Flavortop Nectarine
Prunus persica var. nucipersica 'Flavortop'

Height: 20 feet
Spread: 20 feet
Sunlight: Full sun
Hardiness Zone: 5b

Description:
An exceptional nectarine variety producing large, freestone fruit with smooth red skin and sweet yellow flesh. Known for excellent flavor, strong vigor, and high yields, this tree performs best in full sun with well-drained soil. It can be susceptible to late spring freezes and common stone fruit diseases, so proper site selection and care are important for consistent harvests.

Edible Qualities:
Flavortop Nectarine produces large red drupes with yellow highlights and firm yellow flesh that ripen from mid to late summer. The fruit has a sweet flavor, firm texture, and pleasant fragrance. The freestone pits are inedible and must be removed before eating or processing. Nectarines are excellent for fresh eating, preserves, and canning.

Ornamental Features:
Flavortop Nectarine is draped in clusters of fragrant pink flowers in early spring before the leaves emerge, adding strong seasonal interest. It has dark green deciduous foliage with narrow leaves that turn yellow in fall. The showy red fruit adds visual appeal through the summer months, though fallen fruit may require occasional cleanup.

Landscape Attributes:
Flavortop Nectarine is a deciduous tree with a rounded form and an average texture that blends well into orchard and residential landscapes. It can be balanced effectively with plants of finer or coarser foliage.

This is a high maintenance tree that requires regular care and annual pruning in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It attracts pollinators in spring, and gardeners should be aware of the following characteristics that may warrant special consideration:
- Messy
- Insects
- Disease

Flavortop Nectarine is recommended for the following landscape applications:
- Accent
- Orchard and Edible Landscaping

Planting & Growing:
Flavortop Nectarine will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 20 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 3 feet 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. This is a self-pollinating variety and does not require a second tree nearby to set fruit.

This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers average to evenly moist soil but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular about soil type or pH and is tolerant of urban pollution, performing well even in inner city environments. Planting in a sheltered location can help reduce stress from late frosts and environmental extremes. This is a selected variety of a species not originally native to North America.