It starts with a cute early pink blooming, and by summer the branches carry fruit whose skin is smooth and shiny instead of velvety like a peach’s. The nectarine (Prunus persica nucipersica) is a natural mutation of the peach tree; plant it in a sunlit, wind-sheltered spot and it will hand you magnificent fruit.
| Name | Prunus Persica nucipersica |
|---|---|
| Family | Rosaceae |
| Type | fruit tree |
| Height | 6 ½ to 16 feet (2 to 5 meters) |
| Climate | temperate and warm |
| Exposure | full sun |
| Soil | ordinary, well drained |
| Foliage | deciduous |
| Harvest | summer |
It is an exceptional fruit tree that calls for special care before harvesting. Planting, pruning and treating is important to avoid diseases for your nectarine tree.
Our recommendation is to plant your nectarine tree in a sunlit and wind-sheltered spot so that dominant winds don’t sweep through.
Once the spot is chosen, plant your nectarine tree in fall or in spring.
The nectarine tree is more hardy than one thinks, since it can resist temperatures as cold as 5° to -4°F (-15 to -20°C).
Nectarine tends to not have apical dominance, which means that after pruning, it will sprout new shoots from the base rather than from the top.
Every year, it is important to prune your tree at the end of winter just above a well-formed wood bud.
It is important to perform a fruit-inducing pruning to trigger appearance of many beautiful nectarines.
You can also treat your nectarine tree before the first leaves appear, with organic acaricide (mite killer) or a spray containing Bordeaux mixture.
Not every nectarine suits every garden: some need the shelter of a warm wall, while others are compact enough for a large pot. The table below compares the varieties most often sold by garden centres and mainstream fruit-tree suppliers.
| Variety | Flesh colour | Ripening | Best grown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lord Napier | White, pale green tinge | Early | Fan-trained on a sunny wall |
| Fantasia | Yellow, red-blushed skin | Mid to late | Open, sunny orchard spot |
| Nectarella | Yellow, sweet | Mid | Large pot on a sunny patio |
| Independence | Yellow, red skin | Mid | Small garden, self-fertile |
Who has never dreamed of standing up after a nice family feast to go fetch a few peaches from the tree in the garden? This dream is within reach, if you simply care for your tree and considered location, pruning and fertilizing.
With an early cute pink blooming, your nectarine tree will produce magnificent fruits for you during the summer.
The difference between peach and nectarine is mostly on appearance since the peach tree bears a velvety skin whereas the nectarine’s skin is smooth. The nectarine is smooth and shiny.
Like the peach tree, its ancestor, nectarine is rather fragile compared to other orchard trees.
Read more about helpful orchard management:
Pick off the shrivelled mummified nectarines left hanging in the branches, as they harbour brown rot spores right through the winter.
Nectarine is rather fragile compared to other orchard trees, so it pays to recognise what is attacking it. Here are the four problems the nectarine tree runs into most often.
| Problem | Type | What you see on the tree |
|---|---|---|
| Nectarine leaf curl | Disease | Leaves curl and swell |
| Aphids | Pest | Handled with techniques and organic treatments |
| Scale insects | Pest | Clinging insects that must be fought off |
| European brown rot | Disease | The nectarines rot on the tree |
Treating before the first leaves appear, with organic acaricide or a spray containing Bordeaux mixture, heads off much of this.
Learn to use organic products, because nowadays they have become very effective and won’t contaminate the fruits you’re eating…
