"Belle of Georgia" is one very good white fleshed peach which is late bearing -- ripens after Labor Day here in Michigan, around mid-September actually. It would be quite a bit earlier in Georgia, of course.

thanks so much, now that I think about it, if there is a white peach that will produce BEFORE the Elberta that would work to!. I have heard lots about the Belle of Georgia. I would also love for the tree to be as disease resistant as possible. I know my neighbor does not spray and her tree was just loaded with peaches and they were perfect.

I'm close to your chill-hours, and highly recommend Southern Pearl if you can find one. I got ours from Just Fruits & Exotics a couple of years ago, but I don't see it currently listed in their inventory.

It is indescribably sweet, probably similar to your neighbor's. The fruits start ripening about the first of July around here.

-Bruce

Rutgers U. did a taste comparison of about 20 different cultivars several years ago and Lady Nancy was the standard by which all others were judged. It surpassed all comers. Unfortunately it's quite susceptible to brown rot, unlike the relatively mediocre Belle of Georgia. OK, sorry to be a snob, but BG is a great home orchard tree because it is long lived and easy to manage not because of exceptional flavor to the majority of tastes. I think Rariton Rose is better, if you want a tried and true white.

Some just love the new low acid types like White Lady, which is easy to grow and holds on the tree for a month- ripe but hard, ready to pick and soften off the tree. Not my cup of tea, however. I need some acid with that corn syrup.

I was visiting California 20 years ago and had some Babcock peaches. Anyone try them? I'd like to find a source if they are good ones to grow. Will they grow on the other side of the country or do they need CA weather?

As I recall, Babcock are strictly west coast.

The advantage of the low-acid peaches such as Babcock is that they are very good while slightly under ripe and crunchy. You won't get the bitter/sour taste from most under ripe peaches. If you like a little crunch on a peach (as I do at times) a low acid peach or two are good to have in your orchard. Babcock is a proven performer in my region.

goatster:

Why not bud your neighbors tree onto a rootstock? If you don't like that option, I'd stick with the eastern bred fruits. bcfromfl gave you some good advice. Check out Just Fruits and Exotics.

harvestman: Wish you could try some of my low acid yellow fleshed nectarines. Maybe you wouldn't like them. I think they are incredible when properly grown in my greenhouse. They are very sweet but with a very unique strong spicy flavor that I cann't adequately describe so I won't try. Will just say they are the best fruit I've ever eaten. I like the yellow fleshed much better than the white fleshed low acid nectarines. The latter score much better in Dave Wilson taste tests. To me they are much more the sweetness with no flavor that you describe. Also, I've not had a white flesh low acid peach that I liked in 20 yrs. Have had some low acid yellow fleshed peaches that were the best peaches I've ever eaten. Maybe I just like something about yellow. But suffice it to say I find a great range in the low acid peach/nectarine. It's not just a mine field of corn syrup.

The Fruitnut

Fruitnut, I don't doubt the nects are delicious because you told me you don't much like the White Lady peach. In the humid northeast any nectarine I can harvest without rotting is an indescribebly wonderful fruit- nothing like store-bought and much more intensely flavored than most peaches.

I found one called Redgold that, unlike previous varieties I've tried, doesn't seem very prone to cracking in the rain. I'm excited about trying a few other ones now but will stick to varieties being grown out east.

I refuse to grow fruit in a greenhouse! I love my climate, having grown up near Malibu Ca I don't need boring weather. When spring comes, a plant lover gets drunk on the growth explosian.

I have a brother who lives in Kauii and the lack of winter makes insect and disease problems relentless. Winter is a gardeners ally.

have any of you guys had a white nectarine called "yumm yumm", they are one of the best white nectarines I've had, in some sense is kinda having a "jolly rancher", is very sweet, a bit tangy, and it does have a bit of a spicy flavor, its a very good white nectarine. I have a 3rd season tree and a first season very small tree flowering at this time.

Hello Raffy,
Can you tell me were you got your yum yum tree. A good friend of mine told me that yum yum was a great nectarine tree as well and I would like to try one if I can find one.

