Stone fruits, with their juicy flesh and a seed at the center, are summer’s sweetest treats. From the drip of a ripe peach to the tang of a plum, they capture the essence of the season. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or simply a fan of these delicious fruits, this guide has everything you need to know about stone fruits.

What Is Stone Fruit?

Stone fruits are a type of fruit with one single large seed covered by an outer hard shell called the “stone.” The exterior of these fruits is juicy and fleshy, with a stone in the middle, which makes them best for fresh eating, baking, or even preserving. That range in texture includes both smooth and fuzzy skins, as well as freestone varieties (which means the flesh readily separates from the pit) or clingstone.

Choosing the Perfect Stone Fruit

Choose stone fruits that smell fragrant and taste like honey, with a little give when gently pressed. A bit of imperfection is great—it usually indicates that it’s perfect (ripe) and better. With the exception of a few stone fruits, almost everything is best when eaten as soon as it is picked.

Okay, it’s time to get talking about the sweet world of stone fruits: 14 types you may see in store or at a local farmer’s market, what they taste like, and how we can use them.

1. Peaches: The Quintessential Summer stone Fruit

Peaches came up again, and these represent one of the classics, with its almost honey-like sweetness, which is cloaked in a delicate fuzzy skin. From the soft white peaches to be eaten directly over your sink in one bite or yellow-fleshed imperfect numbers best for cobblers and crisps. (summer) Peaches add a lot of sweetness to any meal, great for grilling, pie making, or eating just on their own.

Peaches Growing Requirements

• Sunlight: Full Sun
• Soil Type: Well-drained, sandy loam
• Watering: Regular, deep watering
• Pruning: Prune in late winter to shape the tree and remove dead wood.

2. Plums: Juicy and Versatile

The skin of a plum is known for being smooth, and the insides are incredibly juicy. Available in a rainbow of colors ranging from blue to yellow, the fruit has subtle nuances depending on the variety. Sweet, tart plums are great tossed in salads or baked into tarts and crisps.

Plums Growing Requirements

• Sunlight: Full Sun
• Soil: well-drained, loamy
• Watering: Keep soil evenly moist.
• Pruning: Can be pruned in late winter to keep its shape and encourage air circulation.

3. Cherries: Nature’s Candy

One of the first stone fruits to pop up in spring, cherries have tart flesh and sweet yet slightly bitter skin. Where sour cherries excel in pies, snacking makes sweet cherries great. How brilliant is that? Almonds are packed with melatonin goodness, making this treat a perfect late-night snack.

Cherries Growing Requirements

• Sunlight: Full Sun
• Soil Type: Sandy, loam, well-drained
• Water: Water once a week and deep
• Trim: Trim after the fruit to stimulate new growth.

4. White-fleshed peaches and nectarines

Because nectarines look just like peaches, people often think they are eating a peach until taking a bite and realizing that the fruit below looks different (its smooth skin is underappreciated, in our opinion). While being slightly firmer. In fact, that works a lot like peaches, and you can substitute one for the other in many recipes. Grill up nectarines to bring out their natural sweetness.

Nectarines Growing Requirements

• Sunlight: Full Sun
• Soils: Sandy loam, well-drained
• Watering: Moderate to deep, regular watering
• Pruning: Late winter pruning will help keep your trees in shape.

5. Apricots: Small but Mighty Stone Fruit

While smaller in size than peaches and nectarines, apricots stand out because of their luxuriously rich texture and mildly tart flavor. They are renowned for being jammy, and thanks to a high pectin content, they help your preserves set beautifully.

Apricots Growing Requirements

• Sunlight: Full Sun
• Soil Type: Loam, well-drained
• Watering: Average, deep watering
• Deadheading: Deadheads throughout the summer season with dried-out or diseased ends can be cut back to the nearest leaves to promote regrowth and flowering.

6. Mangoes: Tropical Sweetness

Although a tropical food, mangoes are also regarded as stone fruits. They are so adaptable that they work in sweet and savory forms. Due to their sweet and juicy flesh, a ripe mango is commonly used for smoothies, salsas, and salads.

