A nectarine picked ripe from your own tree, warm from the sun and dripping, is a different fruit from the firm ones sold in shops, which have to be picked early to survive the trip. That is the reason to grow one. A nectarine is simply a peach without the fuzz, a natural smooth-skinned form of the same species, and it grows in the same way. The trees are self-fertile, they fruit young, and with dwarf and low-chill varieties there is one for almost any garden from Hobart to Brisbane. They are not a plant-and-forget tree, though. Three jobs make the difference between a heavy crop and a disappointing one: a spray for leaf curl in late winter, thinning the young fruit, and protection from fruit fly. This guide covers all three.
Quick facts
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Botanical name | Prunus persica var. nucipersica |
| Type | Deciduous fruit tree, a smooth-skinned peach |
| Size | 3 to 4 m for standard trees; 2 to 2.5 m on dwarfing rootstock; about 1.5 m for miniature trees |
| Position | Full sun, with shelter from strong wind |
| Climate | Cool, temperate and inland districts; low-chill varieties for the subtropics; not for the tropics |
| Blossom | Pink, late winter to early spring |
| Harvest | Late spring to late summer, depending on variety and district |
| Pollination | Self-fertile: one tree crops alone |
| First crop | Two to three years after planting |
Climate and chill: choosing a variety that will fruit
Nectarines need winter cold to flower. The tree counts the hours it spends below about 7 degrees while it is bare, and until it has had enough, its buds will not open properly in spring. This requirement is called chill, and it varies from variety to variety. A tree that does not get its chill leafs out late and patchily and sets little fruit, however well it is looked after.
Cool and temperate districts. In Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT, South Australia, the south-west of Western Australia and inland and southern New South Wales, winters supply plenty of chill and any variety will fruit. The risk there is late frost on the open blossom, so plant away from frost hollows. Our guide to frost tolerant plants explains where frost settles.
Warm temperate and subtropical districts. Around Sydney, on the New South Wales north coast, in Brisbane and south-east Queensland and around Perth, choose a variety described as low chill. These were bred to flower after a mild winter and they ripen early, often before the worst of the fruit fly season.
The tropics. Nectarines do not fruit without a winter. Choose a tropical fruit tree instead.
Wherever you are, the tree wants full sun for at least six hours a day and soil that drains.
Nectarine trees we sell
The range is in the nectarine tree collection. Every one is self-fertile.
Sunbob. Sunbob is a low-chill nectarine for warm districts, with sweet yellow-fleshed fruit in early summer. It reaches about 3.5 m and is usually pruned to 2.5 m. It is the first choice for subtropical gardens.
Goldmine. Goldmine is an old favourite with white, very juicy freestone flesh under cream skin blushed red, ripening from mid to late summer. It has a modest chill requirement, so it crops over a wide range of districts.
Fantasia. Fantasia is the classic backyard nectarine of the southern states: large, firm, yellow-fleshed freestone fruit with bright red skin and rich flavour, in mid to late summer. It suits temperate and cool districts.
Dwarf Early Rivers. Dwarf Early Rivers is an old English variety on dwarfing rootstock, a tree of 2 to 2.5 m. It is one of the earliest to ripen, with soft, juicy white flesh best eaten straight from the tree.
Trixzie Nectazee. Nectazee is a true miniature, a dense little tree of about 1.5 m with full-sized yellow-fleshed fruit. It is made for pots and small courtyards and is easy to net.
Peacharine. The Peacharine is a cross between a peach and a nectarine, with large fruit, smooth to faintly fuzzy skin and yellow freestone flesh from mid to late summer.
Planting
Soil. Nectarines need good drainage above all. They grow well in sandy loam and improved clay loam, and die in ground that stays wet in winter. On clay, plant on a broad mound 30 cm high. Mix compost through the soil a few weeks ahead, as described in our guide on preparing soil for planting.
Planting. Winter is the traditional time, while the tree is dormant, but potted trees can be planted in any mild season. Dig a hole twice the width of the root ball and the same depth. Set the tree with the top of the root ball level with the soil and the graft union, the kink low on the trunk, well clear of the ground. Backfill, water in deeply, and mulch 5 to 7 cm deep with the mulch pulled back from the trunk.
Spacing. Allow 4 m between standard trees, 2.5 m for trees on dwarfing rootstock and 1.5 m for miniatures.
In a pot. Dwarf and miniature nectarines crop well in pots 50 cm wide or larger. Use a quality potting mix, water daily in hot weather and feed every six to eight weeks from spring to late summer. Our edible backyard layout guide shows how to fit fruit trees into a small space.
