Nectarine 'Madame Blanchette'Prunus persica var. nectarina

Plant nectarine trees in rich fertile, well drained soil in a sheltered, sunny position. A south facing position is preferable to provide protection from damaging frosts. Prior to planting, incorporate plenty of well rotted manure or garden compost into the planting hole. If the tree is to be bush trained then drive a stake into the ground prior to planting. Staking after planting may result in damage to the root ball. For wall trained nectarines attach support wires to the wall prior to planting. Plant fruit trees at their original soil level and firm them into the ground. Fasten the tree to the stake or support wires, and water well.

Fruit trees do not suffer weed competition well. Keep weeds and grass clear from within a 30cm radius of base of the tree. In spring, while the ground is moist, apply a mulch of well rotted manure or garden compost around the base of the tree, taking care not to mound it up against the stem. This will help to retain moisture throughout the summer. Feed and water nectarine trees regularly during particularly dry periods.

Nectarine may be fan trained against a wall or grown as a bush. When pruning nectarine trees it is important to avoid winter pruning as this leaves them prone to silver leaf disease. To bush train: In the first spring after planting, select 3 or 4 well spaced branches on a clear trunk of at least 75cm (29"), and shorten them by two thirds. Remove the central stem to just above the highest of the selected branches. Remove any laterals below the selected branches.

In the following spring, select 3 or 4 sub laterals on each branch and shorten these by half to create a balanced, open framework. In future years nectarines will require only occasional pruning to remove damaged, badly placed or diseased wood. This should be carried out during April. When fruits are walnut sized they should be thinned to one fruit per cluster, at a spacing of 15cm (6") apart.

Seeds and garden supplies will normally be delivered within the time period stated against each product as detailed above. Plants, bulbs, corms, tubers, shrubs, trees, potatoes, etc. are delivered at the appropriate time for planting or potting on. Delivery times will be stated on the product page above, or in your order acknowledgement page and email.

Orders for packets of seed incur a delivery charge of £2.99.

Orders which include any other products will incur a delivery charge of £6.99.

Where an order includes both packets of seeds and other products, a maximum delivery charge of £7.99 will apply - regardless of the number of items ordered.

Large items may incur a higher delivery charge - this will be displayed in your shopping basket.

Please see our Delivery page for further details, and more information on different charges that may apply to certain destinations.

For more information on how we send your plants please visit our Helpful Guide on plant sizes.

Van Meuwen strives to ensure that all its plants are delivered to you in the perfect condition for planting. While the majority of our nursery plants cope well with slight delays in intransit, sadly, the time it takes to deliver to certain locations in the UK means that we can't guarantee this for some of our smaller plug products and tender bedding and vegetable lines, which do not respond well to the extra journey time. So regretfully while we offer the majority of our live plant offering nationwide, we are unable to ship plugs, begging plants and tender vegetable plants to the following areas: HS, IV41-IV49, IV51, IV55-56, KW15-KW17, PA34, PA41-48, PA60-PA78, PA80, PH40-PH44, TR21-TR24, ZE1-ZE3.