Last winter was exceedingly mild, otherwise 19F would not have posed a danger in very early spring. Interestingly, J. plum buds were already green and yet provided a bounty of great fruit.
We’ve had comparatively mild winters for at least the last 10 years as far as winter lows are concerned but this is a problem. Frost related crop failure for peaches has traditionally been more of a problem further south where long stretches of unseasonably warm weather followed by bud killing plunge used to be more common than here. NY used to be in the Goldilocks zone. Not too warm and not too cold. Now we are Maryland, or what it used to be- at least based on the last decade of increasingly warm winters. .
That’s very true. I didn’t point that out in my post because the OP, who I was responding to, was obviously looking for the most consistent frost hardy peaches.
While some peaches will bear consistently in NY, and not consistently in KS, I think it’s fair to say that there are some peach cultivars which will bear consistently in both places. At least I can’t think of any peaches which bear consistently here, which won’t also do the same for your locale.
I agree with you it’s best to know the location (both region and orchard site specifics) but I think we can discuss the very most frost hardy peaches fairly universally. Once one moves a little farther down the list on frost hardiness (which is mostly a result of late blooming, prolonged blooming, or to a lesser extent, extremely profuse blooming) then region starts to make a substantial difference.
For example, I would never rate Saturn as a hardy peach in KS/MO (in terms of winter hardiness, or frost hardy). It does bloom profusely, but it’s one of our earliest bloomers, and gets knocked out pretty easily.
TangOs has been hit and miss here. Certainly more consistent than Saturn, but still has lost enough crops, I wouldn’t rate it as one of the best in consistency.
I’m glad to hear you say that. I’ve read descriptions that the peach has little fuzz, but found it on the other end of the spectrum (pretty fuzzy).
I found Hardired a very consistent nectarine. I just tried one tree of it, but don’t recall it ever not fruiting. I eventually got rid of it because only the first picking was consistently sweet. The second picking was hit and miss. Some sweet, but some very tart. By the time the third picking came around (the tree ripened fruit over a long period) the fruit was not fit to eat.
I suspect this could have been improved upon by heavier thinning. It was very easy to over-crop.
Eventually I just pulled the tree out. I didn’t feel like I could sell enough of that variety to make it worthwhile. It was very consistent though.
We don’t really have early bloomers. Only a couple of days separate early from late here. As you head further south the difference in all common fruit species becomes greater, I believe.
Of course what is hardy there is an indicator, and I didn’t doubt that you already know the limitations of such indications, but my points add to the usefulness of the discussion and needn’t be received as some kind of rebuttal.
Too often around here the only peach offered by all-purpose nurseries is Reliance as a result of understanding what the most freeze tolerant peach is and therefore limiting peoples choices unnecessarily. A complete understanding of the issue is needed to realize what ones practical choices are.
To give the best advice I need to know the location of an orchard.
I agree and didn’t take your response as a rebuttal. I didn’t intend my response as a rebuttal either.
I really feel like discussing the very hardiest peaches is somewhat universal, regardless of the locale. As one moves away from the very hardiest, locale becomes more of an issue. That was my point for general consumption in this thread.
The folks in Montana Z4/5 are having luck it seems with Coralstar, Blushingstar and Risingstar peaches.
RedGold nect has also been tested there and is a hit at Z5 and sometimes a miss at Z4. Most nursery descriptions say the same… alot of folks on here have even called it bulletproof… most folks think of it as a Calif. Nect since it was bred there and grown heavily there but may have a place in alot more folks orchards if the word gets spread around.
Anyways back on topic… this has been discussed before.
The first year I grew Redgold it cracked terribly and I doubted it would be a good performer. Since then it has been stellar and is my favorite yellow nectarine, although earlier varieties may require only one summer fungicide app while Redgold tends to require 2.
However, it failed last year when Silver Gem at least provided some crop as did Carene. None of about 5 other nect varieties I grow did either. Most of the peach varieties I grow did crop well, but all on the underside of branches. Earnie’s Choice was frozen out though and seems a sensitive to spring frost as most nectarines.