Extinct Florida Variety Peach Trees?

[345 desoto]

I have been extensively searching the entire US looking for Florida Grande and/or Tropic Sweet peach trees for sale, for the last 6 months,.  NOTHING ANYwhere to be found.  Are these two varieties extinct, or does anyone have a lead on them?

[dwfl]

People may still have those varieties in the ground somewhere. Likely your best bet. The varieties I usually see available here are UF Sun, Tropic Beauty, Tropic Snow, and Florida Prince.

[achetadomestica]

Those two varieties are not extinct. There are better cultivars
available. The big peach producers like Record Bucks and Hopkins produce
trees each year based on contracts from nurseries and orchards. I had a Grande and it
flowered heavy every year but the production was not great and the peaches
were late when there are allot more pests especially beetles. I dug it up and gave
it to some smaller nursery. PM if you really want it and I will give you info
where it might still be. I have seen Tropic sweet available at Echo in North Ft Myers.
Also you might check with Fruitscapes and see what they have available,
and I have also seen Tropic sweet available at home Depot in Ft Myers in the past
The peach producers have the trees to get the budwood but if no one
orders them they won't make the trees. I have had about 8 different types
but currently I have Florida glow only. It is a white melting flesh type and
it is the best peach I have ever eaten. This year with the weather it only has about 20
small peaches. I got around 75 last year by this time. Why do you want these two types?

[345 desoto]

achetadomestica - Mainly chill hours, and fruit specifications...

[mattyboydesigns]

Toptropicals has Florida Grande in stock on their site.

[achetadomestica]

achetadomestica - Mainly chill hours, and fruit specifications...

I have never had a bad Florida peach and I think just about any of the
low chill peaches should work? I see a newer release once in a while called
FL Best and I would consider that based on the name and the fact it was
released later? Usually the Spring is the time that you are most likely to
see new smaller grafted trees available. My brother was trying to get the Hopkins
availability and I will let you know what if anything they are offering this year?
Hopkins was where my grande came from a few years back

[Galatians522]

I have not been impressed with any of the "Non-melting" line of Florida peaches. Peaches should not crunch when you bite into them.

[K-Rimes]

I have not been impressed with any of the "Non-melting" line of Florida peaches. Peaches should not crunch when you bite into them.

Truer words never spoken!

[C24mccain]

I have a Florida Grande. We'll see how it does this year as last year it didn't do much with the warm winter. If you need cuttings at some point for grafting let me know. I'm in Lakeland.

[561MangoFanatic]

People may still have those varieties in the ground somewhere. Likely your best bet. The varieties I usually see available here are UF Sun, Tropic Beauty, Tropic Snow, and Florida Prince.

I’ve been looking for UF Sun, please let me know if you do see/find any

[johnb51]

I have not been impressed with any of the "Non-melting" line of Florida peaches. Peaches should not crunch when you bite into them.

Truer words never spoken!

+1!!!

[BoBiscuit]

I had a Mid Pride peach tree at my last place. It's a low chill variety from Dave Wilson/Zaiger Genetics. The fruit quality is fantastic...sweet, juicy and soft, almost like a good mango. I'd highly recommend it if you can find it there.

[AndrewAZ]

Mid pride is fantastic.  I would also recommend tropic snow.  An extremely productive and delicious white peach.

[savemejebus]

We had a tropic beauty that never did anything for 4 - 5 years (might have just been a bad tree) - dug it up a couple years ago and tried replacing it - couldn't find a peach tree for sale anywhere in Florida for over a year and finally gave up.

We have a UF Sun (I think) tree that we've had for probably 7 - 8 years. I fully agree on the melting vs. non-melting, but the one redeeming quality of the UF Sun is that it 'was' a prolific producer early-on. Over the last several years, we're lucky if it makes 10 total peaches per year, and then it's a fight with the fruit flies. My guess is age of the tree is the problem, but given all of the above issues, this is probably its last year in the ground.

I really wish we had a viable fruit fly solution in Florida because they really murder a large number of fruit varieties down here.

[Nyuu]

I actually like for Florida Prince and glo peach . Both of those peaches are very tasty florida Prince is a yellow peach that's a good pronounce peach flavor sweet and juicy and glo peach is white peach freestone . I have uf sun peach I heard it's supposed to have a good flavor yellow peach but haven't tried one yet.

[345 desoto]

SCORE!!!...   Bought a Tropic Sweet and Florida Grande at Everglades Farm, 3 gal size...free delivery.  They weren't suppose to go on sale until 17 March, but I got the Owner to put me on the list and I paid for them.  When we move in to our new home in April, they'll then Ship....Homestead, FL to Port Saint Lucie, FL....

[shot]

If you like a great peach try to find a Floridabelle, they can can get large up to 12 oz.Draw back is they need 250 chill hours and are a bit late season (May).

[345 desoto]

BIG reason for the Florida Grande (besides fruit quality/type) is the CU requirement.  Port St. Lucie where "I" live evidently has some sort of micro climate, where low CU requirement is a must.  The peaches are melting, yellow, freestone, medium to large, and 100 or so CU.  This winter has  had close to 140 CU, in Ft. Pierce, NORTH of me.  I just don't have enough years left to take a chance on iffy productive varieties...

[Galatians522]

I had a Mid Pride peach tree at my last place. It's a low chill variety from Dave Wilson/Zaiger Genetics. The fruit quality is fantastic...sweet, juicy and soft, almost like a good mango. I'd highly recommend it if you can find it there.

We grew Eva's Pride from Zager and it had terrible fungus issues. The trees died after only 2 years. It was on California rootstock, but did poorly even when it was being grown in a 15 gallon pot the first year. I don't think that peaches from California's arid climate adapt well to Florida even when the chill is sufficient.

[achetadomestica]

We had a tropic beauty that never did anything for 4 - 5 years (might have just been a bad tree) - dug it up a couple years ago and tried replacing it - couldn't find a peach tree for sale anywhere in Florida for over a year and finally gave up.

We have a UF Sun (I think) tree that we've had for probably 7 - 8 years. I fully agree on the melting vs. non-melting, but the one redeeming quality of the UF Sun is that it 'was' a prolific producer early-on. Over the last several years, we're lucky if it makes 10 total peaches per year, and then it's a fight with the fruit flies. My guess is age of the tree is the problem, but given all of the above issues, this is probably its last year in the ground.

I really wish we had a viable fruit fly solution in Florida because they really murder a large number of fruit varieties down here.

Peaches only produce fruit on new growth. Try cutting the tree way back this year after you harvest
your 10 peaches and fertilize heavy. You can really cut the tree back and it will respond with new growth

[561MangoFanatic]

I just wanted to let you know I found a nursery by me today selling 7gal Florida Grande Peach trees

[850FL]

Aren’t many nectarines also very low chill?
Peaches can be tastier though..
I actually just bought the first nectarine I have ever even seen for sale around here, in 5 years(from Record buck). It’s red sun, also  saw the UF variety flordasun... which is better? (perhaps more pest resistant?)

[345 desoto]

561MangoFanatic - Got a Web Site, name, or address

[achetadomestica]

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg374#FIGURE%201

Here's a good starting point.

[gnappi]

I have a Tropic Sweet in ground 10 years and I've gotten maybe two edible fruits out of it while my Tropic Beauty is in ground 7 years gives me dozens of fruit every year. I gave up on the TS, and I let it run wild and will give it the chop this summer.