Prunus persica<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Introduction<\/p>\n\n\n\n A soft and succulent peach, ripened to perfection and warm off the tree, is one of the ultimate treats of the summer garden. Store bought fruit doesn\u2019t even come close (last summer my daughter asked me why supermarket nectarines aren\u2019t the same thing as those we grow). <\/p>\n\n\n\n A nectarine is a Peach that\nhas lost its fuzzy coating (which many people find to be a big plus), but that\nisn\u2019t the only difference. Nectarines tend to be slightly more temperamental to\ngrow too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n History: The peach was\ncultivated in its native China for centuries before it spread to all warm\ntemperate regions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ease of growing: Mention growing peaches to most experienced gardeners\nand they usually roll their eyes and say peach leaf curl. This ubiquitous\nfungus disease is the reason peaches are generally considered to be the highest\nmaintenance common tree fruit, and one of the shortest lived (sometimes as\nlittle as 8 years and often only 20).<\/p>\n\n\n\n How easy peaches are largely\ndepends upon the climate though, I\u2019m fortunate to live in an area that suites\nthem quite well and I find them to be fast growing, vigorous and highly\nproductive. They are often somewhat disfigured by the ever present peach leaf\ncurl, but I find I can just ignore it and they still produce fine. They need\nregular pruning and thinning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Climate: Peaches are quite hardy and actually prefer a cold\nwinter (they can tolerate temperatures as low as \u201320\u00b0 F). They don\u2019t really\nlike very mild winter areas as they don\u2019t get enough chill hours (though there\nare some low chill varieties). They like a dry early\nspring as the flowers open early and can be damaged by a hard late frost\n(the flowers are vulnerable from the time the pink color shows). This should be\nfollowed by a warm summer with lots of sun to ripen sweet fruit. Wet weather at\nany time can encourage disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peaches\ncan be grown in cooler areas if you choose a suitable variety and plant in a\nwarm sunny microclimate (such as against a south or west facing wall). A wall\nwill also help to protect them from late frost (in extreme cases you can easily\ncover them with sheets). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Soil<\/p>\n\n\n\n pH 5.5 – 8.0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peaches prefer a light,\nwell drained, fairly deep loam, though they will tolerate most soils so long as\nthey are well drained and not too heavy. If your soil isn\u2019t very well drained\nyou might consider planting on a hillside, or on a mound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Site: Peaches are best planted in a warm, sunny spot that is sheltered from\ncold winds. Avoid frost pockets because they flower almost as early as the\nApricot (February in my garden). They need full sun to produce sweet fruit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Soil\npreparation: If the soil isn\u2019t very fertile you should prepare the whole\ngrowing area (not just the planting hole) by single digging (or even double\ndigging if the soil is poor). This enables you to remove perennial weeds and\nincorporate organic matter (compost or aged manure), along with wood ash and\nmaybe some standard fertilizer mix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Planting<\/p>\n\n\n\n When: Bare root trees are planted in early spring in cold\nclimates, late fall to early spring in mild-winter areas. Plants in containers\ncan be planted out at any time, but spring is best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How:\nDig the planting hole 2\u20113 times as wide as the root ball, to give the roots\nplenty of loose soil to grow into. You want the hole to be the same depth as\nthe root ball (or roots if bare root), so it can be set into the ground at the\nsame depth it was growing in the nursery. This is most easily measured by\nlaying a stick across the hole to get the right height. The graft union should\nbe 3-6\u201d above the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In poorly drained soils you\nmay have to plant on a mound, to keep the collar of the tree from staying wet\nfor long periods (too much water could cause it to rot). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Start planting by throwing a\ncouple of shovels of soil (possibly mixed with some organic matter if the soil\nis poor \u2013 to help it hold moisture) into the bottom of the hole. Make this into\na slight mound and then spread the roots out evenly over it. You then put some\nsoil in the hole to anchor the tree in place and firm it down. Then re-fill the\nhole with the rest of the soil (make sure the tree remains vertical). You may\nalso want to add some rock phosphate to the soil as you go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you have finished\nplanting the tree should be on a slight mound, so as the soil settles it\nbecomes flat. If it starts out flat it may end up as a slight depression where\nwater can collect (which can be a problem on poorly drained soils).<\/p>\n\n\n\n You then water the tree\nthoroughly, not only to supply water to the plant, but also to settle the soil\nand establish contact between roots and soil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The final step is to spread\nout a mulch to conserve water, and keep down weed competition (keep this six\ninches away from the trunk). <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is also a very good idea\nto put a permanent label on the tree saying the variety and rootstock (and\nwrite it down in your garden journal).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Support: Newly planted trees were once routinely supplied with a stake to support\nthem, but it is now thought that trees become stronger more rapidly if not\nstaked. Staking is only usually necessary on very windy sites (especially for\ndwarf trees which grow on weak rootstocks).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Protection: If gophers live in your area you will have to plant\nyour trees in gopher wire baskets (I make my own to whatever size I need). If\nother rodents are a problem (they may chew on the bark, stunting or even\nkilling the tree) you may have to use various kinds of metal or plastic mouse\nguards. These should go several inches into the ground and should have gravel\naround them to deter digging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maintenance: Peaches are one of the higher maintenance fruits.