What To Know For Success With FL Peaches:
# 1
Peaches are self fertile, meaning a single tree will produce fruit without needing another one for pollination.
However, planting more than one variety with different chill hour requirements is the best way to be sure to have a crop, no matter how cold or warm your winter is.
Three trees with differing chill hours also extends your harvest time.
# 2
Flavor and sweetness of your peach is determined more by how you feed your tree --- or not --- than it is by cultivar.
Ask us about our Magic Mix Formula for feeding fruit trees.
# 3
Florida peaches are much more geographically sensitive than pears, plums or even nectarines. They simply have a narrow window of chill hour requirements: so most have an adaptability range of 50-100 miles, and really should have a "maximum chill hour rating" too --- but there is no such organized data 
So be sure to choose varieties that are known to fruit in your area, not just choose by zone -- zones are too non-specific for peaches.
IFAS chill hours map
Please note: We did not mis-spell 'Florida' in these names below. "Florda-whatever" is the patented name for these IFAS varieties.
For all of zones 8b & 9a:
FLORDAKING PEACH
FL KING is a tasty, sweet, juicy peach: has a slight point on the end until full sized, and has a beautiful red blush on a golden yellow background.
At 3", It is one of the largest of the low chill varieties. Will produce the most fruit on the coldest of our winters. Mostly clingstone.
Ripens late May
chill hours: 400-425
mature height: 12-15' tall
width: x 10 -12' wide
for zones 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a
FLORDACREST PEACH
FL CREST is a prolific producing peach, with medium sized red blushed fruit 2.5-2.75" in diameter.
Semi-clingstone.
Ripens early May
chill hours: 300-350
mature height: 12-15' tall
width: x 10 -12' wide
for zones 8b, 9a
FLORDAGOLD PEACH
FL GOLD produces an utterly delicious, large juicy peach 3" in diameter. Foliage is naturally a slightly lighter color green than the others.
Semi-freestone
Ripens early to mid May
chill hours: 325-350
mature height: 12-15' tall
width: x 10 -12' wide
for zones 8b, 9a
Ideal for lower half of zone 9a:
(includes south of Gainesville to north of Orlando & Tampa)
RED BARRON PEACH
RED BARRON is a large, 3.5"-4" diameter, low chill peach for all of zones 8 - 9; late bloomer, ripens in July --- the latest of the low chill peaches;
showy red blossoms: click here to view; long time favorite in CA & TX,
Red Barron is freestone, melting flesh.
Ripens late June to mid-July
chill hours: 250
for zones 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a & upper 9b
FLORDABEST PEACH
FL BEST is another 3" diameter juicy peach developed by IFAS for North Central and Central Florida.
Beautiful yellow with strong red blushing, ripens weeks earlier than FL King or FL Gold. Semi-freestone.
Ripens late April to early May
chill hours: 250
for zones 8b, 9a
FLORDABELLE PEACH
FL BELLE is a juicy 3" peach much like the FlordaBest, but ripens about a week earlier, third to fourth week of April. Profusely flowers in early February. High yielding variety.
Semi-clingstone
Ripens mid to late April
chill hours: 200
for zones 8b, 9a
TROPIC SNOW PEACH
Tropic Snow is one of two white peach available in the low chill varieties.
Flowers are a pale pink, fruit is light yellow to white interior, with pale pink blush on light yellow skins.
Very low acid: translates to sweeter if fed properly, i.e. w/ trace minerals.
Mostly freestone.
Ripens mid to late April,
same time as the FlordaBelle.
chill hours: 200
for zones 8B, 9a & 9b
TROPIC SWEET PEACH
Tropic Sweet is another sweet white peach. Contrary to much information across the Internet, Tropic Sweet is NOT the same as the Tropic Beauty.
Trees are vigorous and highly resistant to bacterial spot. Flowers are pink.
It is a large, firm, very sweet, white peach with a strong red exterior blush.
Freestone.
Ripens mid April
(in Gainesville)
chill hours: 150-175
for zones 8b, 9a & 9b
Peaches for zones 9b & 10a:
(includes pockets around Orlando & Tampa, and even Jacksonville near the St Johns)
FLORDA PRINCE PEACH
FL PRINCE is one of the most widely planted low chill peaches. Officially listed as a 2" peach, but we've seen 2.75" - 3" peaches in our nursery, when grafted on Nemaguard rootstocks.
