I am trying to get a handle on the best white peach cultivars for different ripening slots. Also being in 5a means I have to limit it to cold hardy/late blooming varieties.
Right now I am planning on:
China Pearl (-8)
Eden (+7)
Carolina Belle (+10)
Polly (+14)
Blushingstar (+21)
Does anyone try these? Any others people love that might work? Anyone who sells peaches have an estimate of customer demand for white vs. yellow flesh?
I like my “Polly” Developed in Iowa, so a good cold hardy bet. Thin hard for best fruit.
I’m growing early giant white from Stark brother
Hopefully next year I’ll b eating peaches
Spring Snow and Saturn donut peaches. ( there is a regular Saturn peach, I believe.)
I had 5 fruit on a China Pearl this year (bit warmer zone than you tho). Tiny tree, bare root in a pot all last summer and just put in the ground last fall. They were small as a result but very good tasting. Much larger Elberta, Hale Haven and other varieties did not set any fruit this year. So perhaps speaks to it’s cold hardiness, or perhaps just good timing with that late spring freeze this year.
Does anybody have a source for China Pearl?
I second the saturn donut peach recommendation!!!
Keep in mind, it is very difficult to pick Saturn donut peaches without damaging the stem ends. In fact, I damaged all mine.
Vaughn has China Pearl. http://vaughnnursery.com/trees/
And maybe Starks?
https://www.starkbros.com/products/fruit-trees/peach-trees/chin
I was looking into other donut peaches for that reason. However, what I found seems to be that Saturn is still the best for a few reasons, including hardiness.
I was curious about the competing ripening dates but I found this paper that conforms with starks. Prunus persica 'China Pearl' (China Pearl Peach) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
I have peaches in zone 5 Wisconsin. The whites are not truly winter hardy. After a winter snap of minus 21 to -25°F 2 years ago i lost all saturn doughnuts and blushingstar fruit blossoms for the year. All my peach friends lost fruit for one year.
Try “Contender” , a yellow peach. A higher quality fruit than reliance and other cold hardy types. Madison peaches are not freestone.
Thanks, Don.
There are two places here that grow polly, raritan rose, and saturn. So, I think they can handel our winters. I did research going back 60 years on monthly coldest temps. Below -20 is a once or twice a decade event here and the frequency has been decreasing rapidly. Temp fluctuations are more the problem, with warm spells followed by near zero in march common.
I have some China Pearl that are getting close to ripening. I have heard that they can soften quickly, so I would like to pick them a little green so they have a longer shelf life. Any of you who grow China Pearl have some experience with this? Also any acid in this white peach at all? Similar to Nectar or less acid? @wdingus Thanks!
