• Deep red blush on yellow skin tells you it is ripe and ready
• Sweet, luscious yellow flesh easily removed from this freestone variety
• Extra-large, bright pink flowers give a fantastic spring display
• Very large peaches ripen in July, exactly when you want them most
• Self-pollinating, so no second variety is needed

• A delicious white-fleshed peach with a floral fragrance
• Fruit has pale yellow skin with bright red blushes
• Attractive pink flowers in spring decorate the bare branches of your tree
• A self-fertile variety that sets a good crop all on its own
• Ripens in July and early August, just when you want summer peaches

• An early-ripening clingstone variety with sweet yellow flesh
• Large fruits with deep red skin look so good on the tree
• Pink blossoms on bare branches brighten your spring garden
• No need for a second tree, as this one is self-pollinating
• Usually produces a full crop every single year

Growing the Messina Peach

Size and Appearance

The Messina Peach is a vigorous deciduous tree that will, within 10 years or so, but 12 to 15 feet tall and wide. Of course you will have done some pruning in that time. The leaves are abundant and they are long and narrow – about 6 inches long and 1½ inches wide, dark-green and with a semi-glossy upper surface. They turn yellow in fall.

In spring your Messina Peach will turn into a wonderful flowering tree, with a profusion of small but bright flowers that open like fragrant red bowls on the bare branches, ¾ of an inch across. When the petals fall these turn into tiny fruits, and this self-fertile tree needs no second tree to create a full crop – it does it all by itself, so it’s ideal for smaller gardens. Following this April flowering, the fruit develops over spring and early summer, and will begin to ripen in the middle of August. Fruits ripen progressively over 2 weeks, giving you plenty of time to pick them, and allowing you to pick ‘n eat at exactly the moment of perfect ripeness.

The fruits are very large, slightly elongated globes, measuring 3 inches across and weighing as much as 8 ounces – that’s right, 2 peaches can weigh a pound. The stone is small, so the peach is almost all flesh, and that delicious, fiber-free melting flesh is yellow-orange and heavily flushed with healthy antioxidant red pigments. Yellow and heavily stained orange-red when ripe, the skin is relatively smooth, with a short coating of ‘fuzz’, making this a great peach to eat out of hand. Enjoy the delicious sweetness and well-balanced acidity of this variety, which is highly-rated for its eating qualities.

Using the Messina Peach in Your Garden

So lovely is the spring blooming, and so handsome a tree full of fruit, that there is no reason not to grow the Messina Peach as a lawn tree. In zones 4 and 5 it is best to place it in a sheltered, south-facing spot, and growing it against a wall of your home as an espalier is a great option, and ensures good ripening. In a larger garden you can of course grow it in an area dedicated to fruit trees – a home orchard.

Hardiness

The peach tree is hardy from zone 4 to zone 8, and it has been bred and selected to grow and crop well in the northeast. Since this peach was developed in zone 6, we don’t know it’s exact chilling hour requirement (time below 45 degrees but above 32), but we can assume it is perhaps 1,000 hours, keeping this variety to the cooler parts of zone 8 as a southern limit.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Grow your Messina Peach in full sun – this is important for ripening. Peaches need well-drained soil, and enjoy sandy soils that are not too dry. If you have heavier clay soil, amend it with large amounts of organic material, and don’t plant in a low-lying spot. It is relatively drought resistant, but fruit quality will be low if the soil is too dry in summer.

Maintenance and Pruning

The Messina Peach tree is resistant to some important diseases, including bacterial leaf spot and certain kinds of cankers. Pests can be controlled organically, with Neem Oil and lime-sulfur sprays. Don’t think that your tree is going to need constant spraying – it is vigorous and healthy, and will grow well with some basic care. An isolated garden tree is less likely to suffer pests and diseases than trees grouped in orchards.

Pruning should begin while your tree is young. Aim for a short central trunk and about 5 radiating branches, creating a vase-shaped tree. Remove branches from the center so that the sun can penetrate and shorten back longer side-stems in spring or immediately after harvest. Don’t prune in winter or during wet weather, as this can spread disease. Once your tree has a crop of small fruits, remove all but one from each cluster, and keep them about 6 inches apart overall. This is the way to produce high-quality, large fruit, and not a heavy crop of small, poor fruit that is mostly stone.

History and Origin of the Messina Peach

The peach tree, Prunus persica, originated in China, but since those ancient times it has been highly bred and developed to give us the kind of fruit we enjoy today. There are several centers of peach breeding in America, and for the northeast the most important is the Fruit and Ornamental Research Extension Center of Rutgers University, New Jersey, which dates back to 1907. There, Professor Joe Goffreda worked with his lab technician, Anna Voordeckers, (who worked at the Center for 50 years) developed several new varieties – each takes 15 to 20 years from inception to release. The variety ‘NJ 352’ began with a cross between seedlings they had developed earlier, and was first identified as valuable early this century. In 2007 they received a patent on it, for the benefit of the University. It has been released under the trademark name of Messina, a brand name also owned by the University.

