Contender Peach

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 -38F), 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 -32F, they survived our -25°F on 1/13/24 without any damage.

DO NOT PLANT if you are in an area that has the potential to see lower than -32°F.

Tree Details

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