Contender Peach (Spring 2027)

$54.99

Rootstock/Size Krymsk 86 Full Size: 3-4 ft. Manchurian Full Size: 3-4 ft. (One Year Older) Prairie Red Plum Semi-Dwarf: 4-6 ft. Native Plum Semi-Dwarf: 4-6 ft. (Pruned to 5 ft. for Shipping) Krymsk 86 Full Size: 5-7 ft. (One Year Older) Pruned to 5 ft. for Shipping

Reliable shipping

Flexible returns

Pollination Self-fertile

Bloom group 4 of 7 (Mid)

See trees that bloom with it Peach Pollination Map

Ripening

Will it finish before your first hard freeze?

Check it on the Ripening Map (opens in a new tab)

At a glance: Contender Peach is a peach tree rated hardy to zone 4 in our ratings (winters to -30°F), self-fertile, so one tree can crop (bloom group 4 of 7, mid for a peach or nectarine), and it ripens about Sep 1 to Sep 17 in Missoula (our Missoula estimate).

Hardy to	Zone 4 to 7. A bare number means the whole of zone 4, colder half included (winters to -30°F). Find your zone with our cold hardiness calculator.
Pollination	Self-Fertile. Bloom group 4 of 7 (mid), early spring here. Self-fertile, so a single tree will set fruit. It is also a good pollenizer for Veteran. Nearby varieties that can boost the crop: Blushingstar Peach, Glohaven Peach, PF-24C Cold Hardy Peach, Red Gold Nectarine and 10 more. Peach Pollination Map.
Ripens	About Sep 1 to Sep 17 in Missoula (a Missoula estimate from published sources). Real years swing about a week either way. See the date for your town.
Rootstock and size	Krymsk 86: full size. Manchurian: full size, about 15 to 20 ft tall unpruned. The hardiest apricot root there is. Prairie Red Plum: semi-dwarf, about 10 to 15 ft tall unpruned. A seed-grown American plum hybrid from the USDA plant materials center in Bismarck; it suckers. Native Plum: semi-dwarf, about 10 to 15 ft tall unpruned. Suckers, so mow or pull suckers. Our rootstock guide.
Good for	Fresh eating (8/10), canning and freezing (8/10), salads and slicing (7/10), pies and baking (7/10), sauce and butter (7/10), juice and sweet cider (7/10). Scores are our own 1 to 10 ratings; 8 and up makes our Best Of lists.
Deer	Sometimes damaged by deer.
What you get	Bare root, 3-4 ft or 4-6 ft or 5-7 ft. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out.

Overview

Contender 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.

Flavor Notes

Taste notes from our 2022 company tasting of Forbidden Fruit’s Contenders:
“Very yellow. Texture is great. Melts in your mouth. Not fibrous. Able to crush it on your palate. Not too sweet.”
Another noted: “Equally sweet and tart. Not fibrous or stringy. Likes it. Skin gives it a nice touch.”

Freestone. Hardy to zone 4. On top of surviving -32°F, they survived our -25°F on 1/13/24 without any winter injury.

DO 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.)

Tree Details

These Contender trees are grafted onto full size Krymsk 86, semi-dwarf Prairie Red Plum and Native Plum, and full size Manchurian apricot rootstock, the former of which will make for a 15 ft tree at maturity, and the latter three roughly 20 ft., respectively.

Questions we get about Contender Peach

Does Contender Peach need a pollenizer?

No. Contender Peach is self-fertile, so a single tree can set fruit. Self-fertile, so a single tree will set fruit. It is also a good pollenizer for Veteran. Partners we carry include Blushingstar Peach, Glohaven Peach, PF-24C Cold Hardy Peach.

How cold hardy is Contender Peach?

We rate Contender Peach hardy to zone 4, which means winters down to about -30°F. Our ratings come from real winters at our two Montana sites and from trusted growers across the North, not from a catalog average.

When does Contender Peach ripen?

About Sep 1 to Sep 17 in Missoula, Montana (an estimate built from published sources and our climate). Warmer places run earlier and cooler places later; our ripening map converts the date to your town.

How big does Contender Peach get?

We graft Contender Peach onto Krymsk 86 (full size). Some sizes are on Manchurian, Prairie Red Plum, Native Plum.

What is Contender Peach good for?

Our top use scores for Contender Peach are fresh eating (8/10), canning and freezing (8/10), salads and slicing (7/10), pies and baking (7/10). Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.

Will deer eat Contender Peach?

Sometimes. Deer browse Contender Peach now and then, so protect young plants where deer pressure is high.

Pollination partners

Good partners for Contender Peach

Contender Peach is self-fertile, so one tree will fruit on its own. If you'd like a second peach or nectarine, these bloom at the same time and work well together.

Bloom group 4 of 7 (Mid)

Pollination Self-fertile

Pollen Good pollenizer

14 trees we carry bloom with it. 7 in stock now.