it’s normal, their mini-ness comes from a genetic growth hormone defect that makes for short internodes so they stay small on seedling rootstock. all of the ones I’ve gotten have had huge awesome root systems with a little 2-3 foot top
Like another person said it is due to genetics that they are so small. Sadly there is not a true dwarf rootstock for peaches or nectarines. You could argue Lovell rootstock or a standard rootstock would be better though because dwarf rootstock trees don’t live has long. The advantage of dwarf rootstock is it is precocious so it fruits earlier and it is small enough you don’t need to really climb on a latter or use tools. A standard rootstock will produce many more fruit and have more drought resistance. Like I said standard rootstock lives longer and peaches/nectarines have a very short lifespan as is. Peaches/nectarines are often replaced in farms after 8-12 years. Apples are replaced after 25-50 years. A peach will bear fruit after 1 year of ownership while a apple or pear can take 10 years though.
My seckle pear tree started producing fruit the first summer after planting the previous fall. It’s growing right next to an ancient comice pear tree so that probably helps pollination.
So all nectarines and peaches are on standard root stock? I know of some very old peach trees that are still cranking out the fruit.
Standard or semi dwarfing rootstock. The semi dwarfing does not dwarf it much if at all. Like we are discussing there are dwarfs on the market that are dwarfing due to genetic dwarfing but not rootstocks. With pears it certainly depends on variety. Varieties like Warren or Magness are known to take forever. Fruit may still crank out but it gets heavily reduced. Like I mentioned nectarines and peaches quickly produce with them producing same year or the year after production so many farmers don’t see a reason to keep peaches or nectarines in after reduction in crop. You may get 20+ years with the peach or nectarine at home before really replacing it. Heck the professionals told my mother to chop down many trees when I was born or little because they would die. They are still reluctantly living because she spends hundreds or thousands a year spraying them.
My tactic is to start replacement trees about 8 years into the life of a tree. It’s easy enough to graft scions onto rootstock. My ancient pear must at least be 50 years old. It’s has a hollow trunk and is held up with a couple 2x4’s, yet still produces at least 100 huge comice pears. Quite the survivor. I need to get some scions and graft onto the seckle. It’s bound to fall over any winter.
Pears survive along time like apples. In fact many seem to compare pears to apples.
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@Martin
I used to sell them to southern California customers, primarily northwestern San Diego county. The Nectar Zee was popular among condo owners with south facing patios.
It really is. I love the contorted trunk and branches of the mini nectarine. Reminds me of a bonsai. I planted it in Philo, California in a small raised bed between some pomegranates and a very old Pinot vine. It’s been very happy. No fruit so far, but hopefully this summer. The nectaplum produced a couple dozen fruit in its second summer.
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Seems like nobody has tried the white dwarf varieties
The peach is supposed to be dwarfed on the Western Sand Cherry. I did not have any luck with that combination. I have been trying to cross the peach with this sand cherry and I think I have succeeded. I will try and see if peach is compatible on this hybrid root. I am trying to find roots that will severely dwarf fruits so that they can be covered easily over the winter or during frosts. I have a small row of sand cherries from seed and one plant ripens its fruits later, has a different shaped pit, has a lot of winterkill (but still fruits), and has some sort of leaf disease that turns the ends of the leaves brown. South Dakota and Minnesota have had peach/sand cherry crosses in years past (Kamdesa-South Dakota), and Minn No 3712-2 (WSC x South Haven). One of these also mentions lots of winterkill on their hybrid, as mine does. Their hybrids did not fruit, mine does. Mine is a WSC crossed with the Q-18 white-fleshed peach,( which has another name.) But I have planted 6 sand cherry seeds this fall, (of my breeding work), which should also be hybrids of the sand cherry and peach, and I hope they come up in the spring. I have another sand cherry seedling that is one tenth or less the size of the others and it may be another sand cherry x peach hybrid.
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@Martin , no fruits last year hoping for some this year. Nice little trees but figure a lot of thinning, like 95% of the fruit for good size/flavored fruits. My Necta Zee is 5 feet tall and wide after 9 years in ground, so they don’t grow very fast.
Anyone here had any luck grafting unto the miniature nectarine? And also if anyone knows if you do end up grafting on it will it stay miniature or it will grow big?
I ended up buying a Dave Wilson bare root from my local Green Thumb. Arctic Sprite on Lovell. Will let you know how it tastes in a year or two.
That’s great. I see lots of fruiting spurs on my specimen. Expecting a nice crop this summer.
I have ordered arctic babe, garden delight and necta zee from bay laurel. Looking forward to hearing and sharing more experiences with these mini nectarines.
I think im going to get an Arctic Sprite… red fleshed and dwarf. May get a Arctic Babe, Necta Zee and Necta Babe also.
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