Flavortop Nectarine (Spring 2027)

This is our first year growing Flavortop, so everything below is secondhand until we get more long-term data from our own mother trees.

Overview

Flavortop is a big, firm, yellow freestone nectarine that's here for flavor, not toughness. It's one to grow in your warmest spot.

Origin and History

According to NC State Extension, Flavortop was developed by the USDA in Fresno, California and introduced in 1969.

Fruit and Uses

Rutgers describes it as medium to large, 90 to 100% crimson red over a greenish-yellow background, yellow-fleshed and freestone, "firm with a very good acidic flavor." The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture calls it "large, ovate and freestone with excellent quality." It ripens in early August in New Jersey, about ten days after Redhaven, and in early September at Geneva, New York. Cornell also noted that the flesh doesn't brown. It's a fresh-eating nectarine first.

Growth Habit and Spacing

Ours are on Krymsk 86, which makes a tree around 15 feet here. Plan on about 15 feet between trees, 12 if you prune hard or 18 with less pruning. Ontario says the trees "are vigorous but produce light crops," and Rutgers rates it moderately productive. The main disease issue is bacterial spot, which Rutgers says it's highly susceptible to.

Pollination

Flavortop is self-fertile, so one tree will set fruit.

Cold Hardiness

This isn't a hardy nectarine. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture says the trees "are tender to winter cold," NC State rates it zone 6, and Cornell's freezing tests put its blossom buds a bit below Elberta. We have it listed at zone 5, and that's the absolute edge. Plant it in a warm, protected spot and expect to lose crops in hard winters.

Photo credit: USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System, National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Davis, California, accession PI 673781. Public domain (U.S. government work).

About the photo: this isn’t Flavortop itself. Photos of Flavortop are either under copyright or simply unavailable, so we picked the open-source image that looks closest to the fruit. Photo: “Nectarines” by Michelle Kassorla (profshelly1), via Flickr, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. Other photo: “Flavortop, PI 673781, bloom (GRIN image FR7T49, 2016-02-26)” by USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System, National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Davis, California, via USDA GRIN, public domain.