Back left is ‘Red Baron’; back right is ‘Tri-Lite’ peach-plum hybrid; front left is ‘Arctic Supreme’; front right is ‘Double Jewel’.
All of these have been harvested in the last several days. The ‘Tri-Lite’ is certainly the most unusual. It looks like a peach–though the dappling would be somewhat more typical of a plum (or the ‘Dapple Dandy’ pluot)–and it has fuzzy skin. Its texture is more like that of a plum. The flesh is almost pure white, and its flavor is clearly a mix of the parents albeit leaning somewhat in the peach direction. Nonetheless, the finish is unmistakably plumlike. It is also a clingstone, like plums and unlike any peaches/nectarines I have ever grown. (There are, of course, clingstone peaches and nectarines, but I assume they are all high in chilling requirement, or otherwise unsuited to this climate.)
‘Red Baron’ is a very mild flavored and juicy yellow-fleshed peach. Its name comes from its spectacular spring display of double red blossoms–the only peach I know of with such vivid red blooms.
The ‘Double Jewel’ is also a flowering-fruiting peach, in this case with pink flowers. It is a very richly flavored peach, with an orange-yellow colored flesh. It is one of the best peaches you could ever eat!
I have not yet had a fully ripe ‘Arctic Supreme.’ All of last year’s crop was chomped prematurely by squirrels. The fruit depicted here dropped early and may not ripen properly (just as all fruit that is picked too early–such as the grocery-store imitations–do not ripen properly). There are many others on the tree. With luck I will get to taste at least some of them fully ripe!
As for chilling requirements, the two double-flowering varieties should be quite low. We have them planted up in one of the lower-chill portions of the finca and they bloom well every year. The other two are planted down in the corralito, where chilling would typically be 500-600 hours. The peach-plum is moderate chill (and so far, a shy bearer); the ‘Arctic Supreme’ was listed as needing 800 hours, but clearly does not need that much.
Where’d you find the peach-plum? Does it have a name?
I knew such hybrids had been created, but I don’t think I’ve heard of them in commerce before. It’s an attractive piece of fruit, too. I’d love to try one some day.
Seed planted by Evil Fruit Lord — 17 August 2006 @ 19:09
The peach-plum is from Dave Wilson, and (as now indicated in the post) is called Tri-Lite, described thus:
June? Well, everything is late this year, but mid-August is a whole lot later than June. It seems that Andy also has his available in August, and he gorws his fruit in a climate with warmer springs and summers than mine (the Santa Clara Valley). Here is what he says about it:
It was developed by Floyd Zaiger, but there is no indication of the varieties used in the cross.
Some day I need to plant the peachcot. In fact, I can’t imagine why I have yet to do so!
Seed planted by MSS — 18 August 2006 @ 09:24
Why I blog
Sometimes a reader points me to something in the academic literature that I might otherwise have missed.
Scion grafted by Fruits and Votes — 26 October 2006 @ 15:26
I have tasted a plum/peach. It looks like a plum, but tastes and smells like a peach. I am so besotten over it. I was given a grafting, by an Italian, but had to leave it behind when I moved house!? Is there a name for this variety?
Seed planted by Lessenor — 29 November 2011 @ 06:09
Thank you so much! I have been devouring catalogs, trying to decide what peaches to plant. Double Jewel it is, then, and no on the Earlitreat. Thank you! I’m going to add a Babcock, and I wish rather I could do a Loring, the great peach of my East Coast youth, but it needs 750 hours and I’d have to plant it close to my house near Stanford.
If you have a particular favorite late-season peach, too, I’ve love to know. Gotta plant’em now if I want my toddler grandson to be able to climb up to pick peaches in a few years.
Seed planted by AlisonH — 15 October 2012 @ 19:29