Tree · Rosaceae
Nectarine
Prunus persica var. nucipersica
A nectarine is a peach without the fuzz, and it pays back full sun and a yearly prune with sweet, smooth-skinned fruit.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 5–9
10–20 ft · 3–6 m
Overview
A nectarine is the same tree as a peach, just one gene short of the fuzz. It belongs to the rose family alongside cherries, plums, and apricots, and the smooth skin is the only real giveaway that sets it apart from its fuzzy twin. Grown well, it gives you firm, sweet fruit from a tree that fits a backyard rather than an orchard.
This is a demanding tree, and worth being honest about that. It wants full sun, deep well-drained soil, and a careful prune every winter, and its smooth skin scars and rots more easily than a peach's. The reward for the effort is fruit you rarely find at its best in a store, picked dead ripe off your own branch.
Most trees are sold grafted onto a rootstock, so you plant a young whip and train it from the start. It crops in zones 5 through 9, blooms early enough that a late frost can nip the flowers, and ripens its harvest across the heart of summer.
Care
The short version: full sun, deep well-drained soil kept on the dry side once the tree is established, an open-center prune every late winter, and a dormant spray to head off leaf curl and brown rot.
Light
Give a nectarine full sun, the most you can offer, since fruit quality and sugar both ride on it. A tree in shade grows leggy, sets little fruit, and holds damp leaves that invite disease.
Water
Water deeply while the tree is growing and sizing its fruit, then let the top half of the soil dry before the next soaking. Established trees shrug off a short dry spell, and keeping water off the leaves cuts down on fungal trouble.
Soil
Plant in deep, well-drained sandy loam, because nothing kills a nectarine faster than soggy roots. Aim for a slightly acidic pH between 6.0 and 6.5, and improve drainage before planting if the ground holds water.
Temperature
The tree is hardy through a wide swing, from about -9°F to 95°F (-23°C to 35°C). Its early bloom is the weak point, since a late frost can wipe out a year's flowers before the fruit ever forms.
Humidity
Average humidity in the 40% to 70% range suits it fine. Damp, still air is the real problem, because it sets up brown rot and leaf curl, so open the canopy and let the breeze through.
Feeding
Feed from early spring into midsummer with a balanced complete fertilizer such as 10-10-10, then follow with calcium nitrate. Stop feeding by late summer so the new growth can harden before winter.
Pruning
Train the young tree to an open-center, vase shape and prune it hard every late winter. Each year you cut out water sprouts and thin the canopy to let light and air reach the fruit, which is the single biggest job this tree asks of you.
Repotting
This is a field tree, not a container plant, so there's no repotting in the usual sense. Pick the planting spot with care up front, since a nectarine resents being moved once its roots are down.
Size & spacing
Left to grow, a nectarine reaches 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m) tall and about as wide. A yearly prune keeps it lower and easier to pick, but give it that full 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m) of room so air moves through the canopy.
When to plant
Plant a bare-root nectarine while it's dormant, in late winter or early spring, so the roots settle before growth begins. The tree flowers early, which leaves the blossoms exposed to a late cold snap, and the fruit ripens from mid-June into September depending on the cultivar.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: late winter to early spring while dormant (bare-root)
- Harvest: blooms early spring; fruit ripens mid-June to mid-September by cultivar
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 5–9
Temperature: down to -29°C
Troubleshooting
A nectarine's smooth skin shows damage that a fuzzy peach would hide, so trouble tends to land on the fruit and the new leaves first. Learn the early signs and you can act before a fungus or a borer sets the tree back. Match what you see below, then step in while it still counts.
Fruit rotting on the branch with fuzzy gray-brown patches
This is brown rot, caused by Monilinia fungi that move fast in warm, humid weather, and nectarines catch it more easily than most stone fruit. Clear away every mummified fruit and any infected twigs, then prune the canopy open so air can dry the wood. A fungicide at bloom and again before harvest keeps it in check.
Fix:
- Remove mummified fruit and infected twigs, prune for airflow, and apply fungicide at bloom and before harvest
Oozing gum and sawdust-like frass at the base of the trunk
Those signs at the trunk base point to peachtree borers, the larvae of a clearwing moth that tunnel through the lower wood and can girdle a young tree. Keep the tree vigorous so it can wall off the damage, dig out any larvae you find, and time trunk sprays to when the moths are flying.
