{"title":"Best Peaches \u0026 Nectarines for Canning \u0026 Freezing","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe 4 varieties in our catalog that scored 8 or higher out of 10 for canning and freezing. Scored on whether the fruit holds its texture, color and flavor in a jar or the freezer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn 8 is Very good on the adapted Beach (1905) grade, a 9 is Very good to best and a 10 is Best. Varieties that scored 6 or 7 are genuinely good at this too, and you will find them under the matching Shop by Use group.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvery score in this list is sourced. Nothing is here because it is popular, and nothing is here on our word alone. The full evidence, including what each variety scored for every other use and why, is in the use guide.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"contender-peach","title":"Contender Peach","description":"\u003ch3 style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003eOverview\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003eContender is one of the more consistent-bearing and cold-hardy varieties of peach grown in Montana. We would rank Contender right behind Siberian C in terms of hardiness (although still a decent bit less hardy than Siberian C which we would put around -38°F), as this is the only commercial cultivar that has survived temperatures in the -30s (specifically, -32°F). It also has excellent flavor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003eFlavor Notes\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003eTaste notes from our 2022 company tasting of Forbidden Fruit’s Contenders:\u003cbr\u003e“Very yellow. Texture is great. Melts in your mouth. Not fibrous. Able to crush it on your palate. Not too sweet.”\u003cbr\u003eAnother noted: “Equally sweet and tart. Not fibrous or stringy. Likes it. Skin gives it a nice touch.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003eFreestone. Hardy to zone 4. On top of surviving -32°F, they survived our -25°F on 1\/13\/24 without any winter injury.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003eDO NOT PLANT if you are in an area that has the potential to see lower than -32°F (unless well sited to avoid frost pooling, thermal buffering features nearby such as buildings or bodies of water, lots of air drainage, etc.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003eTree Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003eThese Contender trees are grafted onto semi-dwarf Krymsk 86, Prairie Red Plum, Native Plum, and Manchurian apricot rootstock, the former of which will make for a 15 ft tree at maturity, and the latter three roughly 20 ft., respectively.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Montana Fruit Trees","offers":[{"title":"Krymsk 86 Semi-Dwarf: 3-4 ft.","offer_id":42498995486786,"sku":null,"price":54.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Manchurian Full Size: 3-4 ft. (One Year Older)","offer_id":42498995519554,"sku":null,"price":59.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Prairie Red Plum Semi-Dwarf: 4-6 ft.","offer_id":45125081595970,"sku":null,"price":59.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Native Plum Semi-Dwarf: 4-6 ft. (Pruned to 5 ft. for Shipping)","offer_id":45125081628738,"sku":null,"price":69.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Krymsk 86 Semi-Dwarf: 5-7 ft. (One Year Older) Pruned to 5 ft. for Shipping","offer_id":45125081661506,"sku":null,"price":89.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0626\/5687\/2514\/files\/contender-peach-in-hand.webp?v=1789019810"},{"product_id":"red-gold-nectarine","title":"Red Gold Nectarine","description":"\u003ch3 style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\" data-rte-preserve-empty=\"true\"\u003eOverview\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\" data-rte-preserve-empty=\"true\"\u003eRed Gold is one of the most well-known and widely planted of all nectarines. A vibrant red-colored nectarine with firm and juicy freestone flesh, it stores and keeps well. As with all nectarine cultivars, Red Gold does not require cross-pollination, as it bears fruit with its own pollen. Plant with any of our other nectarines for slightly more fruit set.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\" data-rte-preserve-empty=\"true\"\u003eAs for the flavor, Red Gold is one of the best tasting nectarines. This is Tom McCamant’s best performing taste wise from his Forbidden Fruit Orchard in Paradise, MT. His favorite nectarine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\" data-rte-preserve-empty=\"true\"\u003eCold Hardiness \u0026amp; Regional Suitability\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\" data-rte-preserve-empty=\"true\"\u003eIn line with all other nectarines, it should not be planted if you are in zone 4. It can survive in protected spots in Missoula, and only the absolute warmest microclimates in Montana (in good spots around Flathead Lake, warm spots along the Flathead River near Dixon\/Paradise) but will not survive in most parts of Montana. Hardy to about -27°F to maybe even -30°F but this might even be pushing it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\" data-rte-preserve-empty=\"true\"\u003eTree Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\" data-rte-preserve-empty=\"true\"\u003eThese trees are 5–7 ft tall and are grafted onto Lovell rootstock.