I read this suggestion in The Mother Earth News and thought it was perfect...

Purchase peaches, plums etc from a local grower to determine which flavor you like best. At the same time, you can ask about their productivity, disease resistance, and of course the name.

Kim

Just make sure you get a disease resistant variety. Stark Bros sells many kinds of peaches which will be good in your climate and they also ship in the fall which will get your tree going sooner. My favorite disease-resistant peaches are Winblo and Carolina Gold but they are somewhat hard to find.

Scott

scottfsmith,

Where did you get your Carolina Gold? I've decided I must have it and can't find it at all.

Try Vaughn Nursery. I got mine from a place the state of NC runs to distribute their trees. I don't know if they are still running it but you can try there:

NORTH CAROLINA FOUNDATION SEED PRODUCERS INC. 8220 Riley Hill Road, Zebulon, NC 27597 Telephone 919/269-5592 Fax 919/269-5593. myron_fountain@ncsu.edu

I think that Vaughns is the nursery contracted to grow the trees for the above so its the same tree you will get. They also stock Winblo and the other disease-resistant trees from their breeding program.

Scott

In selecting whatever variety you choose, your chill-hours specific to your area is what you need to know. This is how peach trees are classified, as well as other temperate fruit trees. This will open up your options, as a local grower may be limited in the inventory he carries. Also important is the time of spring a variety blooms -- a later bloomer can avoid a crippling late frost.

Another consideration is clingstone versus freestone.

A truly excellent peach for Zone 8 is Southern Pearl, approximately 650 chill hours. Since you've already had a successful tree in the same location with no disease issues (I'm guessing?), you shouldn't have any trouble in replanting in the same area.

-Bruce

I have maintained a small peach orchard for over 20 years and most of my trees were purchased from Cumberland Valley Nurseries in TN. They carry a large number of peach, plum and several fruits. Many of their trees are ones bred at the research station in Jackson Springs, NC. Most of their selections are grafted on Halford or Guardian rootstock. They have the best selection that I know of and they do have Winblo and Carolina Gold. Both of these are excellent peaches.

Their catalog is excellent as the trees are listed with the number of ripening days before and after using Elberta as 0. You can depend on them to send the variety that you order. The prices are very reasonable for very nice healthy trees.

Cumberland Valley Nurseries, Inc.
PO Box 471
McMinnville, TN 37111-0471
1-800-492-0022 or 1-931-668-4153
Call for a free catalog.

Jack

I was under the impression that Cumberland Valley Nurseries was wholesale. Do they sell small quantities?

milehighgirl,

Cumberland Valley has a large wholesale division, but they also have a large retail operation. I've ordered this fall and already have a conformation. The only draw back if you only want a few trees is a $50.00 minimum order. I didn't need but a few trees, so I got a few friends to round out the order.

Jack

I grow Contender, Burbank Elberta, China Pearl, Intrepid, Challenger, and Carolina Gold. For lower chill I would recommend Challenger for a high quality large fruit in a disease resistant tree for your area. It's a hardy tree and grows very rapidly also. I agree with Jack. Cumberland is a good outfit. Seed Savers/Bynum is also excellent but Steve told me this year they cannot grow on Gaurdian, (Univ. SC botched up production again). Also consider Cummins Nursery. Dr. Jim Cummins was one of the premier researchers at the Cornell Geneva Experimental station in NY. Peach trees on Guardian will grow from a 1 year whip to fruit in their second growing season. If you were higher up, I would highly recommend Carolina Gold for a yellow and China Pearl for white. Finer peaches on this earth you will never find outside these NCSU releases. Peach season here is a real celebration for us.