My TangOs this year were not quite as good as the memory from last year but they were still excellent. They were also more juicy and less rubbery than last year.

My latest peach find is a Chinese peach called Zin Dai Jiu Bao. It is very similar to a common kind of peach found in markets today in China (in fact, I was in China last month and ate such peaches there). It is a white-fleshed subacid cling peach with an aromatic, clean flavor. The fruits are very large and look absolutely amazing, white with a pink blush. Were it not for the cling aspect this guy would be a big hit in the US. I got it from the ARS and it looks like it was imported from China via Canada.

Scott

Reports from Cornell are that it was about the best survivor of all commercial varieties in the Hudson Valley that suffered similar weather as mine.

Those are some really nice ones, Olpea.

Scott, it may not be the weather. I can only say it's been dry all season (which is unusual) so both Flat Wonderful and TangOs have been grown in more arid type conditions here this year, whereas normally it would be much wetter.

It's strange that TangOs and Flat Wonderful ripened for you at the same time. This year Flat Wonderful ripened -14 (Redhaven) whereas TangOs ripened +7.

That Chinese peach sounds interesting. I don't know where you keep finding these unique stone fruits.

I've got one subacid white peach and people rave over it. I'm not that big of fan of subacid peaches but some people wait all season for this peach. Lots of sugar and lots of perfume, but not enough acid for me. As a demographic, I've read Asians prefer white peaches to yellows, whereas westerners prefer yellows to white.

Hman,

I'm glad you mentioned that TangOs suffered less under Northeast weather this spring.

I like this peach and would like to order a few more. By the way TangOs is much better than BuenOs in my opinion. This is the second year BuenOs has fruited. It's a subacid yellow peach which may be the reason it doesn't appeal as much to me.

Mrs G, I grafted the Zin Dai last spring. I am sure nobody is selling trees, and probably they never will given that it is a cling peach. Folks in the US are used to freestone peaches. If you get good at grafting you can try peaches -- I would recommend several years of grafting experience first since they are picky.

Scott

Scott

If you are into subacid fruit, Saturn is a good one. It may not have much acid but it's highly aromatic for a white.

What I find amazing about Tangos is its' meaty smooth texture. It's very appealing and unlike any peach I've ever eaten. I was hoping to see how it cooks and preserves this year because I suspect it may be amazing for that purpose.

Every client that tasted it wanted a tree above any other variety so I'm guessing it may become the Honeycrisp of peaches- at least if it had a catchier name.

Your TangOs looked perfect. How did you do that? I definitely will plant this peach next spring

By the way, I am so sorry to hear about the drought in your area and the trouble your are in re. your new trees.

So far the peach seems pretty easy to grow. I do spray, but the peach is fairly fuzzy so may be slightly more resistant to insects.

It doesn't have the stem pull problem that Flat Wonderful has.

I like Flat Wonderful and TangOs very much, but I've gotten a few comments from customers who bought flat peaches that there is a higher percentage of skin vs. the amount of fruit and that the flat peaches don't peel as easily as the round ones.

Overall though, TangOs and Flat Wonderful were both excellent peaches this year.

Thanks for the sympathy on my new trees, but it may not be as bad as I thought. There is some yellowing of leaves in the center of some trees. A big concern is it has never been this dry this early and I didn't get mulch on the trees early enough. My neighbor next door has a pond and it was dry in June which has never happened. Now we're in the normal hot dry part of summer, so I don't expect much rain from here on out (although it rained some last night). That leaves a lot of summer for trees/plants to survive.

I don't have space for both TangOs and FW though I love the beautiful red leaves on FW. Jellyman used to rave about it. I'll go with TangOs for now.

I read and saw pictures of the drought in Midwest. I felt really bad for all the farmers affected. Hope it's only once in a long, long time. Hope all your trees will survive.

Some years there would be only 4 or 5 inches in the whole year during drought periods. I don't think I watered them when I established them because they were very far from an outlet.

A couple of them are still alive 40 years after planting them- more likely gophers or borers killed the others than drought.

Anyway, If they've had leaves going since april they may well have enough energy to survive winter- even if they defoliate quite early. It's just that you may have to wait an extra year before they become productive.

I'm doing the best I can to keep the weeds down and the ground still has some moisture in it, so I suppose we'll see what happens.

I should clarify that statement. The ground at the farm is bone dry (as is everyone's ground around here) but I've had my son and daughter pulling weeds close to the trees where the area is mulched (and the weeds can't be sprayed) and the soil still has some moisture in it in the mulched areas.