Mangoes Growing Requirements

• Sunlight: Full Sun
• Water Type: Well-drained, sandy soil
• Watering: Moderate watering
• Maintenance and Pruning: In late winter, prune back to shape once a year.

7. Lychees: Exotic and Unique Stone Fruit

Those bright red, bumpy exteriors look nothing like any other stone fruit, and the translucent grape-like flesh inside is just as unique. They taste like a mix of grape and pear, perfect for making breezy cocktails or sweet treats with friends.

Lychees Growing Requirements

• Sunlight: Full Sun
• Soil Type: loamy, well-drained
• Irrigation: Frequent, deep irrigating
• Maintenance: Lightly prune to shape.

8. Raspberries: Tiny Stone Fruit Clusters

Believe it or not, Raspberries, too, are stone fruits. Each raspberry is made up of droopy little drupelets with tiny pits. They are not only versatile, adding their bright flavor to sweet and savory dishes alike, but they also share a warm relationship with our country that has lasted since the first Europeans arrived in America.

Raspberries Growing Requirements

• Sun Exposure: Full Sun / Partial Shade
• Average Soil Type: Loamy well-drained
• Watering: Keep soil moist
• Pruning: Prune annually by cutting back canes that start from the ground and removing any shoots that don’t contribute to growth (like discarding extra cards from a new deck).

9. Blackberries Are the Jewel of Summer (Briefly)

Bits and bobs of drupelets, you might say, like raspberries with their little stones, Blackberries are aggregates, too. Further, their very short season makes them a sought-after summer fruit that should be frozen in the height of its glory so you can enjoy it all year long with smoothies and baked goods alike.

Blackberries Growing Requirements

• Light: Full Sun/Partial Shade
• Soil: loam, well-drained
• Watering: Regular watering
• Maintenance Pruning: Remove old canes after harvest.

10. The Lesser Known Pleasure of Mulberries

They grow on trees and look like the longer version of a blackberry. If you can find them, they are worth it (they’re not commonly sold in stores). These food processor mulberries make a great pie, jam, or wine.

Mulberry Growing Requirements

• Sunlight: Full Sun
• Soil Type: Rich, well-drained
• Watering: Moderate watering
• Pruning: Prune in late winter to shape the tree.

11. Olives: A Savory Stone Fruit

Olives are often confused as vegetables, but they are actually a species in the stone fruit family. There are different kinds of olives, flavoured differently depending on the curing method used. Whether in tapenades or salads, olives contribute their unique savory flavor to various dishes.

Growing Requirements

• Sunlight: Full Sun
• Soil Type: Sandy, well-drained
• Watering: Drought-tolerant
• Maintenance: Light pruning to shape.

12. Coconuts: Not Just a Nut

Among the family of stone fruits, coconuts stand out. While a coconut shell may appear hard inside in stores, it also has a fibrous husk layer that envelops the seed. The flesh has a lovely tropical flavor that can be added to both sweet and savory dishes.

Coconuts Growing Requirements

• Sunlight: Full Sun
• Type: Sandy, well-drained soil
• Watering: Moderate watering
• Pruning: Only light pruning is needed.

13. Dates: Nature’s Candy

These plants grow on large stems, and the dates you can buy in every store are sweet fruits with wrinkled skin. They are commonly available dried but can also be consumed fresh. Dates are also a rich source of fibre, which turns them into the perfect natural sweetener for baking or munching.

Dates Growing Requirements

• Sunlight: Full Sun
• Soil: Sand/Well-drained
• Watering: Drought-tolerant
• Maintenance: Prune to shape as needed.

14. This brings us to the best Stone Fruit (in my opinion): the hybrids—pluots and plumcots in one corner, apriums in another.

These fruit are all new crossbreeds of plums and apricots—each with its own distinct flavor. The plum is the predominant parent in pluots, while apriums are usually of a higher percentage apricot lineage, and plumcots are equal parts of both. Late summer baking at its best with these hybrids.

Hybrids (Pluots, Plumcots, Apriums) Growing Requirements

• Sunlight: Full Sun
• Type of Soil: Loam; well-drained
• Watering: Consistent watering
• Pruning: Prune in late winter for shaping and dead wood.