Peach «Flamingo»

Peach Flamingo (Prunus persica «Flamingo») – an early-ripening peach cultivar. Bred at the Nikitsky Botanical Garden from a cross between the varieties Konservnyy Ranniy and Yubileynyy. Authors: Ryabov I.N., Ryabova A.N.

It is a medium-sized tree with a dense, globular, slightly elevated crown. Shoot-forming ability is high. Shoots are long, straight, mostly with clustered buds along their length. Flower buds are ovoid. Leaves are pointed, medium-sized. Flowers on the branches are of a rose-like type. Blooms in mid-season.

Begins bearing fruit in the 3rd year after planting. Yield is high: 200/240 centners per hectare.

Fruits are large, weighing 140–180 g, broadly ovoid in shape. The fruit apex is slightly blunted with a deep groove-like indentation. The ventral suture is medium, deepening toward the apex. The skin has a slight velvety pubescence that does not peel off, and is light cream-colored with a diffuse raspberry-carmine blush in streaks, occupying about 20% of the surface.

The Flamingo fruit has white flesh, without redness near the stone cavity, juicy, firm with a slightly crisp texture, of harmonious flavor with a moderate predominance of acidity. The stone is medium-sized and does not separate from the flesh. Fruits ripen in late July to early August.

Hardiness zone: 5a (-23°C).

Siting: heat-loving; requires sunny, wind-protected locations. Needs moderate watering, especially during fruit set and ripening. Prefers light, calcareous loamy and sandy soils with moderate moisture.

Planting: planting is recommended in spring, but can also be done in autumn (in which case mulching the trunk circle and backfilling to a height of 20-30 cm is necessary). The planting hole should be at least 0.7x0.7 m, with a spacing of 4x4 m. Mix 10 kg of well-rotted manure and 150 g of superphosphate with soil and backfill the seedling with the root system spread out. Compact the trunk circle to the edges, water well (4-5 buckets) and mulch with a layer of compost to a height of 8-10 cm.

Diseases and pests: diseases – powdery mildew, leaf curl, clasterosporiosis, fruit rot, moniliosis, cytospora dieback of shoots and branches. Pests – plum and oriental fruit moths, striped fruit moth, large and green peach aphids, fruit and spider mites.

Care: requires moderate watering and formative pruning. For improved yields the improved vase (open-center) pruning method is used. After planting the seedling, remove all lateral branches. Leave 3-4 scaffold branches spaced 10-20 cm apart. Cut the leader at the base of the upper lateral branch. In the second year shorten first-order branches if they are longer than 50 cm or change their growth direction. In the following years pruning should be aimed at fruiting. Rejuvenation pruning is carried out from bud swell to the start of flowering. After frost damage, pruning is performed after water shoots (suckers) appear on trunks and branches.

Propagation: seedlings are grafted onto various rootstocks. For dry, sandy, chernozem soils, apricot rootstocks have proven best; for wet, acidic soils – on cherry plum (alycha), blackthorn (sloe) and plum.

Uses: fruits are consumed fresh, used for canning, making liqueur, marmalade, and juice. Peach oil is made from the seeds.