Thanks,
Scape

Gurney's offers it. Supposedly it ripens alot earlier than other nectarines or peaches.

Here is a link that might be useful: yumm yumm

I wish they'd give the real name of yumm yumm. This is almost certainly another cultivar that they've renamed. They claim it blooms in April and ripens in mid to late June. That's got to be some kind of record. My earliest ripening tree fruit, Tasty Rich aprium, takes 90 days from bloom to ripe. The earliest nectarine, Artic Star, takes 120 days. And that's with 80+F everyday in my greenhouse. Now there are earlier nectarines, but no nectarines worth eating is going to ripen in 60-75 days. The very earliest peach or nectarine that Dave Wilson lists is nearly 90 days and I'll bet that's not much of a fruit.

But we do have a favorable first hand report, so it may be worth trying. I'd just like to know the real name before I spend $25. It's not one of those cheapy trees.

The Fruitnut

More than $25 with shipping. I agree with the skepticism- in these catalogues "too good to be true" is pretty much what it is in my experience. High quality fruit has never come from the earliest cultivars for me.

I've had the yumm yumm for couple years, no flowering yet. And have to move it this year, so that'll set it back a little. If it really is a early cultivar and isn't high quality, maybe I'll be saying yuck yuck instead. haha

The names infantile.

I wondered if this may be a marketing name. I must say that a good friend and very reliable source here in Texas told me that this was a very good nectarine. Until Raffy posted about it I had forgoten that I wanted to try it. I will say that my friend didnt say anything about it being an early season nectarine. I think he claimed it was mid summer. The exageration may be the earliness not the flavor. Like you say its hard to say without knowing the cultivar title.

Scape

Hey Raffy gman,
When does your yumm yumm ripen? You know I started thinking about this and my june gold peach blooms in mid march usually and starts ripening the last week in may. Thats a pretty short period. I'll be the first to admit that it isnt a great peach but it aint bad either. But perhaps my pallete isnt that sophisticated.

thanks,
Scaper

Hey scaper, hey all, this is my third year with this tree, and second with another small one, they start to flower the very first week or march, (remember, I' in San Diego Ca.) and in 2007 I picked the first 4 fruits on June 7th,and in 2008 I started picking on June 1st.

Second year they were a medium size (larger than the first obviously), but I still need to learn to let go of some fruit and thin a little heavier, last year I only thinned to about 4 - 5 inches between fruits, this year I'm determined to space them at least 6 - 8 inches apart.

This is the first year I entered any forum, and I am learning alot from you guys with more experience.

Thanx

Here,s a pic of what my yumm yumm looks like right now:

{{gwi:71634}}

full little tree:

{{gwi:71635}}

last year I put some string to hold it, nailed the other end of string to the fence, like I said, I need to thin heavier this year...

Great looking tree Raffy. Good idea on the string. I rig up all sorts of contraptions on my trees. Most of mine are geared towards stopping birds and squirells. Thank you for answering my question. Does anyone have a guess as to what the real name for yumm yumm might be? I would love to try this tree but I am worried about ordering from gurneys. Doesnt seem there rep is very good.

Thanks guys,
Scaper

Scraper,

I have become leary of Gurneys also, but I did buy 8 Yumm Yumms about three years ago. They were spindley little trees and I almost sent the back. But I planted them and have been pleasantly surprised...they grew like weeds. I got only a handful of nectarines last year that I thought were pretty tasty. But those are only my taste buds. Im expecting better results this year.

I heading to my orchard this weekend for the first time this year to begin maintenace and if they have begun to bloom I will take some pics and post them.

I agree that there has to be a "real" name for this tree. I would say its anyones guess. Personally, Im happy if the fruit is good and the tree stays healthy.

Cheers!

Thanks Joeyoso,
You may talk me into trying them. I have really wanted to try that tree for awhile. Maybe I'll give em a shot.

Thanks

Scraper,

Not trying to talk you into buying these trees, just giving my 2 cents.

Youre in a completely different zone than I am, and Im sure with different pests. So I would definitely research these trees a ton before you consider making a purchase.

Good luck!

