The Orchard at Sage Hen Farm: Peaches

Descriptions of varieties presently growing in our orchard in Lodi, NY.

Our Peaches include these varieties: Carolina Gold, Contender, George IV, Indian Free, Intrepid, Madison, Redhaven, Rochester, Saturn, Veteran They are listed below in order of harvest. For descriptions of other fruit trees grown at Sage Hen Farm, go to our pages for Apples, Pears, Plums & Cherries.
Variety Origin Date	Fruit Size	Skin	Flesh & Flavor	Bloom Harvest Tree Vigor Hardiness Chill Hours	Tree Merits & Faults
Redhaven (Hale Haven x Kalhaven) East Lansing, Michigan, developed 1940, introduced by Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, 1948	medium round with pronounced suture	predominantly red over golden yellow	yellow with red around pit, very firm, semi-freestone sweet, full flavored, very juicy	late April into May mid-August T3 z5 ch: 800-950	Merits: bud hardy; very productive (needs thinning); non-browning fruit Faults: ; moderately resistant to bacterial spot, susceptible to peach leaf curl Special: the standard for flavor and juiciness for more than 70 years.
Intrepid (Reliance x Biscoe) North Carolina Introduced by North Carolina Agricultural Research Service in 1987	medium to large round	orange-yellow	light yellow, firm, freestone Sweet with little tartness, moderately juicy	early May early to mid September (+15) T3 z4 ch: 1000	Merits: blooms late; reliable &highly productive; aromatic; moderately resistant to bacterial spot. Faults: susceptible to peach leaf curl, thinning required to maintain fruit size
George IV (George the Fourth) (unknown, possibly related to Red Rareripe or Royal George) New York City, 1821	large round with broad suture	pale yellow with some greenish tinge possible, dotted with pinkish red and mottled dark red cheek; some fuzz	whitish, deeply tinged with red near the pit, soft, semi-freestone rich, intense, luscious peach flavor, very juicy	mid April into May late August into September (+18-21) T2 z5 ch: 650	Merits: hardy; aromatic Faults: shy bearer Special: the oldest North American peach cultivar still available; introduced by a Mr. Gill; a longer story told in a 2020 New Yorker article is that someone dropped a peach pit by the ferry on Broad Street. Mr. Gill must have picked it up and planted it. There are contradictory opinions about its value. Downing in his Fruit and Fruit Trees of America claims "No garden should be without it!" However, Hedrick advised that the variety "is not worth planting now" and "We doubt if it now deserves to be recommended on any list of fruits." He does not say why, but in the description he calls the tree unproductive, mild, pleasant, but only good in quality. Only good? One peach nursery calls it one of the three best white peaches of all time (but he doesn't name the other two).
Contender (Winblo x NC64 [parentage of NC64 includes Summercrest and Redhaven]) Raleigh, N.C. Introduced by North Carolina Agricultural Research Service in1987	medium to large round	orange-red over yellow	light yellow, firm, freestone has been called the "most flavorful, fresh eating peach," very juicy	early May early September (+20-23) T1 z4 ch: 1050	Merits: bud hardy; reliable & productive; non-browning fruit; aromatic; moderately resistant to bacterial spot. Faults: susceptible to peach leaf curl, thinning required to maintain fruit size
Variety Origin Date	Fruit Size	Skin	Flesh & Flavor	Bloom Harvest Tree Vigor Hardiness Chill Hours	Tree Merits & Faults
Rochester (Early Crawford open pollinated) Rochester, NY 1900	variable, medium to very large round with suture	red over yellow	yellow, medium soft, freestone classic peach flavor, called luscious and succulent, but less sweet than most modern peaches, juicy	late April into May early Septemberr (+20-23) T3 z4 ch: 700-850	Merits: bud hardy; very aromatic; moderately resistant to bacterial spot. Faults: fruit browns quickly; susceptible to peach leaf curl Special: more popular in England than in US; was the most popular peach on the Puget Sound islands during the early 20th Century; very rare in the US.
Madison (Ideal x Redhaven) Blacksburg, Va, introduced by Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station in 1963	medium round with prominent tip and suture	bright red over greenish yellow, little fuzz	orange yellow with red near pit, moderately firm, tender, freestone rich flavor, only moderately juicy	May early to mid-September (+21-24) T3 z4 ch: 850	Merits: very bud hardy; precocious bearer; resistant to bacterial spot; resistant to peach leaf curl Faults: fruit browns quickly; susceptible to peach leaf curl.
Veteran (Vaughn x Early Elberta) Vineland, Ontario, introduced by the Horticultural Research Institute of Ontario in 1928	medium to large flatter than round	yellow to yellow-orange, with little red; heavy fuzz, skin peels easily	yellow, soft, semi-freestone quite a rich flavor, juicy	late April mid- September (+23-25) T3 z4 ch: 900-1000	Merits: bud hardy; blooms late to avoid frosts; showy blooms; reliable, usually very productive; moderately resistant to bacterial spot. Faults: susceptible to peach leaf curl Special: considered to be better for canning than fresh eating, but we've enjoyed its fruits right off the tree. Although introduced later, the cross was made in 1919. Since this was just after the end of World War One, that may have influenced its name.
Indian Free (Indian Blood Free, Blood Free) (possible sport of Indian Cling) Uncertain. Reports are that native New Englanders were growing both cling and freestone varieties before colonists arrived or that the freestone variety was introduced by John M. Ives of Salem, Mass. after 1844 but before 1860	medium to large roundish, but often lopsided	mottled, splashed, and striped dark red and dull pink over greenish yellow; heavy fuzz	varies from almost solidly red to predominantly beet red, except paler near the pit to red only near skin, firm sweet with snappy tartness, very juicy	late April mid- September (+23-25) T3 z5 ch: 750	Merits: bud hardy; showy blooms; reliable, moderately resistant to bacterial spot and leaf peach curl. Faults: slow to mature Special: one origin story for this variety is that that Spanish missionaries brought to the New World in the 1500s. They have been grown at Monticello since 1807. It was the highest rated peach at several taste tests reported online
Carolina Gold (Biscoe x NC-C5S-067) North Carolina Introduced by North Carolina Agricultural Research Service in 2004	large round	yellow-orange with red	yellow, firm, freestone sweet and tangy, juicy	May mid-September (+30) T3 z4 ch: 1050	Merits: late blooming; reliable & productive; non-browning fruit; aromatic; moderately resistant to bacterial spot. Faults: susceptible to peach leaf curl, thinning required to maintain fruit size Special: one of the last varieties to come out of the North Carolina peach breeding program.

