Reliance Peach
Reliance has been a reliably cold-hardy peach since it was released to the public in 1964. It earned acclaim when, after an especially cold winter at the experimental station where it was being tested, it still bore a good crop of peaches when other commercial varieties bore nothing.
It has done well in my orchard at the north edge of Guelph, where it has grown vigorously and produced a crop in its third season after planting.
It has beautiful pink flowers which give way to medium sized, yellow-fleshed, freestone peaches.
Disease resistance: In my experience Reliance gets some peach leaf curl, but it outgrows it and still produces a fine crop. Because peach leaf curl is a fungal disease it is worse in wet years, and your planting site matters - airflow and full sunlight are important to limit the duration of leaf wetness in spring and summer, which the fungal disease needs to spread.
Parentage: A cross between a peach named Meredith and a cold hardy white-fleshed peach from Minnesota. Developed at the New Hampshire Agricultural Experimental Station.
References:
Images are from my orchard in 2025, of the peach variety 'Frost' - I didn't end up taking pictures of Reliance, but the trees are similar height and produced similar-sized fruits.
