North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Rodney Eveland" <reveland@collinscom.net>]

I came across this URL on the web last year.After looking at it again
this year I decided to write and find out how the hardy peach project
is coming along.

http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/walla/peaches.htm

Mr. Walla answered back that he is down to a single hardy peach tree
which bore abundantly the past two summers. However by the time it
sweetens up it has gone soft, so apparently, in the North, it is a pie
peach just like Montmorency is a pie cherry. Alas, we in the North
have to take what we can get.  He is planning on tissue cloning it if
it continues to do well. I'll be praying for his success and that of
others working in this area.
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Here's his own words:

The tree has fruited abundantly the last two years.  In 2002, the
fruit was said to be excellent by a lot of people that I shared it
with. In 2003, the fruit was larger (I thinned it better and growing
conditions were better), but the fruit quality was not that great for
fresh eating.  By the time it got ripe, it was too soft.  It was still
very good for pies and other baked goods though. I heard similar
problems for other fruit in this area, and we had lower quality fruit
of our other types as well in 2003.
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