• Great Sweet Peach Flavor
• Large Fruit Size for the Season
• At Least 60% Red Skin Color
• Look Attractive to the Customer
• Completely Freestone after Red Haven Season
• Very Hardy Tree & Buds
• Firm Flesh for Excellent Handling & Shipping Quality of Riper Fruit
• All Great Canning Peaches after Risingstar

• Developed by Hand-cross Pollination
• Never Genetically Altered
• Some Resistance to Bacterial Spot
• An Excessive Amount of Buds is Insurance against Spring Frosts
• Round Shape
• Very Few if any Split Pits & #2 cull fruit
• Do Not Brown When Cut for Better Canning or Slicing to eat or bake with
• Very little Red in Flesh
• All have Star in the name for Easy Identification

WHY SHOULD I PLANT STELLAR PEACHES AS A COMMERCIAL PEACH GROWER?

• You like the insurance of having more buds left after spring frosts, and winter freezes, because there are more buds to begin with on the tree
• You want a peach from 2 1/2" to 3" in size with normal thinning. Not too big, not too small. You must thin Stellar Peaches to achieve desired size. This gives you maximum yields off your trees.
• Customers return for the great peach flavor. I love it when they say "These are the best peaches I have ever had!" None of the Stellar Peaches are sub-acid.
• Stellar Peaches are sold either fresh market because of the flavor, or for shipping because of the firm flesh after Risingstar.
• Stellar Peaches store well in the cooler staying juicy, flavorful and attractive, giving you a longer sales window.
• Gross Sales per acre on Stellar Peaches are greater than other varieties because of the low percentage of #2 or cull fruit. Those peaches that are normally reduced or thrown away are now #1 fruit. I have to limit my #2 sales because I do not have the reduced product to sell. This is a good problem.
• We have tested each variety in a commercial orchard for several years to make sure there are no surprises later.
• The Biggest Problem with early coloring, very red varieties is that Fruit Pickers want to pick them before the fruit is mature or full size. So please be aware of this problem and just be patient.

STELLAR PEACH VARIETIES

Number after peach name is the days before (-) and after (+) Red Haven Harvest Season

• New in 2005! EARLYSTAR (-18)
• New in 2005! BRIGHTSTAR (-12)
• RISINGSTAR (-5)
• REDSTAR (+2)
• BLAZINGSTAR (+4)
• STARFIRE (+4)
• CORALSTAR (+12)
• ALLSTAR (+18)
• BLUSHINGSTAR (+20)
• GLOWINGSTAR (+25)
• AUTUMNSTAR (+45)

Please feel free to E-mail or Call Annette and Randy Bjorge with any questions or comments about Stellar Peaches. Different growing conditions in different areas may cause problems we do not see in Michigan. But we hope you can add some good comments also.

Commercial Nurseries that Sell Stellar Peach Trees

2007 Michigan Peach Crop Report

History of the Stellar Peach Breeding Program

• Ripens 18 days before Red Haven
• 80% Beautiful Dark Red Color
• Very Attractive Round Fruit With No Tip
• Semi-freestone which means it has been completely freestone when ripe some years and very clingy some years
• Very Few Split Pits
• Flesh is bright yellow with minimal fibers
• Fruit Size is 2 1/2" and Up
• Great Flavor with Firm Flesh For Fresh Market
• Tree is Medium Vigor and Precocious for Early Production so Thin Early
• Wonderful First Peach For Early Season Roadside or Farmers Markets

• Ripens 12 days before Red Haven
• Great Flavor is it's Outstanding Characteristic
• Customers Return Because of The Flavor
• Peach is Semi-Freestone with Firm Flesh for the Season
• Fruit Size is 2 1/2" and up
• Very Few Split Pits
• Good Bacterial Spot Resistance
• Great Peach For Early Season Roadside or Farmers Markets After Earlystar

• Ripens 5 Days Before Red Haven, Between Garnet Beauty and Red Haven
• Fruit is 80% Bright Orange-Red, with a slight stripe
• Flesh is Firm and Melting with a Pleasing Peach Flavor
• Risingstar is Semi-Freestone with Very Few Split Pits
• This excellent cropper will require heavy thinning most years because of it's Very Hardy Buds
• Fruit size is 2 3/4" and up, With 2 to 3 pickings
• Tree is Medium Vigor, Hardy, Productive with Good Resistance to Bacterial Spot and Peach Canker
• Risingstar gives Growers a Beautiful, High Quality Peach for the Early Season

