Prunus persica ‘Contender’
Give those syrupy, ripe fruits a rough chop — or even a smash with a potato masher — and you have an instant topping for pancakes or sundaes. Even better, fold the fruit right into the batter for fruit-filled pancakes. If any crack around the stem end is unhealed (leaking juice), score the peach as a defect. If the crack at the stem end is healed, but exceeds 1/16 of an inch in width at its widest point, score the peach as a defect. If there is mold found affecting the split pit, score the peach as a defect.
Description & Overview
Contender peach produces large fruits that have a small pit and excellent red skin color. Great for canning and fresh use. This variety has also been found to be very cold hardy and has survived in northern growing areas where other peach varieties fail.
Core Characteristics
Suggested Uses:
Our peach trees are on a standard rootstock as no decent dwarf rootstock exists for peaches. With proper pruning they can easily be maintained at 8′-15′ in height depending on grower’s choice.
Wildlife Value:
Relished by squirrels, raccoons, rabbits (windfalls only)
Maintenance Tips:
Peaches are normally vase (open center) pruned to allow the maximum amount of sunlight into the canopy for best fruit color. Peaches bear fruit on 1 year old wood.
A small portion of our in-house Orchardist's 2020 harvest next to Contender fruit profile.
Pests/Problems:
All peaches can get peach leaf curl. Prevent by spraying the entire tree with liquid copper or with a fungicide that contains chlorothalonil in late winter/early spring before the buds swell and the bud scales crack open. The major insect pest in Wisconsin is plum curculio which is primarily a pest from late May to mid June (spray insecticide if necessary).
Wisconsin is not a major peach growing state due to our cold winters. The best success will be obtained with planting only very cold hardy varieties. Contender peach is being successfully grown in Wisconsin. While it is rated for zone 5, it has been successfully grown in some areas of zone 4 when in a protected site.
Ripened Peach Cracker
Leaf Lore:
Ripened Peach Crackers
Peach Ripening Time
Developed and introduced by the University of North Carolina in 1989. Originally released for its late bloom time that made it more resistant to spring frosts as well as for its excellent fruit size and flavor. Contender was also soon found to be very cold hardy and has performed well in in many colder areas of the U.S. where most peach varieties do not survive. This variety was awarded the 2014 American Society for Horticulture Science Outstanding Fruit Cultivar Award.
Companion Plants:
Contender peach is self-fertile.
CONTENDER PEACH BENCHCARD