Thanks again Joeyoso,
You know I am not that worried about the tree as I know some one in my area who grows it and loves it. I am really more worried about the source. Im worried about placing an order that never comes! Now thats really something to worry about. By the way does anyone know if it has a patent or not? If not I could aquire budwood and make my own. Thanks again.

Goatster, we had great luck with two white peaches. George IV and Polly. Both super sweet and grown with out spraying, once they have enough mass. There was no brown rot what so ever. The only problem we had was peach tree borer. Peach tree borers destroyed all our peach before we realized what was causing their deaths. We also gave a lot of peaches to a lot of people who did not know how to bud. A lot of them liked the peaches so much they planted seeds. A high number of those seedlings had flavor and disease resistance as good as the parent tree. Bob Harper

Thanks everyone for all their suggestions. I had my Elberta wrapped ( trunk ) for the peach tree borer. I need to get it done again it busted out of it. This tree was suppose to be dwarf. HA maybe for the Jolly Green Giant. If I planted a seed of a peach how long would I have to wait for a peach? I am thinking 5-7 years? I have been looking but don't recall seeing a George IV or Polly.

Champion is probably the best white peach I ever tasted - like honey - but it rots easily.
The next best is Eden - very, very good - and it doesn't brown fast when it's cut. I used it to make brandied peaches years ago - to die for. I got a new tree last year from Cummins nursery.
I've had Belle of Georgia and wasn't impressed.

Blushingstar

Grown Eden and Blushing Star- they aren't nearly as good here as Lady Nancy. BS's advantage is the peaches stay hard-ripe on the tree for like a month and than soften quickly after being picked- bred for shipping.

I keep hearing about Lady Nancy and for some reason I have never planted that peach. I think a major omission on my part. And I do like Blushingstar as I haul them to market, and it cans really well.

Lady Nancy is an "albino" sport of Jersey Queen which is a particularly luscious freestone yellow. It is fuller flavored than many other whites and the peaches are huge. I wonder how it would do out west because here the main problem with it is brown-rot. It can fairly easily be controlled with Indar or Orbit (and probably Pristine), but still, you hate to have to go to the extra effort. But my customers go nuts for it when I give them a few.

I still prefer yellows and anyway I assume yellows are better for you with their obvious greater carotine content.

the younger the customer the more likely they are to prefer a white peach. More sweet, you know. I like a white peach, but only as a change of pace. I have little problem with brown rot. I am not even sure what it is.

I assume that in any but coastal western conditions brown-rot is not a big issue. I never saw it when I lived in CA although my experience with fruit trees was considerably less than my east coast experience.

I'm just surprised that Lady Nancy isn't grown out there and wonder how it would do. It may be that it is an east coast tree because Adams County Nursery has an exclusive on it.

I think I've looked into every single white-fleshed peach I can find and I just don't know that I've found mine yet. We moved here about 20 years ago and inherited a peach tree I'm attached to enough to refer to as "she" and "her." Unfortunately, I think she's reaching the end of her life. My son tried pruning her but she's down to one forked branch that produces. Her peaches are the tastiest, honey-sweetest, juicy, freestone white flesh peaches anyone can ask for, and to taste them is to love them. The flesh is juicy and melts when you eat it. The peaches aren't particularly pretty, and I've taken pictures of them for future reference in case this is my last year of them. They match with the description of the Polly White - kind of greenish on the skin where it's lighter, but with a nice blush in patches - but I was told that is a firm peach and I don't think I'd describe these peaches as firm. They're definitely not crisp in any way, if that's what "firm" means. I handle them carefully to keep the treasures from bruising, but I often pick them up off of the ground and am still able to eat them if the critters didn't get to them first. So I guess they may not be as delicate as I treat them. I've done very little to take care of this tree, other than to maybe have it protected by a deck on the west side (which would be an accidental protection), because I didn't really know there was anything I should have been doing until I began trying to find out what she is. I do have a habit of going out to cover her with a large sheet (or 2, or 3...as she grew over the years) when I heard of frost warnings during her blossoming time, and I would talk to her the whole time I was covering her about how rude it was of winter to be making her so uncomfortable when she was doing such a good job of trying to make peaches. The only year she didn't produce a bumper crop on every living branch was the year I got sick and couldn't get out there to cover her. I'm guessing this means we can describe her as "hardy." The peaches get tiny brown spots and they occasionally get little worms, but nothing that ruins the crop. I live near St. Louis, Missouri where our weather is unpredictable. Does any of this description ring a bell for anyone? I have pictures of a peach, leaves, and a sliced peach, if you need to see them.