Fix:
- Keep trees vigorous, remove larvae, and time trunk sprays to moth flight
New leaves puckered, thickened, and reddened in spring
Peach leaf curl comes from the fungus Taphrina deformans, which infects buds during cool, wet spring weather. Once the leaves distort there's no fixing them for the year. The spray that matters is a dormant fungicide put on in late winter, before the buds swell.
Fix:
- Apply a dormant fungicide spray in late winter before bud swell
Silvery scars and rough patches on the fruit skin
Western flower thrips feed on the developing fruit, and a nectarine's smooth skin scars far more readily than a fuzzy peach's. The damage is skin-deep and the fruit still eats fine. Watch for the pests at bloom and petal fall, and treat only if numbers cross the threshold.
Fix:
- Monitor at bloom and petal fall and treat if thresholds are exceeded
Toxicity
The ripe flesh is safe and delicious, but the rest of the tree is not. The pits, leaves, twigs, and bark hold cyanogenic glycosides that release cyanide, and wilted leaves are especially dangerous to grazing animals. Keep prunings and fallen pits well away from pets and livestock, and never let anyone eat the pit.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Toxic
A cat that chews the leaves or stems may drool, vomit, or go off its food. The real danger is the cyanide in the pit and foliage, which can bring on dilated pupils, labored breathing, and a racing heart.
Dogs Toxic
Watch for vomiting, diarrhea, and heavy panting after a dog gets into the leaves or a fallen pit. A swallowed pit can also lodge in the gut, and large amounts of plant material risk cyanide poisoning.
Horses Toxic
Horses are at serious risk, and wilted leaves blown into the paddock are the worst threat of all. Cyanide poisoning shows up as brick-red gums, fast breathing, staggering weakness, and sudden collapse.
Rabbits Toxic
The leaves, twigs, and pits hold cyanogenic compounds that a rabbit's small body can't handle, so none of it belongs in the hutch. A bite or two of ripe, pitted flesh is the only part that's reasonable to offer.
Livestock Toxic
Grazing animals such as cattle, goats, and sheep are most at risk from wilted prunings tossed over a fence, where the cyanide concentrates. Poisoning comes on fast, with breathing distress, trembling, and collapse.
Birds Caution
Keep birds away from the pits, leaves, and bark, since the cyanogenic glycosides are no safer for them. A little ripe flesh is fine, but the seed inside should never be on offer.
People Ripe flesh safe
The ripe flesh is a summer favorite and perfectly safe to eat. Don't crack open or swallow the pit, though, since the kernel carries the same cyanide-releasing compounds as the leaves.
Keep pits and pruned leaves and stems away from pets and livestock; ripe flesh in moderation is not a concern.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Nectarines come in dozens of named types, but a few freestone cultivars show up again and again for their flavor and reliability. These are the ones worth knowing.
Fantasia
A large freestone with firm yellow flesh and striking color, and it ranks among the highest quality nectarines you can grow.
Redgold
A large yellow-fleshed freestone prized as much for its eating quality as for how widely it adapts from one region to the next.
Independence
A red-skinned, yellow-fleshed freestone that sets fruit on its own, so a single tree crops without a second pollinator nearby.
How to propagate
There are two ways to start a nectarine, and only one gives you the fruit you expect. Grafting copies a known cultivar, while a pit grows into a gamble.
GraftingDemanding
Named nectarines are budded or grafted onto peach or plum rootstock, and this is how nurseries keep a cultivar true to type. It takes a steady hand and some practice, which is why most growers buy a grafted tree rather than make one.
SeedModerate
A pit will sprout once it has spent a stretch of cold, moist stratification to break its dormancy. The catch is that the seedling won't match its parent, so you get a tree of its own kind rather than a copy of the fruit you started with.
Myths
A nectarine is a cross between a peach and a plum.
It isn't a hybrid at all. A nectarine is simply a smooth, fuzzless peach, the very same species Prunus persica, and the only real difference is a single recessive gene that strips away the fuzz.
Nectarines are a separate species from peaches.
They share one species, and a nectarine is just a peach with a smooth skin. The fuzzless form keeps cropping up from the same single-gene mutation, which is why the two trees take the same care and fall to the same pests.