Watering, feeding and thinning
Watering. Water young trees weekly through the first two summers. On an established tree, the weeks that matter are from flowering to harvest. Dry soil while the fruit is swelling gives small fruit and split stones. Water deeply once or twice a week in that period and keep the mulch topped up. Our guide to mulching before summer explains how much to use.
Feeding. Feed with a complete fruit tree fertiliser in late winter as the buds swell, and again after harvest. Nectarines are hungry trees and pale leaves in summer mean they want more.
Thinning. A healthy nectarine sets far more fruit than it can ripen. Left alone, it gives hundreds of small, bland fruit and the weight can snap branches. When the young fruit are the size of a marble, in mid spring, remove enough that those left are 10 to 15 cm apart along the branch, keeping the largest. It feels wasteful and it is the single most effective thing you can do for fruit size and flavour.
Pruning for fruit
Nectarines fruit only on wood that grew the previous summer. These one-year-old shoots are easy to recognise: reddish, smooth and pencil-thick. Wood that has already fruited will not fruit again. So the aim of pruning is to make the tree grow a fresh supply of new shoots every year, and an unpruned nectarine ends up with all its fruit at the tips of long, bare branches.
Shape the tree as an open vase, with three or four main branches and an empty centre that lets in sun and air. Each winter, remove any strong upright shoots from the middle, cut out about half of the shoots that fruited last season, and shorten the tree to a height you can reach and net. Keep plenty of the reddish one-year-old shoots, spaced a hand's width apart. In humid districts, do the main prune straight after harvest in summer instead, when cuts dry quickly and disease is less likely to enter. The basics are in our pruning guide for beginners.
Common problems and fixes
Thick, puckered, red-blistered leaves in spring. Peach leaf curl is a fungal disease that affects nearly every unsprayed nectarine. By the time you see it, it is too late to treat that season. The fungus infects the buds as they open, so the spray must go on before then: apply a copper fungicide in late winter when the buds are swelling but have not yet opened, and again at leaf fall in autumn. Affected leaves drop and the tree grows a healthy second set. Feed and water it to help.
Maggots in the fruit. Queensland fruit fly in the eastern states and Mediterranean fruit fly in Western Australia sting ripening fruit. Cover the tree with insect exclusion netting, or bag individual branches, once the fruit is half grown. Hang traps to monitor numbers, pick up and bin all fallen fruit in a sealed bag, and never compost it. Some regions have fruit fly rules for home gardens, so check with your state agriculture department.
Fruit turning brown and furry on the tree. Brown rot spreads in humid weather near harvest. Remove affected fruit at once, take off any dried fruit left hanging after harvest, and keep the tree open.
Amber gum oozing from branches. Gumming is the tree's response to stress or injury, including borers, poor drainage and pruning in wet weather. Check the drainage and prune only in dry conditions. Our guide to common plant pests and diseases has more.
Birds and bats. Use wildlife-safe netting with a mesh too fine to push a finger through, stretched tight over a frame.
A note for pet owners. The flesh is harmless, but the stones are a choking hazard for dogs, and the kernels, leaves and stems contain compounds that release cyanide. Pick up fallen fruit.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need two nectarine trees for fruit?
No. Nectarines are self-fertile, so a single tree sets a full crop.
Can nectarines grow in Queensland?
Yes, with the right variety. Choose a low-chill nectarine such as Sunbob for Brisbane and the coast. On the Granite Belt, where winters are cold, most varieties fruit well.
How long does a nectarine tree take to fruit?
Usually two to three years from planting. Remove the fruit in the first year so the tree puts its energy into branches and roots.
When do I spray for leaf curl?
In late winter, at bud swell, before the buds open, using a copper fungicide. A second spray at leaf fall in autumn improves control. Spraying after the leaves appear does not work.
What is the difference between a nectarine and a peach?
Only the skin. A nectarine is a peach with smooth skin instead of fuzz, caused by a single natural gene. The trees are grown in exactly the same way.
Ready to plant?
Choose your tree from the nectarine tree collection, and see the wider fruit tree range for plums, apples and citrus to spread your harvest through the year. Our guide to fruit trees for every season covers planting times for each. Every plant is sourced from partner nurseries around Australia and delivered Australia wide.
Sources
Fruit fly control in home gardens: Prevent Fruit Fly (National Fruit Fly Council). Stone fruit growing and peach leaf curl: NSW Department of Primary Industries and Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia.