• Ripens With Red Haven and Looks Similar to A Very Nice Red Haven
• Large, Round, Very Beautiful Peach with 80% Rich Red Color Over a Subtle Striped Background
• Very Few Split Pits
• Flesh is medium-yellow with a Wonderful Flavor
• The 2 3/4" to 3" Fruit Are Firm For Shipping But Have a Slight Attachment to the Pit, Similar To Red Haven
• Tree is Spreading, Very Hardy and Productive With Good Resistance to Bacterial Spot and Peach Canker
• Redstar is a Great Red Haven Replacement With Much Better Fruit Quality

• Ripens At the end of Red Haven Season
• Size is 2 3/4" uniform with 1-2 Pickings
• 90% Bright Red Color with a Slightly Flat Shape
• Sweeter Flavor Than Starfire
• Tree is hardy and spreading
• Completely Freestone with a Small Pit, Picks Dry Without Tearing, Clear Yellow Flesh
• Very Firm Flesh for Excellent Shipping Quality
• This Extension to Red Haven Season is Resistant to Bacterial Spot, and has Great Bud Hardiness Almost Ensuring Annual Cropping

• Ripens 5-7 Days After Red Haven
• Starfire is a Heavy Annual Cropper that Provides High Tonnage per Acre With a Few Pickings.
• Large Fruit size at 2 3/4" and up
• Peach is 80% bright red color with a round shape, Very Firm Flesh and Great Shipping Qualities for Fresh Market or Shipping
• Clear Yellow Flesh with a Small Pit
• Very Freestone
• Consistent Cropping but must be thinned to achieve maximum fruit size
• Tree is Strong, Spreading and Very Hardy with Excellent Resistance to Bacterial Spot and Canker
• This Variety is a Real Star For Many Growers and Marketers
• Randy says Starfire is his Favorite Peach Because it Produces Bushels and Bushels of Beautiful Fruit and the Tree is Great!

• Ripens just before Loring or 12 Days After Red Haven
• Fruit is a Large, Beautiful 3" Freestone peach
• Coralstar and Glowingstar are the Largest Size Fruit in the Stellar Series
• 80% Coral Red Color With a Subtle Stripe
• The Flesh is Firm for Shipping or Fresh Market and does not brown when cut
• Wonderful Sweet Peach Flavor
• Fruit Holds Well on Tree When Ripe for Multiple Pickings Over a Long Period
• Tree is hardy and has some resistance to Bacterial Spot
• Hardy Tree and Buds Produce Heavy Tonnage Per Acre
• Coralstar's Extra Large Size, Great Flavor and Fruit Quality Make It a Star For Fresh Market or Shipping

• Ripens Before Cresthaven or 18 Days After Red Haven
• Fruit is Large 2 3/4" to 3" and Firm Flesh With Good Shipping and Storage Qualities
• Color is 80% - 100% Bright, Red, Rich Blushed Fruit.
• Flesh is Clear Yellow and Freestone
• Wonderful Sweet Peach Flavor
• Tree is Hardy and Precocious for Early Production
• High Bud Density for High Yields Per Acre in 2 to 3 pickings
• Resistance to Bacterial Spot
• Widely Planted in Ontario

• Blushingstar is an Incredible High-Quality White Flesh Peach That Ships and Stores Very Well
• Ripens Before Cresthaven season or 20 Days After Red Haven
• The Flesh and Skin is is Firm Enough to Pick, Pack, and Ship Just Like The Other Stellar Yellow Flesh Peaches
• Color is 80% Deep Pinkish-Red With a White Background Color
• Size is 2 3/4" and up when properly thinned
• It Has a Unique Wonderful Distinctive Full Flavor of an Extra Sweet but Slightly acidic White Flesh Peach Plus a Penetrating, Pleasing Aroma
• Flesh is White, Tinged with Pink and Does not Brown
• Completely Freestone
• Blushingstar has very Hardy Buds and Trees so many years it must be thinned heavily to achieve desired size
• Tree is open growing with Some Resistance to Bacterial Spot
• This is the Favorite Eating Peach for the Workers on My Farm
• Customers return Year after Year Especially for This Peach
• At our Farm Market, the White Peaches account for 1/3 of All Peach Sales When They Are Available
• We give Free Samples of Blushingstar to Customers Who do not Think They Like White Peaches, But When They Try Blushingstar, They Change Their Opinion

