Fantasia Nectarine (Spring 2027)

No. Fantasia Nectarine is self-fertile, so a single tree can set fruit. Partners we carry include Flavortop Nectarine, Arctic Glo Nectarine, Blushingstar Peach.

We list Fantasia Nectarine at zone 5, which means winters down to about -20°F. That's our estimate from how other nectarines have done for us, not from our own Fantasia trees yet. Plant it in a solid zone 5 with good protection, or better yet zone 6.

About 500 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 500 and 750. That figure is well documented: independent sources agree. Low chill for Montana, about 500 hours. It's quick to wake in late-winter warm spells, so skip spots with reflected heat off walls. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.

About Sep 23 to Sep 27 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.

We graft Fantasia Nectarine onto Lovell (full size), which makes a tree roughly 12 to 20 ft tall if you never prune it. Some sizes are on Krymsk 86.

Our top use scores for Fantasia Nectarine are fresh eating (8/10), pies and baking (7/10), cooking and roasting (7/10), salads and slicing (6/10). Since we're still new to it, those scores lean on published descriptions rather than our own harvests. Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.

Not really. It holds up moderately well against bacterial spot. It's prone to brown rot. Nobody has published solid data on it for cytospora canker and peach leaf curl yet, so we list those as unknown. Our peach and nectarine disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.

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