North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Mark & Helen Angermayer" <hangermayer@isp.com>]

Thanks Don!

Mark

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Don Yellman" <>
To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 10:08 PM
Subject: [NAFEX] Peach Identification


> Mark:
>
> Your description matches a peach called "Flat Wonderful", and I have one
in its 5th leaf.  Source of my tree was Gurney's, though it may be sold by
other nurseries as well.  I am quite sure this is a relatively new variety,
developed at Rutgers University.
>
> Peento peaches are usually notably smaller than the round types, but
Wonderful can produce pretty good size peaches on a healthy tree when
properly thinned.   (I saw some Peentos at Safeway the other day at $2.99 a
pound that were about 1/5 the size that my tree produces.)  The most unusual
feature of the fruit is its texture, which resembles that of the older
canning peaches grown in California, and is often described as "rubbery".  I
don't like that rubbery word for this peach, which I prefer to describe as
firm.  Flavor is excellent, and the firm texture makes this peach
particularly useful for applications such as fruit salads.  I often peel the
larger peach varieties, but never peel Wonderful because it doesn't seem
necessary due to it smooth skin.  The firm texture might also make it useful
for commercial growers, since it should be highly resistant to bruising from
handling.  The stone, which is a small thing in the middle of the doughnut,
comes free easily.  This pea
> ch ripens in Northern Virginia in early to mid August.
>
> Wonderful is the most beautiful of more than a dozen peach varieties I
have grown.  Blossoms are large and a very deep, purplish pink, and the
early leaves are dark purple, shading to green later in the season.   My
tree is very vigorous and healthy, and shows no inclination to disease,
though the tree is still young and perhaps it's a little early to make that
call.  This is a good year for my tree, and it is full of rapidly-growing
peaches even after rigorous thinning.  I am bagging them now in shoe store
try-on footies, as I do with all my peaches.
>
> I don't know where in its genetics this peach picked up the purple leaves
and dark blossoms.  There is a peach rootstock called "Rutgers Purple Leaf",
and I speculated that the colors might come from the rootstock, but that
doesn't make much sense either.  Whatever the case, I am very pleased with
my Flat Wonderful tree, and would recommend it highly for anyone who would
like a peach with these characteristics, as well as extraordinary spring
beauty.
>
> Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
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