Growing Peaches and Nectarines in the Home Landscape
Peaches have been grown in Asia for more than two thousand years, and produced for centuries in the United States. Peaches are considered the “Queen” of the fruits and second only to apples in popularity as a deciduous tree fruit because of their fine flavor and many uses as a fruit. Figure 1. Tree-ripe peaches can be juicy and tasty rewards to hardworking gardeners. Photo by Keith Weller, USDA. Nectarines can be used in the same way as peaches, and may be considered as substitutes for peaches. Genetically, the only difference between peaches and nectarines is the lack of fuzz on the nectarine skin. Usually, nectarines are smaller than peaches, have more red color on the surface and more aroma. Popular uses for peaches and nectarines include fresh eating, sugared and with cream. They are also used in ice cream, pies, cobbler and shortcake. In addition, peaches and nectarines are used for jam, jelly, preserves and mixed fruit...