Well, all rootstocks ARE fruit trees, they just usually don't taste as good as what is grafted on them. And it is probably a peach, not a nectarine, because I don't think there are any "nectarine" rootstocks. I know Lovell and Nemaguard are peaches, anyway. DO you know what rootstock it was grafted onto?

Carla in Sac

Carla's right, you have a peach rootstock. However, in zone 5, it wouldn't be Nema. Nema won't survive in zone 5. Probably Lovell, Bailey, or Halford. Most likely Lovell. As I understand it, a long time ago, Lovell used to be a commercial peach out in CA. Normally you wouldn't grow a rootstock for fruit. However, in this case, since the tree is this far along, I'd let it fruit. If it's Lovell, fruit may be quite good. Where you purchased the tree from, might offer an additional clue to the variety of rootstock you have.

If you have good eyes you can open up the blossom and you will clearly see if you have a nectarine or a peach.
The tiny fruit of a peach is covered in fur.

If you check the colour of the velvety lining of the inside of the blossom you can tell if you have a yellow or white fleshed fruit.

The inside of the flower is deep orange in yellow fleshed fruit, and a much paler yellow to white in a white fleshed fruit.

I learnt this as a nurseryman checking for mix ups in clients orders (I never told them what I was doing)

If its a nectarine your chance of having a good variety is quite high.

If its a peach with white inside the flower it could be one of the nematode resistant rootstocks, no good to eat.

If its a peach with bright orange inside the flower it could be a canning peach.
I quite like eating canning peaches fresh they are great flavour.
The reason you often get canning peaches as rootstocks is that the seed is easy to get in bulk from a canning factory.

You might notice an excess of U,s in my posts indicating I am not from the US, so some of my info could be a hemisphere out

Mike wrote:

"The reason you often get canning peaches as rootstocks is that the seed is easy to get in bulk from a canning factory."

Mike, that may be the way it is in Australia, but not in the U.S.

I've repeatedly read the claim that peach rootstocks are grown from pits from canning plants, but I've never read it from anyone who had any first-hand experience in the matter.

The reason I question this is because I've never seen any of these rootstocks for sale as canning varieties in commercial nursery catalogs. I see cling canning peaches like, Babygold and others, but I've yet to see a commercial nursery advertise a rootstock like Bailey or Halford, as a canning peach. As I mentioned Lovell is somewhat of an exception, but I don't think it has been grown as a commercial peach since the early 1900s.

I suspect those who sell seedling peach rootstocks, simply grow their own seed.

If anyone has any first-hand experience to the contrary, I'll gladly stand corrected.

http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.davewilson.com/br40/br40_fruitpix/peach_pix_sm/indian_blood_sm.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.davewilson.com/br40/br40_trees/peaches.html&usg=__Itky7emcuJZJu3PYmbNFvN_G88Q=&h=100&w=100&sz=3&hl=en&start=35&um=1&tbnid=D8l_XtGoJUmFdM:&tbnh=82&tbnw=82&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHalford,%2Bpeach%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D20%26um%3D1

Wow thats a link and a half, but if you scroll down you will see Halford mentioned in the canning peach section

Well, there you have it. They claim it's even a leading variety.

When I had a nursery we only used nematode resistant stocks, because I was selling to orchardists and they would not accept seedling stock.

Nurseries did not mind selling seedling stock to backyarders because they would never know the difference.

If twenty kilos is too much fruit for a backyarder then there is no point in having 30kilos..

You will find nectarines get that nasty speckled skin when they get any type of stress.
Being on a nematode rootstock seemed to decrease that happening, (some varieties just cant help themselves tho)

If I was planting peach or nectarine I would always want it on a nematode resistant rootstock.

(I think nurseries are a bit cheeky not using them)

Fortunately, nematodes are one of the few pests that aren't a problem around here. Most peach rootstocks sold in the Midwest aren't nematode resistant (I think Lovell has some resistance to ring nematode, but not the more damaging root knot nematode). Either way, they prefer sand, and most of the Midwest is clay. I understand nematodes can be a pretty big deal in CA and the southern peach states though.