O'Henry Peach

O'Henry was bred in California, released commercially in 1968, and it went on to become one of the most commercially significant late-season peach varieties grown in California, prized specifically for combining excellent flavor with the firm flesh and good shipping characteristics that commercial fresh-market production demands. The fruit is notably large and deeply colored, with an attractive dark red skin over a yellow background that gives it strong visual shelf appeal. O'Henry's flavor is rich and intensely sweet, with well-balanced acidity that keeps the flavor from tasting one-dimensionally sugary, a genuine hallmark of well-bred modern California peach varieties. Its flesh is notably firm, an important trait for a variety intended for significant commercial shipping distances. The tree is vigorous and productive, well suited to California's Mediterranean-style growing climate. O'Henry ripens late in the peach season, generally in August in most California growing regions, extending the availability of high-quality fresh peaches later into the summer. This late ripening has made O'Henry commercially valuable specifically for extending the marketing season for California peach growers. The variety requires standard commercial peach orchard management, including regular pruning and thinning. O'Henry has remained one of the standard late-season peach varieties in California commercial production for over half a century since its release, a genuine testament to how well it continues meeting the demanding combination of flavor, appearance, and shipping durability commercial production requires.