Tropical Plant "Red Ceylon Peach"
Prunus persica

The peach, Prunus Persica Batsch, is not ordinarily included among tropical or subtropical fruits. It is grown mainly in temperate regions of the world, including North America from the mild-temperate areas of Nova Scotia and the Ontario peninsula close to the Great Lakes, to north-central Florida, and across the Gulf States to California.

The earliest settlers in the South grew peaches, especially the highly-esteemed 'Spanish Blood'. Commercial culture began in the southern states with the introduction of other types and, by 1900, peach culture was receiving serious attention in many parts of the country. There are 5 races of the peach differing widely in their characteristics. The United States Department of Agriculture introduced many cultivars of the South China race, typified by the 'Peen-to', a flat type well adapted to moderately warm climates. The peach tree has a chilling requirement of a certain number of hours at 45º F (7.22º C) from the time of leaf-fall to the emerging of new buds. This period varies with the race and cultivar from 30 to 1,000 hours. Late in the 1880's, the 'Red Ceylon', which requires no more than 50 hours of chilling, became well-established in southern Florida. In 1904, this cultivar was planted at the agricultural experiment station at Santiago de Las Vegas, Cuba, and was soon being grown all around the Havana area because it was the only peach found suitable to that tropical climate and the local soils.

Description

The tree is dwarf, slender and willowy, with deciduous, alternate, slender, pointed leaves; bears pink, 5-petalled flowers on bare branches in January and February, sometimes March, and fruits heavily in April and May. The fruit is oval with a protruding knob at the apex, 2 3/4 in (7 cm) long and 2 3/8 in (6 cm) wide; velvety, green with deep-red blush when ripe. The flesh is mainly white but a rich strawberry-red in the center; tender, juicy, and of excellent, sweet-acid flavor having a slight suggestion of bitter-almond. The stone is free, corrugated and very hard; small in proportion to the size of the fruit. Despite its unattractiveness externally and small dimensions, the 'Red Ceylon' is much-appreciated on close acquaintance. It is peeled, sliced and enjoyed fresh or stewed and can be used for various culinary purposes. The sliced fruit can be frozen in sirup and relished out-of-season as topping on cake or ice cream. In fact, one becomes so partial to this peach that the ordinary commercial peaches, though far more beautiful, seem somewhat rubbery and much less flavorful by comparison.

Other Cultivars

Two other subtropical cultivars have been successfully grown in southern Florida:

'Saharanpur'–a selection from seedlings received in 1969 from the Horticultural Research Institute, Saharanpur, India. The fruit is very similar to that of 'Red Ceylon' except that it lacks the fine red coloration in the center. The seedlings received from India were probably of the selection 'Shabati' reported by Dr. L. B. Singh as having been released in 1950 and widely distributed all over India where winter chilling requirement of 30 to 40 hours could be guaranteed.

'Okinawa'–a fruit of superior form but of inferior quality. This cultivar has been valued mainly as a rootstock because of its greater nematode-resistance.

Culture

The 'Red Ceylon' peach has been commonly propagated by seed or by grafting. The seeds may take several months to germinate unless cracked which will induce sprouting in 10 to 90 days. The tree grows rapidly and bears in 2 years from seed. It is relatively nematode-resistant and requires little care, but should receive plenty of water for good production.