Good thing they taste great because they sure aren’t very pretty. Is it typical for them to crack up like that? I’ve seen them look like that in many other pictures as well. Mine is too young to bare fruit but I think I’ve been looking forward to it’s pretty spring blossom as much as anything. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fruit snob that only eats or grows pristine fruit. I’m fine with cutting out bad spots on fruit in order to savor the rest. Just seems like a lot of the spice zee pictures I’ve seen shows the fruit looking haggard and the flesh looking dry.
How does the Spice Zee and the Arctic Jay compare to the Heavenly White nectarines? I do not see much written on the Heavenly White nectarines and just wondering how they taste.
1 Like
They are sort of the russeted fruit of the nectarine family. Sometimes they look better. Like when they have more water. That doesn’t improve the taste. But I haven’t found this fruit to improve in taste like some when grown with a water deficit.
You got pics of the fruit/tree?
Fruitnut, I thought their ugly skins were due to some sort of thrip damage, but are you saying they just normally look like this? Mine always look like weatherman’s do, with that weird skin scarring. I don’t treat my trees for thrips, and I know I have them.
At best they look like the best areas on fruit pictured above. The scarred areas could be thrips. A homely fruit IMO compared to many other nectarines.
I was thinking Thrips also.Mine don’t look quite like those.More like a bleached out Nectarine. Brady
Mine are uggggggly… this might be one that needs lots of sprays or a greenhouse…its weird because Mericrest (bottom pic) is so clean…same sprays, same location, same everything.
Spice Zee
Mericrest
I’ve followed your SpiceZee progress Drew, I recall you had harsh dieback and ended up with three low scaffolds on it (which is very neat). So many great cultivars out there; but then I get concerned with some of the things I’d love to grow - like SZ, or pluots - that even my best sun may not be enough to really ripen these fruits in my shorter and maritime growing season. And its very humid here too.
You get really cold winters, you are only one full zone down from me but we stay a lot warmer in winter than you do. -16…yikes.
Would love to hear your thoughts on the fruits when they are ready though.
Okay, I now feel officially vindicated between fruitnut’s descriptions, and weatherman’s and warmwxrule’s photos. This is exactly how mine looked, and I was feeling really guilty that I didn’t spray them with something. Who knows what I should have used, but I didn’t, and they were just like that. But, very delicious!
3 Likes
Some of mine experimental white nectarine seedling trees ore ugly to
even though they look terrible they taste excellent sweet and contains a pleasant aroma.
4 Likes
Yup, I feel relieved too!
1 Like
I take it that Spice Zee is potted and Mericrest is grounded?
How old is the Zee and how do you normally prune it?
Facist Nation said on DWN forums that the damage is due to thrip damage.
Here are two interesting facts about Spice Zee Nectaplum:
It is 50% Nectarine, 37.50% peach, and 12.50% plum.
Spice Zee’s red leaves is due to its concetration of anthocianins.
My Spice Zee produced three fruits last year, and they looked very very bad, with alot of sap coming out of the skin.
Yes, but they taste bad in salads. 
I look forward to trying some fruit this year. Mine should be ripe in about a month.
Although I’m more excited about trying Arctic Glo. I tasted these a couple years ago. Very unique tasting with high acid. AG tastes like no other nectarine. Although if you like the low acid types, best stay away from them.
1 Like
I picked a few today. Brix was only 12, We have had some rains, and the fruits were well shaded in the interior. Not fully ripe either. i will pick the rest in a week. Producing high brix fruit here this time of year is probably not possible most years. They have to ripen in early August when it’s super dry around here. Anyway here is one.
2 Likes