Plant Library

Description:

An excellent low chill variety for mild climate areas, featuring magnificent double pink flowers in spring; freestone, dark red fruit is richly flavored and ripens mid-season; popular for home gardens; needs full sun and well-drained soil

Edible Qualities

Double Delight Nectarine is a small tree that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. It produces dark red round fruit (technically 'drupes') with yellow flesh which are usually ready for picking in 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

Double Delight Nectarine is draped in stunning clusters of fragrant double pink flowers along the branches in 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 dark red drupes carried in abundance from early to mid 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 a more or less rounded form. 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, Double Delight Nectarine is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Orchard/Edible Landscaping

Planting & Growing

Double Delight Nectarine will grow to be about 18 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. 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.