Author Topic: Who's the King of Stone Fruits? Plums, Peaches, Pluots, Nectarines, or Cherries  (Read 14352 times)

ClayMango

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For me, I love a good Peach. Though I heard the newly introduced Pluots are on a whole nother level of greatness.
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mksmth

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peaches for me.  Ive only tried one Pluot, Dapple Dandy and it was pretty awesome. 

zands

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Does anyone know what the classic pickled umeboshi plum is made from? What kind of plum? I also have heard it was made from a plum-apricot hybrid.

Cherries are the king of stone fruits for me with apricots #2. The peaches in supermarkets are just about always awful. But since mangoes taste somewhat like peaches I don't mind too much

Getting good cherries and plums in Florida is not too difficult. Cherries make it here very well. The plums are from California. Cherries mostly from Washington and then a smaller amount from California.
« Last Edit: February 12, 2015, 06:42:09 PM by zands »

emegar

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http://www.raintreenursery.com/Fruit_Trees/Prunus_Mume_Flowering_Apricot/

Does anyone know what the classic pickled umeboshi plum is made from? What kind of plum? I also have heard it was made from a plum-apricot hybrid.

Cherries are the king of stone fruits for me with apricots #2. The peaches in supermarkets are just about always awful. But since mangoes taste somewhat like peaches I don't mind too much

Getting good cherries and plums in Florida is not too difficult. Cherries make it here very well. The plums are from California. Cherries mostly from Washington and then a smaller amount from California.
James

RodneyS

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A nice, acidic white nectarine

fruitnut44

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My best fruits are nectarines. Best being the Honey series of yellow flesh, low acid. These take on a superb flavor when grown with some water deficit and brix 20-28.

Next the Arctic series white flesh nectarines.

A couple pluots rank very high: Flavor Supreme and Flavor King. I also like Geo Pride, Flavor Grenade, Honey Punch, Flavor Finale, and Flavor Treat. Most of these are dark skin.

A few apricots rank highly: Tomcot, Robada, Orangered, and Golden Sweet.

Emerald Beaut is the only plum that tastes as good as pluots above.

Best Sweet cherries are Selah, Skeena, Sandra Rose, and Bing.

Figs rate next: Strawberry Verte, RDB, and Paradiso

Summer Muscat is a fantastic tasting grape but very hard to grow. Summer Muscat is good and much easier to grow.

Best blueberries are Sweetcrisp and Springhigh.

I've only got one peach, Valley Sweet, that ranks near the nectarines.

All above grown in a greenhouse in west TX at 4500ft elevation.  http://www.davewilson.com/home-gardens/growing-fruits-and-nuts/cultural-practices/greenhouse-fruit-growing/greenhouse-fruit-production-in-west-texas
« Last Edit: February 12, 2015, 11:32:17 PM by fruitnut44 »

Samu

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For me, I love a good Peach. Though I heard the newly introduced Pluots are on a whole nother level of greatness.

I certainly hope so Clay, since today I just bought Pluot Flavor Grenade bare root, and another Pluot Flavor King is on back order. (I am told that I need another plum for pollination).  I just have a little concern that my location doesn't get enough chilling hours at some years, but maybe you have no problem there in Temecula, right?
Cheers!
Sam

fruitlovers

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I agree with Zands more on fruits than on politics. :D For me cherries and apricots also rank very high, right up there with nectarines. Some plums can be 10's also. But you really need to get into specific cultivars as there is so much difference in quality between cultivars. Also you need to state whether you are talking about fruits picked off trees at perfect stage, or supermarket fruits? In the supermarkets all the fruits are  for the most part very low quality. Early picking, long periods of refrigeration, and cultivars picked for storage longevity rather than taste usually kill the eating delight. I won't even get into all the chemicals used for growing them.
Oscar

zands

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I agree with Zands more on fruits than on politics. :D For me cherries and apricots also rank very high, right up there with nectarines. Some plums can be 10's also. But you really need to get into specific cultivars as there is so much difference in quality between cultivars. Also you need to state whether you are talking about fruits picked off trees at perfect stage, or supermarket fruits? In the supermarkets all the fruits are  for the most part very low quality. Early picking, long periods of refrigeration, and cultivars picked for storage longevity rather than taste usually kill the eating delight. I won't even get into all the chemicals used for growing them.


+1 on Apricots and cherries. The traditional Chinese revered apricot in their medicine. Lychee too.
Supermarket cherries are high quality. Thick skin means they transport well so can be picked at ripeness. I never buy the first of the season. Wait. They get picked dark and ripe after two weeks. The last ones are the darkest and best.
« Last Edit: February 13, 2015, 07:53:02 PM by zands »

zands

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Pancrazio

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Ferrovia cherries and Reale d'Imola apricots are the best in my humble opinion.
Italian fruit forum

I want to buy/trade central asia apricots. Contact me in PM if interested.

mksmth

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glad to see you here Fruitnut!

fruitnut44

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mk:

Thanks for the welcome!!