Buying the Messina Peach at the Tree Center

If you live in the northeast – and you probably do if you have read this far – then choosing the right variety for your climate is vital. Don’t waste precious years growing an unsuitable choice, make the wise choice and go with the Messina Peach. You won’t regret it. But order now, our limited stock will soon be gone, as demand for this type of peach is very high.

Growing the Summer Prince Peach Tree

Size and Appearance

The Summer Prince Peach tree is a vigorous and reliable peach tree that will soon be 12 to 15 feet tall and wide, when pruned correctly. The slender leaves are around 6 inches long, and a little more than an inch wide, with a dark-green, slightly glossy surface. One of the great things about growing a peach tree is that you get a fabulous ornamental flowering tree too. The large pink blossoms, which are often over 2 inches across, rival any flowering tree, and they open in April, decorating the bare branches. This variety is completely self-fertile, so even if it is the only peach tree around, as soon as those petals fall you will see the tiny fruit developing. You will be amazed at how quickly the fruits swell and grow, and by the end of June they will be pretty much full size. Then it’s just a couple of weeks waiting for that yellow skin to turn deep red – and it’s harvest time, with the fruit ripening through the middle of July.

The medium-sized fruits are 2 or perhaps 3 inches across, if you have thinned them (see the ‘Maintenance’ section) with 80 to 90% of the skin colored a beautiful deep red. The flesh inside is a very tempting bright yellow, firm enough to bite into, but meltingly good, with virtually none of those annoying fibers inferior peaches have. The flavor is a balance between sweet and acid, delicious for eating out of hand or turning into pies and preserves. It is completely freestone – cut one in half and the stone just falls right out.

Using the Summer Prince Peach Tree in Your Garden

You don’t need a dedicated area for fruit trees with the Summer Prince Peach Tree, because the beautiful spring blossoms make it perfect as a lawn specimen. In cooler zones it can be grown, and will give the best crop, against a sunny wall as an espalier, or tucked into the sheltered angle of two walls. Of course, you can also grow it in a home orchard, with your other fruit trees.

Hardiness

The Summer Prince Peach Tree is hardy from zone 5 to zone 8, needing 850 chilling hours (temperatures above freezing but below 45 degrees). This means it’s a great choice for the southeast, and other areas where winters are mild and summer hot and humid, but not in very southern areas along the Gulf. Of course, longer periods of chill do no harm, so it will grow well in cooler zones too, and in zone 9 where winters are cold, such as the northwest.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Plant your Summer Prince Peach tree in full sun, as this is needed to give good ripening and plenty of natural sugar in the fruit. The best soil is light and well-drained. If you have clay soil, avoid any low-lying areas and plant on a mound, adding lots of organic material to the soil.

Maintenance and Pruning

Bred for some resistance to disease, the Summer Prince Peach tree is relatively healthy, although all peaches can suffer from some pests and diseases. Today there are good organic methods of pest control available – we recommend Neem oil spray for insects, and lime-sulfur winter sprays for disease control.

Start pruning your tree when it is young. Aim for a short trunk with about 5 radiating branches spaced out evenly around the trunk. A broad, vase-shaped tree is best, and keep the center open and free of branches to allow the sun to shine through and ripen the fruit. Thinning is important for good-sized peaches, so when they are no larger than a quarter, remove all but one from each cluster, and if necessary remove a few entirely, so that they are spaced out along the branches about 6 inches apart.

History and Origin of the Summer Prince Peach Tree

The peach tree, Prunus persica, came to America from Europe, where it had in turn been to from China, via the Silk Road. When a peach grower sees the word, ‘prince’ in the name of a variety they know it is the work of Dr. Dick Okie. He spent 25 years, from 1980, breeding peaches at the Southeastern Fruit and Tree Nut Research Laboratory in Georgia. His predecessor, who founded the lab, was Victor Prince, and Okie chose to use ‘prince’ in his varieties to honor him, and also because, as he said, Prince is just a great name for any peach. The variety he called Summer Prince was created around 2000, and never patented.

Buying the Summer Prince Peach Tree at the Tree Center

Peaches and summer go together, and when you plant the Summer Prince Peach you can look forward to soon spending July enjoying your very own summer peaches. The fabulous slip-stone variety will be a yearly highlight, and all of Dick Okie’s trees are held in high regard. Order now, because top-quality varieties like this one never stay on our farm for long.