Description:

An excellent variety featuring an early season crop of sweet and juicy red fruit; semi-freestone; a vigorous, productive tree with a low, spreading habit; great for southern climates, with low winter chill requirement; needs full sun and well-drained soil

Edible Qualities

Suncoast Nectarine is a small tree that is typically grown for its edible qualities. It produces buttery yellow round fruit (technically 'drupes') with a cherry red blush and yellow flesh which are usually ready for picking from early to mid summer. Note that the fruits have hard inedible pits inside which must be removed before eating or processing. The fruits have a sweet taste and a juicy texture.

The fruit are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Preserves
• Canning

Features & Attributes

Suncoast Nectarine is draped in stunning clusters of fragrant shell pink flowers with red eyes along the branches from late winter to early spring, which emerge from distinctive rose flower buds before the leaves. It has dark green deciduous foliage. The narrow leaves turn yellow in fall. The fruits are showy buttery yellow drupes with a cherry red blush, which are carried in abundance from late spring to early summer. The fruit can be messy if allowed to drop on the lawn or walkways, and may require occasional clean-up.

This is a deciduous tree with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition. This is a high maintenance plant that will require regular care and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Messy
• Insects
• Disease

Aside from its primary use as an edible, Suncoast Nectarine is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Orchard/Edible Landscaping

Planting & Growing

Suncoast Nectarine will grow to be about 15 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 15 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more. While it is considered to be somewhat self-pollinating, it tends to set heavier quantities of fruit with a different variety of the same species growing nearby.

This tree is typically grown in a designated area of the yard because of its mature size and spread. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.