Description

Productive, reliable and carefree. This variety is disease-resistant (especially to bacterial spot and brown rot) making it easy to grow, and it is very productive — thin the bountiful fruit crop for bigger nectarines. Fruits feature firm, yellow, flavorful flesh. Semi-freestone. Originates from Ontario, Canada, introduced in 1974. Ripens in August. Self-pollinating.

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Since 1816, Stark Bro’s has promised to provide customers with the very best fruit trees and plants. It’s just that simple. If your trees or plants do not survive, please let us know within one year of delivery. We will send you a free one-time replacement, with a nominal shipping fee of $9.99. If the item in question is not available, we can issue a one-time credit to your account equaling the original product purchase price or issue you a refund. Read more about our warranty policy.

Characteristics

Bloom Color Pink
Bloom Time Early
Chill Hours 950
Fruit Color Red
Fruit Size Medium
Hardiness Zone Range 5 - 8
Pollination Self-Pollinating
Ripens/Harvest August
Shade/Sun Full Sun
Soil Composition Loamy
Soil Moisture Well Drained
Soil pH Level 6.0 - 7.0
Texture Firm
Years to Bear 2 - 4

Size & Spacing

Mature Size

The mature size of this variety depends on the version you choose to plant:
Standard 12 - 15' tall x 12 - 15' wide
Dwarf 8 - 10' tall x 8 - 10' wide

Recommended Spacing

The space needed for this variety to grow depends on the size you plant:
Standard 12 - 15'
Dwarf 8 - 10'

Zone Compatibility

This Variety's Zone Range 5 - 8
My Hardiness Zone ?
The USDA hardiness zones offer a guide to varieties that will grow well in certain climates. Each zone corresponds to the minimum winter temperatures experienced in a given area. Make sure that your hardiness zone lies within the zone compatibility range of this variety before ordering.

Pollination

This variety is self pollinating.

In many cases, you may still want to plant pollinating partners to increase the size of your crops, but with self-pollinating varieties doing so is optional. Plant one of these varieties within 100' for best results.

Tools & Supplies

Having the proper tools and supplies when growing your own can make the difference between a good harvest and a great harvest! Here's a list that our experts recommend for this variety.

Planting & Care

Learn all about how to grow nectarine trees in The Growing Guide. An entire section of our website dedicated to your growing success.

Shipping Information

Arrives when it's time to plant

Your success is our priority. We work hard to make sure that your order arrives at the ideal time for planting in your location based on your local climate conditions.

Tags

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Questions & Answers

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24 Questions
Why did you choose this?

Because I like Nectarines

Taylor's guide to fruit trees listed this as resistant to brown rot, my biggest problem.

Love nectarines

Recommended for my area

My tree blooms each year but doesn’t provide fruit.   What might it be needing?

Well, if everything else is going well, meaning it blooms beautifully, it has great foliage and is lovely as a tree, then with this specific type of Nectarine tree, being that it is self-fruitful, it can have something to do with your USDA zone. It requires 950 Chill Hours, if you live in the south, you will not get this amount and it will cause your fruit set to suffer. If you have no cross pollination, while the tree says it's self-fruitful, in a climate that is either too warm or too cold for it (meaning you are not REALLY in a zone 5,6,7, or 8), it will suffer from poor or no fruit set even if you see flowers. Usually, however, there will be a reduction in blooms as well. I'm not familiar with this variety of Nectarine as it's way outside of my USDA Zone (I'm basically a 10, so almost NO chill hours). Also, what I meant by your zone "REALLY" being a (whatever number here), you need to either track them yourself for several years to REALLY know, or, you can Google "What are my chill hours" to find something that has the "Chill Hours Calculator" in it and then look at the closest tracking station to where your tree is planted. Just because someone looks at a USDA map via zip code, that doesn't mean that YOUR chill hours are what that says. There are people in California with my Zone number that get 100's of chill hours, when I get almost none. So the number doesn't mean anything if it's not measured in your neck of the woods. Most things that you find will just be an average. You could be very different from it. This is worth EVERYONE checking out. Find out what other people in your area think the chill hours are, or just look at the data yourself for you city. You can find the past temps for your city, or at least one very near you, going way back. Just check to see how many hours of the last 5 years or so that you have gotten below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Average it out, and there you go.

What is the chilling hours for the Hardired Nectarines?

The chill hours for Hardired is a maximum of 700 and 600 is probably OK.

this tree will grow after -20?

The lowest temp we’ve had in our part of Connecticut since our Hardired Nectarine was planted is -11, but the tree has handled -11 two winters in a row and appears to be fine. We do not mulch it or cover it in the winter other than with a Stark tree guard on the main trunk as protection against nibbling rodents.

What process do you use to root your bare root fruit and nut trees?

These trees are planted in the ground and growing for 2 years and then harvested and stored each season.

