For those of you who can make it to the CRFG Annual Scionwood Exchange to be held at Prusch Park on January 12, 2008. Here's some good news. You should pre-order the trees and pick them up at the exchange:
I got the announcement from Sini Falkowksi
Most of you know that the Chapter has a subgroup called the Hybridization Group. We are a small but zealous group of members that have been hybridizing for new stone fruit varieties that will be interesting for the Home Gardener. Most new varieties are hybridized with the commercial grower in mind, e.g. fruit that colors up when still "green", fruit that stays firm for packing and not juicy and melting and fruit that ripens all at one time. These characteristics are opposite of what a home grower wants in his yard. He/she wants fruit that stays on the tree until ripe; juicy, tasty fruit and fruit that can be picked over a longer length of time.
Last year we evaluated some of our new crosses and have propagated them for sale at the 2008 Scion Exchange in January 2008. We will have dormant bareroot trees for sale. We are offering these sturdy trees for $15 plus a $5 donation to our group for growing expenses. So the total value of each tree will be $20 each. I will take orders for the trees in advance of the sale at Prusch so that you will be ensured to get these rare new trees. All advance sale and regular sale trees will be distributed at the Scion Exchange at Prusch Park. This is according to our agreement with the Santa Clara County Ag dept. We can conduct this sale once only during the 2009 season according to our permit. So if you don't buy your trees now it will be too late to get them later.
Below are the description of the trees we will have available. They are all on Lovell rootstock. At the 2009 Scion Exchange we will have our wonderful new apricot varieties which we evaluated this summer and will be propagating this winter. One is a very floral fragrant white apricot which is delicious and a late apricot which fruits in August. Both are excellent tasting. They will be on the new Torinel rootstock which is virus free.
To preorder: contact Sini at:
sinif@sbcglobal.net
1: KIT DONNELL peach: A peach of unknown parentage, but it's believed to have 'Baby Crawford' as one of its parents. Relatively large yellow freestone ripening in early August. Consistently high quality since it was first evaluated several years ago. Skin thick, sometimes slightly astringent like Elberta, but flesh is juicy, melting, sweet and luscious. One of the best tasting mid-season yellow peaches named in honor of Kit Donnell, highly respected past chair of the Santa Clara Valley chapter of the CRFG.
2: SILK ROAD nectarine: A Tashkent-type nectarine that is all gold with no blush on the skin nor red near the stone. Much larger and more productive than the original Tashkent seedlings. Very juicy with much less bitterness at the skin than the original. Rich apricot-like flavor.
3: MARIA'S GOLD nectarine: Another Tashkent-type, all yellow nectarine. A bit smaller than 'Silk Road' but more productive, and perhaps a little richer in flavor. It should make an outstanding backyard variety; named in honor of the late Maria Plekanova, horticulturist and guide to the CRFG-NAFEX members who toured the Soviet Union in 1991. She was instrumental in helping the group find and bring the Tashkent nectarine strain to the US.
4: ATHENA peach: Likely a seedling of 'Pallas' peach, an old heirloom and flavor like a honeydew melon. Unlike its parent, however, this is not susceptible to pre-harvest drop as its parent
5: LONGEVITY peach: 'Longevity' is a honey-type peach--a small, white peach long famous in China where the God of Longevity is depicted holding a small, oval, beaked peach in his hand. The peach is a symbol of long life in China, and the honey group is known for its juicy texture and sweet, honey-like flavor. 'Longevity' is very similar to the more common honey peach variety, the 'Eagle Beak,' but it has less of the almond-like astringency associated withh 'Eagle Beak.'
6: KALEIDOSCOPE nectarine: One of the rare donut-type nectarines with yellow flesh. 'Kaleidoscope' is a rather large and meaty donut-type nectarine with multi-colored, speckled skin with reds, golds and oranges predominating. There is a tendency for the fruit to crack at the blossom end, but the quality is otherwise excellent. It is hoped that controlling the vigor of the tree may help minimize fruit cracking.
7: BLIZZARD nectarine: A late-maturing fruit, usually late July or early August, with white flesh and flavor that has an excellent balance of sugar and acid, similar to 'Snowqueen.' Juicy and highly flavored.
8: AUGUST SNOW: Maturing in early to mid August, 'August Snow' is a very tasty white-fleshed nectarine. It is best described as similar to 'Snowqueen' or 'Heavenly White' in flavor; however, unlike these varieties, which often crack badly and have tough, leathery skin, 'August Snow' has good to excellent skin finish. It is also very productive.
