Reliance Peach

Reliance was developed by Dr. Elwyn Meader at the University of New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, with a specific, well-documented breeding goal: extreme cold-hardiness for peach cultivation in one of the coldest commercial peach-growing climates in the country. It notably bore fruit after surviving winter temperatures of minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit during University of New Hampshire trials in the winter of 1961-1962 — a genuinely dramatic, verifiable data point behind its reputation. Released in 1964, Reliance remains considered by many nurseries and extension services to be among the hardiest commercially available peach varieties, reliably bearing fruit as far north as Zone 4 and into parts of Canada where most other peach varieties would be killed outright by winter cold. The fruit is medium to large, yellow skin with a red blush, freestone, with a soft, sweet, juicy texture that makes it excellent for fresh eating, canning, and freezing, though its softness means it does not ship or bruise-resist as well as firmer commercial varieties. It ripens relatively early, in July in most growing regions, and served as a parent variety for several later cold-hardy releases, including Harken.