Exceptionally juicy, yellow melting flesh with rich red 80% blushed skins.
Ripens early to mid April
chill hours: 150
for zones 9b, 10a
TROPIC BEAUTY PEACH
Tropic Beauty is a beautiful red skinned peach with melting flesh. Highly prolific, medium sized peach at 2.25-2.50" diameter
semi-freestone
Ripens early to mid April
chill hours: 150
for zones 9b, 10a
UF SUN PEACH
UF Sun is the lowest of the low chill peaches at 100-125 chill hours;
highly prolific, but smaller than most at 2.25-2.50" diameter;
#1 choice for South FL
semi-freestone
Ripens late March to mid April
chill hours: 100
for zones 9b, 10a
Call us to order or
Order online below:
not all varieties available in all sizes:
please call or email to check availability before ordering
NO TEXTING!
Beginning Bearing Age in 7gal >>> REG 7G $49 & X-LG 7G $69:
see specs in chart below
Want a serious orchard size tree now?
order 15gal / $99 & X-LG 15G $135
15G: 7'-8'+ /3.5-4.5' wide / 1.25"
super 15g: 9-11' tall / 5-5'-7' wide / 1.5" trunks
best availability is in Jan / Feb each year
update Fall 2025: most peaches available in 15g size
ltd quantities in all other sizes: please call to verify b4 ordering.
4 GAL
1-2 YRS+ TO FRUIT
5-5.5' tall / after trimming
$29
we are no longer stocking this size: most common size at many nurseries;
7 GAL
not big enough
to allow fruit to mature
approx 5.5-6' tall
$49
ltd availability
super 7 GAL
beginning to fruit
approx 6.5-7' tall
$69
ltd availability
15 gal
heavy fruiting:
Orchard-ready trees
some have already had fruit
8'+ tall / trimmed
$99
super 15 GAL
serious bearing age
9'-11' tall / trimmed
$
135
/ea
ltd availability: please contact us before ordering
approx sizes pictured below . . .
7G = 7 gallon
approx 5.5-6' tall
x 2' wide
7G
super 7G
approx 6.5-7' tall
x 2.5-3' wide
super 7G
15G = 15 gallon
8'+ tall / trimmed
4-5' canopy spread
15G
super 15G
9-11' tall / trimmed
6-7' canopy spread
super 15G
A few observations:
If you live in Zone 8b, 9a or 9b:
We recommend growing 2-3 varieties of peaches minimum to accommodate the vast variance in our winters. Milder winters will result in the Tropic Beauty bearing prolifically, while the Florda Gold or Florda King will thrive on much colder weather.
In severe winters, Florda King is the best bet in Alachua County and further north.
In pockets below Ocala and north of Orlando, it is crucial to consider if you are planting just north of a lake or south of a lake. North of a lake, the 200-250 chill hour peaches like Florda Best & Florda Belle fruit more dependably. South of a lake, Florda Prince & Tropic Beauty will produce more, even though they are rated as 150 chill hours, and theoretically the same zone. Check out the IFAS chill hour map above: notice how vastly different the chill hours are in the short distance from Gainesville to north Orlando!
Ask us for input if you have any doubts about what to plant: we've watched these seasons come and go for more than a few decades in these parts.
The reason for all this winter temperature variance is this part of north and central Florida is what you might call a transition zone. It's an area where the cold fronts push in from the the north and northwest, and roll to a stop, equally balanced by the warm fronts rolling north, primarily from the southwest. Where those two forces collide changes with the wind faster than you can blink, and brings us 80 degree days followed by 20 degree nights in the same week at a moment's notice in January and February.
Welcome to Florida!
Understand that young trees will not do as well with the weather extremes as more established trees. They simply need more root mass.
You may lose a Tropic Beauty altogether if you plant it and then get very late freezes the very first year it blooms (in zone 8b-9a like Alachua County).
On the other hand, a more established Tropic Beauty will survive well, but not have much fruit, if at all that year. But since you also planted a Florda Gold, you'll have a great crop of peaches anyhow!
Good for you!