
The beauty of forums like this is being able to share information with other people. There is so little information about Javid Iranian almond online. Anyone knowledgeable with peaches? I’m pretty sure this variety is a peach x almond hybrid. Information online seemed to indicate this was solely an almond variety.
I bought it from Perfect Circle last fall. The first year planting it in the ground I got a couple Almonds. As far as I can tell it is quite rare to get almonds on a first year in-ground almond tree like this. It might have to do with the Krymsk 1 rootstock. I’m growing this in zone 7B. Our summers are hot and very humid. This tree has been growing just fine here so far.
I was bit surprised when I lightly pinched the “husk” today (September 13th) and the fruit fell off the tree. I was expecting the “husk” to be hard and was waiting for it to split. The husk is actually fleshy like a peach. It was juicy too. I ate some of the flesh just to see what it tasted like. It’s actually sweet. It tastes like a peach but without much of the peach flavor complexity. The skin of the fruit has a bit of that “peach fuzz” that normal peach varieties have. The skin didn’t seem thick or leathery. I didn’t eat the entire fruit, but the parts I ate, I wasn’t even thinking about the skin as I was chewing it. It wasn’t noticeable to me.
I separated the almond from the fruit. I just have to wait a couple weeks for it to dry out. I know there is concerns with peach x almond hybrids having higher levels of amygdalin inside the nut. It’s the bitter varieties that you have to worry about. The sweet almonds have very low levels of amygdalin (grocery store almonds). Javid Iranian is supposed to be sweet. I shall see! I’ll report back when it’s ready to be cracked & eaten. ![]()
It may be too early those even though it came off easily. When you get some growth if your interested I have some sweet late flowering Ukrainian varieties I’ll trade you for it.
That’s what I’m wondering now too. I’m going to let the fruit left on the tree to stay there and see what happens. I’ll see if I can let a month or more go by. If it detaches by itself, if it dries/dehydrates, etc. I’m going to refrain from testing the husk’s hardness. I had an organza bag over the fruit that I placed there back in April. The bag is green so it makes seeing the fruit a little harder to see.
My tree is quite small right now. The krymsk 1 rootstock will keep it quite small compared to other almond trees. I’m just not sure about the long term compatibility of krymsk 1 with almond. So I’m going to see if I can get it on another rootstock too.
Related to whether it’s a hybrid, per this article from spring 2024, Brambleberry farm in Indiana was engaged in testing for amygdalin content, but it’s been two years and the author just keeps telling people to check back so I’m not sure what the status is.
There was a post in NAFEX on Facebook I recall last year where several people were very confident it’s a hybrid.
I have 4 in ground and my tiniest specimen produced one nut and my biggest, 10-12 feet tall, has yet to produce a single nut. It does look beautiful, though.
Interesting about the testing. Was the testing done and the results weren’t good news or was the test never done? I guess we’ll never know.
I found this post on facebook from someone on the 7a/7b growing transition zone that says their Javid Iranian fruits fall of his tree in early October and don’t split like normal almond varieties do. His fruits also look like they have soft flesh (his finger is indenting the flesh in the photo). So that seems to be what I’m witnessing too so far.
He says the fruit isn’t useful to him because it is “tart/astringent”. I’m actually wondering if the fruit could be used to make a good jam. Mine had a sweet taste to it. I did get a very very mild astringent note every few bites. It was sort of lost in the background of fhe flavor. I’m wondering if it would make a decent jam. ![]()
I have not had great luck with almonds in Vermont yet (zone 5a/6) but I have had them fruit. I think my problem has been keeping them in pots - they should be in the ground. Grafting to Mariana 24 has worked, other peach/apricot rootstocks would likely work. Full circle Farm , https://www.perfectcircle.farm/ in zone4 grows and sells Javids. It sounds great, but I have not gotten scion wood to try. I have All In One , and used to have two Ukrainian varieties.
My Javids bloomed this spring up in Northern Vermont after a -20 winter. It’s not a hybrid, but peach and almond are VERY closely related.
-Funk
From what I’ve read you’re right pure almond. I’m near Middlebury, so not very far. But I’m in a unique situation climate wise. I’m on a high point in the Champlain Valley so I get some of the warmer temps in a valley that benefits from Lake Champlain. If your tree grows well enough let me know when you could spare some scion wood! I’ll pay!
May I ask why the certainty it’s not a hybrid? I really have no expertise here, just have read others who are very confident it is a hybrid. I want it to be pure almond because it has been so healthy here (so far). I will say there are also people who seem equally confident it’s not a hybrid. I’m just looking to understand why.
From Englands nursery who originally imported it. They call it almond (not hybrid).
“Imported from Iran over 15 years ago, like many things, it just gets better with age. It comes from the High Mountain range of Northern Iran. This is one of our best.”
Here are some of the relevant comments from the nafex facebook group from various posts. It definitely seems like conjecture in some aspects, but I lack the necessary knowledge to parse it.
I would also love to see the results of the amygdalin test or even contribute to a fund to have the nuts tested. Since my trees have produced exactly one nut so far I cannot contribute any actual plant matter.
I tried to get scions of it for a few years, but eventually gave up. The Ukrainian and All in One I have do pretty good here. Other than rot that is.
I’m not at all certain, but the official story points to a heritage strain of almond and that’s the only source that can be cited as something other than specuation. Genetic testing is needed to validate, but why not trust the official story of generations of Persian farmers breeding a cold hardy tree? Certainly hybridization with peach could have happened at any time during that history, but almonds share many of the same phenotypes and it’s not possible to definitely identify taxonomy by comparing phenotypes. The taxonomy of the rose family is very interesting. It’s entirely likely that almond and peach are actually different phenotypes of the same species and have parted and joined many times over the ages including in the moutains of Iran.
Maybe- I was thinking about pruning a couple branches this winter and trying to graft them. My trees survived two cold Vermont winters and bloomed for the first time this spring. I’ll let you know if I have extra cuttings available this year, but next winter is more likely. I’m up at 1100’ about a mile due east of Camel’s Hump in a very special rain forest microclimate.
I’ve always grafted Prunus trees in late summer once the next years buds have hardened a bit, but I have also used two year old buds. Perhaps grafting dormant wood might work, but warmth is best. The most common type of graft is budding, so a bud stick goes a long way. Actually, I seldom do grafting with dormant wood, but it ships well and it’s a good time in very early spring when other orchard work isn’t going yet. Same with pruning any Prunus - best to wait so you can see what has been damaged over the winter.
I have Javids grafted and got the scions direct from Englands Orchards. Its’ flowers are white here. Mine produced last year and the “fruit” wasn’t as meaty as the pics you shared from facebook either. They were quite shriveled and mainly just a husk. Almonds were a bit small, but excellent tasting.
Not that I’m advocating for pure or hybrid, doesn’t really matter to me. Just giving my observations.






