Five Best Stone Fruits For SoCal- #4
Thanks for returning to the great stone fruit countdown. I am enjoying watching the nectarines, peaches, apricots, and pluots growing each day. I can't wait till they are ripe! As I walk through my little orchard and reminisce about my former garden, I am struck by how much influence one man has had on my garden...likely he has influenced many of your own plant choices as well, and you likely have never heard his name.
So many of us love nectarines and many of the new intergeneric fruits like pluot, aprium, necta-plum, pluerry, peacotum...I could go on. These new lines of breeding make up some of the most exciting and delicious advances in orchard choices that have ever happened. One man has made centuries worth of advances in a few decades. His name is Floyd Zaiger. He is my fruit tree hero.
Zaiger was influenced by the "father of the nectarine", Fred Anderson. Are you aware there were no nectarines till the 50's? A nectarine is a cross between a peach and a plum. In my opinion, this is one of those cases where the offspring outshines either of the parents. The thing I like about nectarines, as well as pluots, is the marvelous complexity of flavors. The fruit is luscious and fragrant. The flavors start at the front of the palate with intense sweetness, but then the fragrance hits the back of the palate which blends with the sweet, then tangy tartness and zing hits the back of the palate. Maybe we should develop fruit sommeliers. Nectarines make my taste buds do a happy dance.
One of the secrets to Zaiger's success was to grow fruit trees in large boxes, and growing them in climate controlled greenhouses. Thereby, he could move them as necessary, delay or advance their coming into flower; extending the seasons of his hybrids on both ends of the harvest timetable. Growing them in greenhouses also protected the breeding stock from inclement weather. His work has been especially helpful to us in southern California by giving us more low chill choices.
Zaiger has also advanced fruit tree culture by creating new and marvelous root stocks which the new varieties are grafted onto. One of my favorites is the M-111 root stock for apples, which is resistant to wooly apple aphid. If you have ever battled those nasty little buggers which destroy apple orchards you owe a debt of gratitude to Floyd Zaiger. He really is an agricultural genius. Last year almost four million boxes of fruit in California alone were from Zaiger hybrids. He exports new varieties all over the world. His crosses are the most popular trees being planted in Europe for decades. Thank you Floyd!
One of the additional benefits of Zaiger's breeding is that seasons for available fruit have been greatly expanded.With very few trees, it is possible to have ripe stone fruits from early spring through fall. My recommendation number four allows harvest of fabulous nectarines very early in the season.
Stone Fruit Recommendation- #4:
Double Delight Nectarine
Double Delight is one of Zaiger's earliest and best efforts. It is dark red, and smooth on the outside, with a brilliant yellow orange interior. It has a perfect texture, smooth and silky mouth feel. One of the trends in stone fruits has been toward a much firmer fruit, not quite crispy like an apple, but much firmer. Previous generations wanted peaches, plums, and nectarines that were much softer. Double Delight is a very nice balance between the two.
Double Delight is also a very attractive tree. The flowers that burst out in the spring are a deep pink, that are large and double petaled. It will rival any flowering fruit tree in the beauty department. It is really, really pretty. But looks aren't everything you know. Fruit trees are grown for the flavor of the fruit, first and foremost. Whenever I did taste tests in my gardening classes or at the nursery, this was always a winner; usually in the top five of all the trees in a season.
The tree is also a very vigorous grower. You definitely need to stay on top of your pruning with this tree. Early development of strong scaffold branches is imperative. Thinning the fruit is also very important...don't be greedy. Thin fruit to no closer than a hand's breadth apart.
In my garden this tree was harvestable starting in mid-May, and had a very long season. The tree will have fruit ripening at different times, depending on location on the tree. We could often have fruit through mid-June. We could smell the ripe fruit in the house from 20' away. What an aroma. This one is great fresh, but also makes the most wonderful preserves...the color is exquisite; very bright, clear, and colorful. Freestone pit makes this fruit easy to work with.
I highly recommend Double Delight to you. This is one tasty piece of fruit.
So many of us love nectarines and many of the new intergeneric fruits like pluot, aprium, necta-plum, pluerry, peacotum...I could go on. These new lines of breeding make up some of the most exciting and delicious advances in orchard choices that have ever happened. One man has made centuries worth of advances in a few decades. His name is Floyd Zaiger. He is my fruit tree hero.
Zaiger has also advanced fruit tree culture by creating new and marvelous root stocks which the new varieties are grafted onto. One of my favorites is the M-111 root stock for apples, which is resistant to wooly apple aphid. If you have ever battled those nasty little buggers which destroy apple orchards you owe a debt of gratitude to Floyd Zaiger. He really is an agricultural genius. Last year almost four million boxes of fruit in California alone were from Zaiger hybrids. He exports new varieties all over the world. His crosses are the most popular trees being planted in Europe for decades. Thank you Floyd!
One of the additional benefits of Zaiger's breeding is that seasons for available fruit have been greatly expanded.With very few trees, it is possible to have ripe stone fruits from early spring through fall. My recommendation number four allows harvest of fabulous nectarines very early in the season.
Stone Fruit Recommendation- #4:
Double Delight Nectarine
Double Delight is one of Zaiger's earliest and best efforts. It is dark red, and smooth on the outside, with a brilliant yellow orange interior. It has a perfect texture, smooth and silky mouth feel. One of the trends in stone fruits has been toward a much firmer fruit, not quite crispy like an apple, but much firmer. Previous generations wanted peaches, plums, and nectarines that were much softer. Double Delight is a very nice balance between the two.Double Delight is also a very attractive tree. The flowers that burst out in the spring are a deep pink, that are large and double petaled. It will rival any flowering fruit tree in the beauty department. It is really, really pretty. But looks aren't everything you know. Fruit trees are grown for the flavor of the fruit, first and foremost. Whenever I did taste tests in my gardening classes or at the nursery, this was always a winner; usually in the top five of all the trees in a season.
The tree is also a very vigorous grower. You definitely need to stay on top of your pruning with this tree. Early development of strong scaffold branches is imperative. Thinning the fruit is also very important...don't be greedy. Thin fruit to no closer than a hand's breadth apart.
In my garden this tree was harvestable starting in mid-May, and had a very long season. The tree will have fruit ripening at different times, depending on location on the tree. We could often have fruit through mid-June. We could smell the ripe fruit in the house from 20' away. What an aroma. This one is great fresh, but also makes the most wonderful preserves...the color is exquisite; very bright, clear, and colorful. Freestone pit makes this fruit easy to work with.
I highly recommend Double Delight to you. This is one tasty piece of fruit.
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