Fantasia Nectarine (Prunus persica var. nucipersica 'Fantasia')
Overview
Fantasia is a hardy, mid-season nectarine well suited to cool temperate regions with high rainfall, making it one of the most reliable nectarines for West Gippsland. It tolerates humid summers better than most nectarines, and its bloom period aligns well with regions prone to late winter chills.
Fruit Characteristics
The tree produces medium-to-large yellow-fleshed fruit with a rich, aromatic flavour and excellent sweetness, and it maintains strong cropping in seasons where other cultivars fail. The fruit is ideal for fresh eating, bottling, and desserts, with the edible portion being the entire flesh.
Climate & Soil Adaptability
Developed in California, Fantasia was bred specifically for broad climate adaptability and disease tolerance, which carries over to your wetter, clay-based slope once the soil is biologically improved. It prefers a well-drained loam but can thrive in clay-enhanced soils when planted on a mound and mulched with a fungal-dominant woodchip layer.
Forest Layer & Spacing
As a small sub-canopy fruit tree, it occupies the mid-story of your food forest, fitting comfortably between larger nuts and smaller shrubs.
Pollination & Propagation
Fantasia is self-fertile and does not require a pollination partner, although bees improve fruit set. It is best propagated by grafting onto cold-tolerant peach or nectarine rootstocks—Nemaguard or Marianna 2624 being the most suitable for clay soils. Grafted trees typically fruit in two to four years and maintain consistent yields once established.
Companion Plants
Its ideal support species include White Clover, Comfrey, Calendula, Chives, Garlic, Lemon Balm, Nasturtium, and Yarrow, providing dynamic nutrient cycling, pest deterrence, pollinator attraction, and a resilient living mulch system.