Dapple Dandy isn't a very good pluot IME. Wish I could share my good ones or better yet some top line nectarines.

mksmth

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Fruitnut
man i must really be missing out on the best then because I thought the Dapple dandy we get here locally are pretty tasty.  I have based a lot of my variety selection off of what the commercial guys grow here and what Oklahoma State university recommends. Starting out I want to give myself the best chance at a harvest then try more unique fruits and newer varities.  OSU says most nectarines dont do as good here as the peaches do.  No idea why thats just what they say. the do recommend a couple varieties.  I love a good nectarine  so I will be trying some just not sure which ones yet.  The selection of trees at the stores right now is not that vast. Plus the way the wholesaler for lowes and homedepot prunes them is atrocious.  Most I have not really heard of before. Of course the only place that gets in DWN trees only gets the boring stuff, LOL. In fact they didnt order any nectarines.  Just superior plum, red haven(which i already have) and reliance peach.   

fruitnut44

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mk:

The universities are way behind on variety recommendations. You'd do well to follow olpea, Mark, on the fruit and orchards forum. He's near Kansas City and has a website, tubby fruits. Has tested lots of varieties that should work for you. My greenhouse stuff is iffy outdoors in humid climates.

http://www.tubbyfruits.com/

mksmth

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Thanks for the info Fruit. 

ClayMango

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For me, I love a good Peach. Though I heard the newly introduced Pluots are on a whole nother level of greatness.

I certainly hope so Clay, since today I just bought Pluot Flavor Grenade bare root, and another Pluot Flavor King is on back order. (I am told that I need another plum for pollination).  I just have a little concern that my location doesn't get enough chilling hours at some years, but maybe you have no problem there in Temecula, right?
Cheers!

From what the research is showing from  many places...I think chill hours are not being factored in properly usually being to high... for example several people in San Diego who get roughly 100-250 chill hours depending on the year can still fruit stonefruit with say 400 plus chill hour requirements....their appears to be a breakdown somewhere in who's determining the requirements....maybe they just add a safe number in their to prevent complaints...

*PLEASE don't  quote me on any of that information i posted above, my information could be completely wrong.

We get about 400-*600 chilll hours where I live...so most stone fruit is not an issue with my location minus the super  Northern Fruits, i really want to give a Honey Crisp tree a  shot to see if I cna get it to flower. screw it!! Push it to the limits!
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fruitlovers

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For me, I love a good Peach. Though I heard the newly introduced Pluots are on a whole nother level of greatness.

I certainly hope so Clay, since today I just bought Pluot Flavor Grenade bare root, and another Pluot Flavor King is on back order. (I am told that I need another plum for pollination).  I just have a little concern that my location doesn't get enough chilling hours at some years, but maybe you have no problem there in Temecula, right?
Cheers!

From what the research is showing from  many places...I think chill hours are not being factored in properly usually being to high... for example several people in San Diego who get roughly 100-250 chill hours depending on the year can still fruit stonefruit with say 400 plus chill hour requirements....their appears to be a breakdown somewhere in who's determining the requirements....maybe they just add a safe number in their to prevent complaints...

*PLEASE don't  quote me on any of that information i posted above, my information could be completely wrong.

We get about 400-*600 chilll hours where I live...so most stone fruit is not an issue with my location minus the super  Northern Fruits, i really want to give a Honey Crisp tree a  shot to see if I cna get it to flower. screw it!! Push it to the limits!

Yes chill hours are not an exact science. Different places even quote different number of hours. For example, according to literature Anna apples need between 100-200 hours chill, depending on where you look. But they will fruit here with 0 chill hours. Ofcourse they would probably make lots more fruits with chill hours. So those hours may be about peak performance. You should take them as a rule of thumb, and not as definitve absolute numbers.
Oscar

ClayMango

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For me, I love a good Peach. Though I heard the newly introduced Pluots are on a whole nother level of greatness.

I certainly hope so Clay, since today I just bought Pluot Flavor Grenade bare root, and another Pluot Flavor King is on back order. (I am told that I need another plum for pollination).  I just have a little concern that my location doesn't get enough chilling hours at some years, but maybe you have no problem there in Temecula, right?
Cheers!

From what the research is showing from  many places...I think chill hours are not being factored in properly usually being to high... for example several people in San Diego who get roughly 100-250 chill hours depending on the year can still fruit stonefruit with say 400 plus chill hour requirements....their appears to be a breakdown somewhere in who's determining the requirements....maybe they just add a safe number in their to prevent complaints...

*PLEASE don't  quote me on any of that information i posted above, my information could be completely wrong.

We get about 400-*600 chilll hours where I live...so most stone fruit is not an issue with my location minus the super  Northern Fruits, i really want to give a Honey Crisp tree a  shot to see if I cna get it to flower. screw it!! Push it to the limits!

Yes chill hours are not an exact science. Different places even quote different number of hours. For example, according to literature Anna apples need between 100-200 hours chill, depending on where you look. But they will fruit here with 0 chill hours. Ofcourse they would probably make lots more fruits with chill hours. So those hours may be about peak performance. You should take them as a rule of thumb, and not as definitve absolute numbers.


Yeah Oscar my eyebrow shot up about a half an inch when you said your were grabbing Ann's off your tree.
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gator_rider2

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Peaches number one some nectarines are great I have peaches at end April.

Doglips

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Peaches are "A" number "1". (Nectarines are peaches).
A good batch of blackberries are tough to beat (k, not stone, but this is a temperate forum I can cross post if I want to).


From the sea

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Oscar what root stock is on your apple? and were did you get it? 

fruitlovers

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Oscar what root stock is on your apple? and were did you get it?

Long ago, and i barely remember. It's semi dwarf, i believe M-101 or something like that, probably Dave Wilson nursery.
Oscar

From the sea

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thanks I have been thinking about trying out apples here

fruitlovers

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thanks I have been thinking about trying out apples here

I'm at 600 ft. elevation, but i've seen Anna apples fruiting even at sea level here, so it's certainly not impossible at your location.
Oscar