NOTES:

Bloom and Harvest: Bloom dates are vague, but since the earliest and latest blossoming trees have overlapped, I haven't paid as much attention to the actual dates. Harvest dates are not as exact as they may appear. They are based on the average date, August 15, that we have picked Red Haven peaches, and the number or days before or after the other varieties are usually ripe.

Tree Vigor and Hardiness:
Vigor means how large or small the tree will grow. T3 are larger trees that can reach 20 feet without dwarfing rootstock or regular pruning. T1 are naturally dwarfing trees that may only reach 8 to 10 feet even without dwarfing rootstock or pruning. Hardiness is based on how likely the tree will thrive over a cold winter. Growing peaches in a frost pocket here in the Finger Lakes region of New York State has been a challenge. We do not expect peach harvests every year, and we do not expect bountiful peach harvests more than once in three to five years.

Chilling hours is the amount of time a tree needs to spend in deep dormancy over the winter, below about 45 degrees so the tree can properly wake up in the spring. I have relied on several online sources for the information, and they do not always agree. It is not very important in the climate of the Finger Lakes, but there is a corrolation between chilling hours and hardiness. The higher the better.

Other Peach Trees: Whether the problem was lack of cold hardiness, pests, disease, or running out peaches's notoriously short lifespan, we have grown other varieties of peaches that have not survived. They include Eden, Finger Lakes Super Hardy, Glowingstar, Hale Haven, Harrow Diamond, Late Crawford, Loring, Reliance, and Saturn.

Resources:

Andrew Jackson Downing and Samuel Downing. The Fruits and Fruit-trees of America, second revised edition, 1881 (published in 1900).
U. P. Hedrick, George Henry Howe, Orrin Morehouse Taylor, Charles Burton Tubergen. The Peaches of New York. New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, 1917.
W. R. Okie. Handbook of Peach and Nectarine Varieties: Performance in the Southeastern United States and Index of Names. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 1998.
Growing Fruit Forum one of the best online sources of information about growing fruit, including peaches.

This page written and maintained by John R. Henderson [jhenderson@ ithaca.edu].
Last modified: Ground Hog's Day 2024

URL: http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/peach.html