• Ripens in Early Cresthaven season or 25 Days After Red Haven
• Fruit Size is Extra Large at 2 3/4" to 3 1/4". Glowingstar and Coralstar are the Largest Peaches in the Stellar Series
• Color is 60% Dark Red with a Bright Yellow Background
• Great Sweet Peach Flavor
• Flesh is Melting, Yellow and Very Freestone
• Very Firm Flesh with Excellent Shipping Qualities and Stores Well in Cooler
• Fruit Hangs Well on the Tree, Even When Ripe
• This is a very Grower Friendly Peach. When the Fruit is not Mature, There is a Large Suture on it, When the Suture Fills In and Becomes Round, it is Ready to Pick for Grading and Shipping
• Tree is strong, Vigorous and has Resistance to Bacterial Spot
• Glowingstar is Annette's Favorite Peach to Grow and Sell

• Ripens 45 Days After Red Haven at the End of Michigan's Peach Season after Encore and Fayette
• Fruit Size is Extra Large at 2 3/4" to 3 1/4", similar to Coralstar and Glowingstar
• Very Attractive Peach at 70% Blushed Dark Red Fruit
• Good Sweet Peach Flavor
• Very Hardy Buds and Trees
• Better Fruit Color, Flavor and a Much Better Tree than Fayette or Encore
• Autumnstar has Excellent Eating and Shipping Qualities For Any Season, But There is Nothing Like It in this Late, Late Season
• Autumnstar is a Great Way to End Your Markets Peach Season
• Autumnstar was so beautiful in 2007!!
• Back to Beginning of Varieties

A Note From Annette and Randy:

As of March 1, 2008, the 2008 Peach crop on Fruit Acres Farms is just fine so far. At our farm in a very cold hole we got -4 degrees in February which is not cold enough to kill dormant stellar peach buds. In 2007 our Peaches made it through with 100% of a crop. Sweet and Sour Cherries are now looking like 100% of a crop. Apricots and most Plums are 100% good. Apples are 100% crop so far. Spring is the scary weather to look forward to now.

History of Stellar Peaches

By Annette Bjorge

My Husband Randy and I are the peach breeders for the Fruit Acres Stellar Peach Series. Our 250 acre fruit farm has been in my family since 1846. We currently grow 100 acres of Freestone Peaches with 95% being Stellar varieties. Other varieties grown are Red Haven, and Fayette. We also grow fresh market Sweet cherries, Sour Cherries, fresh market Apples, Japanese and European Plums, Apricots and Pluots.

On our farm, we sell our peaches several ways and we evaluate the varieties for different marketing purposes. We pack for the wholesale market shipping several states away, and directly to farm marketers. Peach season is the busiest time at our Farm Market and U-Pick just off I-94 in Southwest Michigan. We only sell Stellar Peaches. We just love it when the customers comment that "Those are the best Peaches I ever had!"

Randy and I are growers and marketers first and peach breeders second. We grow Stellar varieties because we know they are far superior to the older varieties.

The Stellar Peach Breeding Program began when I learned how to cross-pollinate fruit blossoms by hand from Dr. Bob Anderson when I was his intern at Michigan State University, when he was still peach breeding there. I began cross-pollinating peaches by hand on our farm in 1981 with my father, James Friday. As a lifetime peach grower and industry leader, he saw a continuing need for a peach breeding program in Michigan after the historic Stanley Johnson efforts were phased out by Michigan State. That was going to be Dad's retirement project. He passed away suddenly in 1989 just as several of the crosses were just beginning to show their outstanding features.

In our evaluations, we watch the mother trees for several years to see how weather conditions affect them. If we get one year with any characteristic that is considered undesirable for growing or marketing the peaches, the new test variety is eliminated. Then we test the budwood for viruses and bud that variety on peach rootstock to watch it all again for several years in a commercial block, to make sure the variety is consistent or superior to the mother tree. We don't want any bad surprises later. There are also test trees planted in many peach test blocks at universities and commercial farms across the United States who agree to test the new variety and compare it next to commercial varieties on their farms.

At Fruit Acres Farms we plant all our commercial blocks 10' by 20' or closer on a 2 scaffold system with spring trimming only, and thinning similar to a Red Haven peach at 6 inches apart. All Stellar varieties must be thinned in order to achieve maximum size. We do not spray any of our stellar varieties for bacterial spot unless we see a problem. Bacterial spot pressure does vary among orchard sites.

We then harvest the peaches at a tree-ripe firm stage for packing on a peach sizer and grader for either fresh market or shipping. The peaches are then evaluated for storage quality. The original seedlings are now 24 years old and budded commercial blocks have been evaluated for up to 14 years.

7000 seedlings are still being evaluated and varieties chosen from them. So we have not been making crosses for the past years. We do plan on making more crosses in the future and we hope to work on some new nectarine varieties for the Midwest in the future.

Top of Page