What is a nectarine on par in taste with red haven peaches?

Hi Eric, Nectarines are a peach-like fruit but without the fuzz! If you're looking for a more sweeter nectarine, white nectarines tend be sweeter than the yellow ones. Check out the Stark® Crimson Snow™ Nectarine.

how about the chilling hours?

It needs chill hours of 800 or better to fruit.

How big does this dwarf tree get?

We appreciate you reaching out to us. Dwarf fruit trees mature 8-10 feet tall.

If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to reach back out to us. Have a great day!

Temperature withstand ?

Our website has a special feature that will help you find the best plants for you to grow in your area. Simply enter your zip code in our Hardiness Zone Finder and as you browse our page, you’ll see a small check mark next to products that are hardy to your growing zone! As for temperature I recommend reaching out ot your county extension office for this information.

https://www.starkbros.com/zone-finder

Its the first year with my Hardired nectarines.. they are loaded with little nectarines.  Should I pluck them off or not ?

I would pluck off any groupings of fruit at one shoot leaving one strong fruit to grow larger. This way your harvest will be of larger fruit even though less fruit. It will also have a tendency to prevent your tree from experiencing fruit drop where it basically sheds the fruit prematurely
And may cause it to skip producing next year. We experienced this with our first tree because I didn't have the heart to trim back the production like my books said. I didn't want to loose the fruit but I virtually lost it all and nothing the naxt year. Better to thin the fruit than to overwhelm the tree and get very small fruit.

What do you think would be better for a cold climate:  planting directly in the ground, or planting in a large container so I can bring it into the greenhouse for the winter?   (Zone 5, with last winter getting down to -25!)

Container planting is a good idea for climates that get very cold and have late frost so that it can be moved in to an unheated garage or basement during the dormant months but keeps it protected from root and early bud break freeze.

Customer Reviews

46 Ratings
4.0out of 5 stars
46 Ratings

Rated 5 stars by 57% of reviewers

Rated 4 stars by 15% of reviewers

Rated 3 stars by 9% of reviewers

Rated 2 stars by 7% of reviewers

Rated 1 star by 13% of reviewers

1-10 of 46 Reviews
Rated 5 out of 5
Apr 11, 2025
Thriving nectarine!
This tree is looking phenomenal. I received I bare root spring 2024 along with another nectarine variety. I potted and babied the trees through the winter. I just planted them about 2 months ago with a really healthy root system. So far they are still blooming and the blossoms survived a few mild frosts. Fingers crossed for a few nectarines! Zone 6, southern Rockies.
Rated 5 out of 5
Jan 24, 2023
Exceeds expectations
The tree is healthy and grew great last season. Very hardy.
Rated 5 out of 5
Oct 31, 2022
Hardired nectarine
Growing like a weed, pruned it alot this summer. Hoping to see blossoms in spring
Rated 5 out of 5
Sep 23, 2022
Robust first year
Tree looked great when I got it. Got it planted and it took off. After a fair to good growing season, it has nearly tripled in size. We had four small fruits this year. Squirrels got two and I rescued the other two for me. The flavor and texture were outstanding looking forward to next year and hopefully a better crop.
Rated 5 out of 5
Sep 13, 2022
Stark Brothers Trees video review ( top notch)
This excellent tree appears in videos several times at Dave Collier Camping on YouTube ( food forest)
Rated 5 out of 5
Sep 2, 2022
My Hardired Nectarine tree is doing well! Right now it looks as through I made a wise choice with this purchase!
Rated 5 out of 5
Sep 1, 2022
Good choice.
The tree came during temperate weather, sprouted leaves. Got a very small crop the second year. Fast growing tree very healthy so far. ONly regret: I was out of town when the first crop came and and I didn't get to taste! I'm told they were good. Western Virginia grower here.
Rated 5 out of 5
Jul 27, 2022
First year in ground. Should leave review next year to see what it’s going to do. Grows just fine.
Rated 5 out of 5
May 29, 2021
Strong growing, nice 1st fruit production
Very strong performing tree. Year 1 tree added about 2' in height with nice shape. Year 2 had flowers with weak fruit production, I picked fruit early to allow for more growth. It's year 3 and the tree is now about 9 ft tall and has over 60 fruit. This season we had 2 snow events while the tree was in bloom and still have significant fruit on the tree.

It does best with a mulch bed and has not needed fenced from deer as of yet. Looking forward to harvest.
Rated 5 out of 5
Jul 21, 2019
Great Nectarine In 7B
I planted this tree in the ground last fall with no special treatment, and it flowered and grew two nectarines this spring. One fell off in a bad storm, but the other survived and matured. That one nectarine tasted great. Not bad at all for a tree that has been in the ground for less than one year. From all this years growth, I expect this tree will provide some number of nectarines next year - barring any bad storms like there were this year. Next year, I should also be able to remove the tree stake it came with.