How to Plant a Nectarine Pit

Gardeners can save nectarine pits to grow a home orchid.

Nectarines differ from peaches by one gene. This one difference results in nectarines having a shiny, yellow-red, smooth skin, as opposed to the peach's fuzzy, orange-red skin. For gardeners who can devote up to three years of wait time before the fruit tree begins to develop fruit, planting the inner seeds within the nectarine pit will provide you with abundant summer produce.

Things You'll Need

• Local ripe nectarines
• Sharp knife
• Old toothbrush
• Gloves
• Nutcracker
• Plastic freezer bag
• Potting soil
• Two biodegradable peat containers, 3 inch
• Shovel
• Peat moss
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Select locally grown, ripe nectarines that have a sweet, pleasing taste.

2. Lay the nectarines on a flat cutting surface and use a sharp knife to cut each fruit open to expose the pit. Remove the flesh surrounding the nectarine pit with your hands and eat or store for later use. Hold the nectarine pits under warm running water and use an old toothbrush to clean as much of the flesh off as possible.

3. Dry the nectarine pits for five to seven days on the kitchen countertop. Put on gloves and use a nutcracker to crack open the nectarine pits. Pry the pits all the way open with your gloved hands. Pour the nectarine seeds out of the pit and onto a paper plate.

4. Drop the nectarine seeds into warm water overnight. Fill a plastic freezer bag with moistened potting soil. Drain off the soaking water and place the nectarine seeds into the potting soil. Put the freezer bag into the refrigerator for two to four months or until the nectarine seeds begin to sprout small white roots.

5. Fill two 3-inch biodegradable peat containers with potting soil. Insert two nectarine seeds, 1-inch deep with the root facing down, into each peat container. Cover the nectarine seeds with potting soil.

6. Water each peat container until the soil is moist. Keep the containers indoors somewhere that you will remember to tend to them daily until the last frost has left the area.

7. Loosen the top 6 inches of soil with a shovel. Ideal locations for nectarine trees are in full sun. Mix a 6-inch layer of peat moss into the soil with the shovel. Create a 12-inch-tall hill of potting soil over the broken ground. Repeat again, so you end up with two prepared planting locations, at least 6 feet apart.

8. Cut the weakest nectarine seedling from each peat container, using scissors to snip the seedlings off at soil level. Dampen the bottom of each peat container with water and peel the peat bottoms off. Bury one peat container per mound, keeping the nectarine seedling above the soil.

Tips & Warnings

• If you try to dry the nectarine pits with an excess amount of left-on flesh, the pits will take longer to dry.

• Do not allow the potting soil in the freezer bag to become dry. Continually sprinkle the potting soil so it remains moist.

References

• Ohio State University Extendion Fact Sheet; Growing Peaches and Nectarines in the Home Landscape; Gary Gao
• Mother Earth News; Grow Free Fruit Trees; Lee Reich; June/July 2008