Re: Greek peach varieties?

At 12:49 PM 2/28/2005, Sophia wrote:
Hi Sean:
Not sure if you can help, but thought that I'd give it a try. I'm a writer and I have a reader from Novato, CA who's inquiring about obtaining a peach tree similar to trees in Greece, which she claims grow the most delicious specimens. Even though I am of Greek decent, I'm not familiar with Greece's peach varieties. Are you, and do you have a suggestion for her?
Thanks,
Sophia Markoulakis
Hi Sophia -

I am not of Greek descent, but I have contacted some of our Society's members in Greece and here is their response:
"This is one of those questions for which there is no satisfactory reply. The Greek-Greek (as opposed to imported) varieties of fruits are very localized and are usually named after the area from which they originated. Peach varieties are so numerous that they are divided into three separate fruits, but I'm fairly sure they are not available outside Greece. We export the fruit, not the means of production."
It seems very apparent from a variety of sources that many of the peach trees in Greece are like from stock that is originally seedling grown, therefore expressing lots of variation in the quality and character of the fruit. The Greek Agricultural Ministry is actually working to promote particular modern cultivars to replace these older clones, in an effort to create some uniformity in the quality of peach production. This will, of course, help avoid the production of poor quality fruit, but will also likely limit the variety and diversity of peaches available. As peaches are already notorious for having a short 'shelf-life', undoubtedly a number of interesting old varieties may become very scarce.

A number of peach varieties are grown in Greece, with different types growing in specific regions. Here is an article I was able to find that list some of these varieties:
http://www.unipa.it/medpeach/proceedings/Grecia.pdf
Some varieties I've seen listed in other sources as growing in Greece are:
Autumn Free, Doukessa, Fayette, Flaminia, Late Naoussas, Papagianni, & Princess Anne.
Perhaps some research will help you find something close to those your reader mentions.

I think we can count on the specific location producing a singular quality of peach fruit - Greece's soil is quite alkaline, VERY stoney. This and their true 'mediterranean climate' rainfall patterns (cool & moist in winter, very dry in summer) are certainly different than farms in the US or China. Our local soils are often heavy clay, and considerably more rich that those in Greece.

I hope this information is of use to you. I would be interested to read your article when published or to know if you've uncovered other information on this topic.

Regards,
Seán O.

h o r t u l u s _ a p t u s - - - - - 'a garden suited to its purpose'
Seán A. O'Hara --- sean@gimcw.org --- www.hortulusaptus.com
1034A Virginia Street, Berkeley, California 94710-1853, U.S.A.
(ask me about the gardening in mediterranean climates forum)

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