Peach trees in zone 4

Norridgewock, ME(Zone 5a)

Last spring I bought a Reliance peach-- the only kind, I thought, that was reliably hardy in my area. It produced one peach and made 10,000 Japanese beetles happy (it was a worse magnet for those things than my roses!). Anyway, the peach was VERY disappointing in taste. I wondered why I had bothered. Then this winter I saw a garden catalog that listed Contender peach and said it was also zone 4 hardy and much better flavor. Has anyone tasted this newer peach? I'm tempted to pull Reliance out and plant Contender, but this is not without cost in money and time, and I don't want to do it if the results won't be any better. Thanks.

Bend, OR(Zone 4b)

Hello gg - sorry no one has responded to your question yet. I, too, am interested in finding out about Contender. We have several semi-dwarf peach trees here in zone 4/5. Reliance was the only one that produced for us last year. We weren't expecting anything, since they are so young (second year in the ground), so it was a bonus. This one little tree had 26 peaches on it. After the local 4-legged residents (we highly suspect raccoons) took their share of the harvest, my husband and I got one peach apiece. They were super-delicious - very sweet. So maybe you'll have better luck with your Reliance this year.

Norridgewock, ME(Zone 5a)

That is encouraging, that yours tasted good. I'll wait another season before I make a decision. Thanks!

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