Thanks for any help you can give me! I'm really sad that it looks like we're losing this tree!

sunny:

Buy a rootstock this winter and graft or bud your tree onto the new root. If you can't find a peach rootstock like Lovell, buy any peach or nectarine this fall and plant it for grafting or budding next year. This is the only way to be sure you keep your treasured fruit.

If you can't bud or graft there should be someone in your area that could do it for you. Check with Master gardeners or local nurseries. They should know someone who could help you out.

Thank you so much for the tips! My son plans to help me do some also, so hopefully we'll wind up with at least one or more strong possibilities from it.

Sunny, it is unlikely that the peach you mention is as exceptional genetically as you make it out to be. I bet if you had twenty varieties of white peaches to sample tree ripe you'd find more than one as good as your baby.

Please don't take this as a put down of your child (all our children are exceptional) but as a source of comfort should your attempt of saving it fail.

I have found more variability in fruit quality from site to site and season to season than between varieties themselves.

Most of the old varieties have too much fuzz for my tastes but this is highly subjective. Once again, I find Lady Nancy to be the best white in my orchard.

Hi Goatster,
I, too, live in Georgia and I have several peach trees, but to my surprise, the best white-fleshed peach that I have ever tasted came from one of my fruit cocktail trees. (I have 2 of them) I plucked it off the tree because this year has been a very rainy season for us, and that peach had a small soft spot on it. It could have stayed on the tree maybe a few days later to soften up some more but I decided to go ahead and get it while it was still firm. (This was in the middle of July) I didn't even expect that peach to be white but what a delightful surprise. Of course, I had no idea what variety of peach it was because when I bought the fruit cocktail tree, it did not list the varieties of any of the fruit that grew on it-so I had to do the detective thing. I still have the label on the tree so I called around until I got the farm from where it was grown. To my surprise, they listed it as the Belle of Georgia. I have another Belle of Georgia peach tree that has been in my yard for 3 years now, but late freezes has not allowed me to enjoy any of the fruit so far, but I kid you not Goatster, that peach was really delicious! It was rich and full-bodied, huge in size, and it smelled heavenly! Yes! At first I was disappointed that I ended up with a tree that had apricots, plums, and 2 type of peaches instead of the nectarine that the sigh said it contained: but I have thought about it and I am glad that I have 2 kinds of peaches on the fruitcocktail tree! NO worrries because both type of peaches were good, but the white one really outshined the yellow by far. I have ordered half the trees that I have in my yard from different places online-but a lot of the time we have to remember that our best production is going to come from what is native to our area. I have learned this from experience although I have some trees that only grow well in California like a few of the pluots. (But that is altogether a whole different story-as the end results have not been determined yet)However, I am a risk taker and I don't mind trying something once to get what I want. If it doesn't work out, thats okay. At least I have tried. Next year, I will take pics and upload them of both fruit cocktail trees so you can see exactly what I am talking about. Good luck with your search for the perfect white peach tree but Fruitnut had the best suggestion when he suggested you ask your neighbor for a scion to graft onto one of your peach trees. I am sure this will work great for you! Take care.

One more thing Goatster, I plucked that peach right after I had plucked the peaches from my Elberta trees. I would have left them all on a lot later, but all the rain kind of scared me and I did not want to end up with brown rot or anything like it. I took the peaches while they were still edible. I live in the Metro Atlanta area by the way. I have wondered what my true zone number is listed as. Some places say 8b and others say 7b. Maybe you can tell me the right answer! LOL. Anyway, I love my location. We can grow a lot of stuff here for long seasons. I have planted all my seeds for the fall gardens now. Take care.