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Montana Fruit Trees","offers":[{"title":"Lovell Full Size: 5-7 ft. Larger \u0026 More Branching (Pruned to 5 ft. for shipping)","offer_id":42503721156674,"sku":null,"price":89.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0626\/5687\/2514\/files\/red-gold-nectarine-on-tree.webp?v=1789020871"},{"product_id":"veteran-peach","title":"Veteran Peach","description":"\u003ch3\u003eOverview\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVeteran is one of the hardier commercial varieties of peaches, and is known for reliable crops, later blooming (helpful for dodging spring frosts), and flavorful yellow freestone fruit when fully ripe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eOrigin and History\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVeteran is a Canadian peach developed at Vineland, Ontario and widely reported as being introduced in 1928. \u003cbr\u003eMultiple nursery and catalog references report its parentage as Vaughn × Early Elberta.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eFruit \u0026amp; Uses\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVeteran produces medium to large peaches with yellow flesh and good classic peach flavor. Freestone when fully ripe. The flavor in Missoula is sweet and tangy, but with an intense peach aroma, especially when picked tree ripened. Somewhat similar in flavor to Contender.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eGrowth Habit \u0026amp; Spacing\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVeteran is vigorous and productive. These are grafted onto Prairie Red plum rootstock, which will produce a more semi-dwarf peach at around 15 ft depending on depth of soils and climate. Possibly closer to 20 ft. in really deep soils.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePollination\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVeteran is self-fruitful (self-fertile), like most peach cultivars, meaning a single tree can set fruit on its own. That said, an additional peach planted nearby, ideally Contender, can improve fruit set. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCold Hardiness\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVeteran withstood -26°F from a polar front that hit on 1\/13\/24 at our friend Kate Wilburn's house in Missoula. Luke actually planted this tree back in 2018. It was grafted onto Lovell peach rootstock, and the tree is currently about 15 ft. tall. Something interesting happened that following Spring after that polar front. We took scionwood cuttings for bench grafting and weirdly enough, none the wood was good. The cells of the shoots (from the previous year) were all damaged. This was in March. However, the tree budded out that Spring as though nothing had happened. The flower buds were all badly damaged and it didn't set fruit that year. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCertainly not as hardy as Siberian C peach (the hardiest in our experience). Veteran is probably second to only Contender in terms of hardiness of the named varieties. Contender is hardy to -32F in our experience, whereas Veteran may trail this slightly (this is simply conjecture based on field observations), but it is unlikely that it is hardier than Contender. Buzz Ferver indicates Veteran has been hardier than Contender but this has not been our experience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeople often ask about Reliance, which is not as hardy in our experience as many claim (we've seen more dead Reliance than we can count on our hands and feet, (and other people's hands and feet). That said, Tom McCamant, who has been growing Reliance, Contender, Veteran, and many other varieties in a warm microclimate in Paradise, MT, argues Reliance is the hardiest in terms of mid-winter hardiness, but is perhaps the least hardy in terms of Fall hardiness. And I'd argue many of the dead Reliance's we have seen were planted within a year or two of when MT experienced brutal Fall flash frosts in October (2019 and 2020) in which we hit subzero at the end of Oct. 2019, and Missoula saw -10F on 10\/25\/2020. Had these trees been bigger and more established (regardless of cultural practices\/tapering off water in the Fall), perhaps Reliance could have survived these. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Montana Fruit Trees","offers":[{"title":"Prairie Red Plum Semi-Dwarf: 3-5 ft.","offer_id":42508249727042,"sku":null,"price":49.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0626\/5687\/2514\/files\/veteran-peach-on-tree.jpg?v=1789021309"},{"product_id":"glohaven-peach","title":"Glohaven Peach","description":"\u003cp\u003eNew Variety. Description Coming Soon!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Montana Fruit Trees","offers":[{"title":"Krymsk 86 Semi-Dwarf: 5-7 ft. (Pruned to 5 ft. for Shipping)","offer_id":45181661446210,"sku":null,"price":64.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Krymsk 86 Semi-Dwarf: 5-7 ft. (Larger \u0026 More Branching) Pruned to 5 ft. for Shipping","offer_id":45181662658626,"sku":null,"price":89.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0626\/5687\/2514\/files\/MontanaFruitTreeCoPhotoComingSoon_7674037c-fb5e-4351-8718-f93834b27847.png?v=1788986703"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.montanafruittrees.com\/collections\/best-peaches-nectarines-for-canning-freezing.oembed","provider":"Montana Fruit Trees","version":"1.0","type":"link"}