The peak harvest season was yesterday in my yard and still have a few left on the tree. The very peculiar thing about this May Grand Nectarine is that you could swear you are eating the tropical fruit called sineguelas ( or ciruelas, Mombin, June plum, Spondias dulce), only about 20 to 30 times bigger volume-wise. It took me a while as to what flavor it is most closely associated with, and the yellow sineguelas with firm flesh, and the sprightly flavor seemed a close match. When soft ripe, the taste becomes like that of a regular early season tree-ripened nectarine.

Here's the pic of the May Grand Nectarine.





Was really wondering why it is called May Grand when the peak harvest is mid June almost every year now. Perhaps in Southern California, the peak harvest is in May.

Joe,
I love nectarines, the ones on your tree look beautiful. Your flavor description is very specific too, spondias dulce but without the spikey pit and more flesh, sounds great. I usaully get nectarines that are juicy sweet with some arromatic overtones, but with a slight tartness would be nice also. Does the flesh have the "normal" color and texture?

a completely unrelated topic, I tried an arromatic pear yesterday, very subtle flavor, great texture, crisp, not gritty.

Joe:
That's real nice having to eat something that is very rare. I hear that 'siniguelas' in PI is getting rare due to urban takeover. I know that those plants where I used to see when I was a teen were no longer there many years ago.
It's too bad.
For a non related topic.
I grafted a bunch of grren gage plum to my satsuma plums and are fruiting now. Now I have some white peaches and white nectarines the arctic kind that I want to graft to my satsuma plum. Is it possible?

Benny, I have a cutting of ultra-dwarf sineguelas and they are growing. I'll keep them in pots to be brought inside the winter. Perhaps, I can give you some cuttings next year.

About your peaches unto satsuma, you may need an insterstem like Krymsk 1 or VVA-1. I have those. Why don't you try doing summer bark grafting, protected with aluminum foil? It works for me. If it doesn't accept the peach, for sure I'll give you some interstems next year. The interstem that I have is compatible with peaches, almonds, apricots, plums, nectarines, plumcots, apriums, pluots. It is also compatible with another cherry insterstem to which you would be able to graft sour cherries and sweet cherries, if you use that interstem on another interstem. These two insterstems combined, we can graft all known species of stone fruits unto a single tree.

Joe, when it comes to fruit production "your the MAN." The box of the two varieties of plums you recently sent me were awesome. By the way do you (or anyone) know what the varietal name is of the large purple, and red plums that are sold commercially in the supermarkets? - Millet

Millet, you're welcome! Can you post the pics of those? Sometimes, the growers have exclusive planting materials for them only and not available for home growers.

I was invited by Dave Wilson Nursery as a taste panelist for their early season fruits. It was a real treat and got to bring a box of assorted new cultivars, but they were overripe when I got home, otherwise would have shared them with many friends even through the mail. We tasted most of them when they were at their peak ripeness. The trick was they have endless acres of planting on various hills so that the harvest is somewhat staggered and so you may be able to find fruits that are of the same peak ripeness for side by side comparison.

Anyway, I learned that there are various cultivars for commercial production that only commercial growers have the variety released to them exclusively from DWN. But the home growers have tons more cultivars because there are many characteristics that are not suited for commercial production, but will do well for backyard, where flavor quality is often the number one criteria instead of shelf life, uniformity, and visual appeal.

So the cultivar could be anything now, it used to be that I am very sure as there are only few to choose from.