The Flavor Tree Fruit Co. LLC in Hanford, CA, which is the exclusive sales agent for Warmerdam Packing, is “so big in the cherry deal that we really don’t get going on the stone fruit deal until mid-June,” which is a bit later than some shippers in the industry, according to George Neves, national sales manager for Flavor Tree.

Once the company’s stone fruit program does get going, it is considerably heavier to peaches and nectarines than to plums, and stronger in yellow flesh peach and nectarine varieties than white flesh, at least until late summer and fall, he said.

In the plum category, Flavor Tree really only has two varieties — but they are special varieties. One is Emerald Beaut and the other is a cherry-plum cross called “Verry Cherry,” and the company has increased production in both of those varieties this year.

“We have had some Emerald Beauts in the past, and we are expecting a little better crop off of our Emerald Beauts” this year, Mr. Neves said. “They got hit by hail last year,” so the 2012 harvest did not meet expectations. “We’ve got more [Emerald Beauts] in the ground. They are still coming into production, so we will be bigger in the next year or two” in that variety.

The Emerald Beaut, which was developed by Zaiger Genetics, is described as being juicy and yet crisp and crunchy, and very sweet.

The “Verry Cherry” plum is now in its second year. It is “a cherry hybrid with a plum. We had a limited amount of it” in 2012 “and it went very well,” said Maurice (Mo) Cameron, managing partner. “We will probably have much more of it this year, and we are looking forward to sharing that with some of our cherry customers.”

The cherry plums harvest about mid-July, and the Emerald Beauts come in early August.

In peaches and nectarines, “we haven’t had any additional plantings over the past year,” Mr. Neves said. “We’ve got yellow peaches, white peaches, yellow nectarines and white nectarines available.”

The company’s first nectarine variety of the season will be Spring Brite, starting about mid-June, with the company’s earliest peaches starting June 15-20. From that point, Flavor Tree has a strong program, with a continuity of varieties on yellow flesh fruit through October.

In white peaches, “we have a good fall selection with Snow Gem and Snow Fall,” he said. In white Nectarines, the company has Arctic Snow and Arctic Mist. “We have good volume on whites in September.”

Throughout the stone fruit season, “we have some very nice varieties” of peaches and nectarines, he continued. “They are all high color varieties, and we pick them at the right time. We don’t pick them at high pressures. We pick them when they are ready to be picked.” Then “we do a good job on the packing.”

The fruit is packed in an assortment of pack styles, including volume fill, two-layer trays, RPCs and Euro boxes, he said.

For 2013, “we expect a crop size similar to 2011,” Mr. Neves said. “We had a few fields last year that got hit pretty good by the hail storm that came through.” With good weather this year to date, “we are anticipating a much better crop this year, with good volumes” and good promotional opportunities.