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Representative photo of bright red nectarines on the tree, not Red Gold itself
  • Representative photo of bright red nectarines on the tree, not Red Gold itself
  • Red Gold nectarines ripening on the branch
  • Red Gold nectarine in bloom, trained on a wire trellis at Longwood Gardens
  • Representative photo of bright red nectarines on the tree, not Red Gold itself
  • Red Gold nectarines ripening on the branch
  • Red Gold nectarine in bloom, trained on a wire trellis at Longwood Gardens
Red Gold Nectarine (Spring 2027)

Red Gold Nectarine (Spring 2027)

$89.99
Rootstock/Size

Reliable shipping

Flexible returns
Pollination Self-fertile
Bloom group 4 of 7 (Mid)
See trees that bloom with it Nectarine Pollination Map
Ripening

Will it finish before your first hard freeze?

Check it on the Ripening Map (opens in a new tab)
Disease resistanceNo strong resistance
  • Bacterial spot : Susceptible, 2 of 5
  • Brown rot : Unknown, no published data yet
  • Cytospora canker : Susceptible, 2 of 5
  • Peach leaf curl : Unknown, no published data yet

Scored 1 to 5. Higher resists better, and ? means no published data yet.

See it on our peach and nectarine disease chart (opens in a new tab)

At a glance: Red Gold Nectarine is a nectarine tree rated hardy to zone 4b in our ratings (winters to -25°F), self-fertile, so one tree can crop (bloom group 4 of 7, mid for a peach or nectarine), and it ripens about Sep 14 to Sep 18 in Missoula (our Missoula estimate).

Hardy to Zone 4b to 8. The b means the warmer half of zone 4 only (winters to -25°F). Our notes have it taking -27°F. Find your zone with our cold hardiness calculator.
Chill hours About 850 hours (800 to 850). Well documented. Independent sources agree. Montana winters give it plenty. In milder climates, make sure your winters average at least this much. Check your chill hours or see our sources.
Pollination Self-Fertile. Bloom group 4 of 7 (mid), early spring here. Self-fertile, so a single tree will set fruit. No pollenizer needed. Nearby varieties that can boost the crop: Blushingstar Peach, Contender Peach, Glohaven Peach, PF-24C Cold Hardy Peach and 10 more. Nectarine Pollination Map.
Ripens About Sep 14 to Sep 18 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 Lovell: full size, about 12 to 20 ft tall unpruned. Doesn't like wet feet or high-lime soil. Our rootstock guide.
Good for Fresh eating (8/10), canning and freezing (8/10), pies and baking (7/10), jams and jellies (6/10), drying (6/10), cooking and roasting (6/10). 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, 5-7 ft. Larger & More Branching. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out.

Overview

Red 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.

As 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.

Cold Hardiness & Regional Suitability

In 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.

Tree Details

These trees are 5–7 ft tall and are grafted onto Lovell rootstock.

About the photo: this isn’t Red Gold itself. Photos of Red Gold are either under copyright or simply unavailable, so we picked the open-source image that looks closest to the fruit. Photo: “Lafayette Nectarines on the Hang” by crudmucosa, via Flickr, licensed CC BY 2.0. Other photo: “Prunus persica var. nucipersica Redgold 0zz” by David J. Stang, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Questions we get about Red Gold Nectarine

Does Red Gold Nectarine need a pollenizer?

No. Red Gold Nectarine is self-fertile, so a single tree can set fruit. Self-fertile, so a single tree will set fruit. No pollenizer needed. Partners we carry include Blushingstar Peach, Contender Peach, Glohaven Peach.

How cold hardy is Red Gold Nectarine?

We rate Red Gold Nectarine hardy to zone 4b, which means winters down to about -25°F. Our notes have it taking -27°F. Our ratings come from real winters at our two Montana sites and from trusted growers across the North, not from a catalog average.

How many chill hours does Red Gold Nectarine need?

About 850 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 800 and 850. That figure is well documented: independent sources agree. That's easily met here. Its limit in Montana is winter cold, not chill. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.

When does Red Gold Nectarine ripen?

About Sep 14 to Sep 18 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 Red Gold Nectarine get?

We graft Red Gold Nectarine onto Lovell (full size), which makes a tree roughly 12 to 20 ft tall if you never prune it.

What is Red Gold Nectarine good for?

Our top use scores for Red Gold Nectarine are fresh eating (8/10), canning and freezing (8/10), pies and baking (7/10), jams and jellies (6/10). Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.

Is Red Gold Nectarine disease resistant?

No. It's prone to bacterial spot and cytospora canker. Nobody has published solid data on it for brown rot 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.

Will deer eat Red Gold Nectarine?

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

Pollination partners

Good partners for Red Gold Nectarine

Red Gold Nectarine 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.

See every pairing on the Nectarine Pollination Map

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