\nThey only fruit on one year old wood, so are commonly pruned annually to\nencourage new growth. They usually set a lot of fruit and often need serious\nthinning. They may also require spraying to keep pests and diseases in check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fertilizing: Usually the trees will get adequate nutrients from\ntheir mulch of compost or aged manure. If the plant doesn\u2019t put on at least a\nfoot of growth in a season (or has pale leaves) you might want to give it a\nsource of nitrogen in spring. This should be done early in the year because\nlater applications can encourage sappy growth that is vulnerable to frost\ndamage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watering: The trees should be given a steady supply of\nmoisture for best growth and fruiting (though I don\u2019t water mine at all and\nthey produce wonderful fruit). Avoid irregular watering as an abundance of\nmoisture after a drought can cause fruit to split. Drip irrigation works best\nas it is not good to get the leaves of fruit wet (it can cause disease).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pollination: Most peaches are self-fertile and so are very\nreliable producers of fruit. This means you only need\nto plant one tree to get fruit. A few (Indian Blood) need pollination, in which\ncase you should have at least two trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thinning: These self fertile trees usually set so much fruit\nthey need to be vigorously thinned to avoid overbearing and breakage of\nbranches (also to avoid biennial bearing). I spend more time thinning the\nexcess fruit than on any other Peach task. This is usually done when the fruit\nare about an inch in diameter (which should be 4-5 weeks after fruit set). It\u2019s\nbetter to thin in several stages though, beginning when they are 1\/3\u201d in\ndiameter and ending when they are 1\u201d or so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending\non the size and vigor of the tree you might leave one fruit every 4 to 6 to 9\ninches. Early varieties are spaced further apart because they don\u2019t have as\nmuch time to mature their fruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pruning: Peaches require more pruning than most other trees\nbecause they fruit only on one year old wood. They are often pruned annually to\nencourage new growth, usually by cutting back new growth by half. This is\nusually done in late winter as it needs to be completed before flowering. Be\ncareful not to leave large areas of exposed wood as it can become infected with\nbacterial canker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unpruned\ntrees will produce a lot of fruit one year, but often very little the next year\nbecause there wasn\u2019t enough new growth. You can thin to remedy this though.\nThey will also produce a huge quantity of small fruit which requires drastic\nthinning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Training:\nThe trees are usually pruned to an open\ncenter to allow air and light to enter the middle of the tree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Propagation: Peaches tend to come fairly true from seed and\napparently it is possible to grow Indian Blood Peaches from seed to fruit in as\nlittle as 5 years. Named varieties are grafted or budded however.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Problems: If you don\u2019t pick the ripe fruit regularly, they can\ndrop and make a slippery mess on paved surfaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mulch; Use a mulch of compost or aged manure to supply\nnutrients and to conserve soil moisture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Containers:\nIn very cold climates you can grow dwarf peaches in containers and bring them\ninside for the winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pests:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Quite\na few pests and diseases may affect peaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peach\ntree borers: Can kill trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plum\ncurculio<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diseases:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pruning,\nthinning and good sanitation can all help to reduce disease problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peach\nLeaf Curl This is the commonest affliction of peaches and nectarines, but I\nfind I can ignore it entirely. It is worst following wet spring weather (which\nis almost every year where I live). Even though the plants are sometimes\nafflicted quite badly, they are so vigorous they just put out more leaves and\nplenty of delicious fruit. Some curl resistant varieties are now available.\nNectarines are even more susceptible than peaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\ncommon treatment for leaf curl is to spray with lime sulphur in late December,\nmid January and early February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brown\nrot: Infects and destroys the fruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Powdery\nMildew: Can be a problem in wet climates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n San\nJose Scale:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harvest: Peaches need to be ripe to be really good. A fully\nripe fruit will come off the tree easily, be full colored (no green patches)\nslightly soft (it gives slightly if you poke it) and should come off the tree\neasily. You can really tell when it is ripe by the flavor. If you pick a bunch\nof fruit and it isn\u2019t quite ripe, it will ripen off the tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Storage: Fruit can be stored for a week or so in a cool\nplace, but it will continue to soften. They dry, freeze and can well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cleanup: Remove fallen fruit to reduce pest problems (and\nslipping hazard from the mushy fruit). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Landscape\nuses: Peach is potentially a beautiful\nflowering tree but it is commonly disfigured by peach leaf curl, which leaves\nit looking somewhat less than attractive. Be cautious about planting them\nadjacent to paved surface because the fruit makes a mess and is a potential\nslipping hazard. The trees may need spraying so don\u2019t put them near anything\nyou don\u2019t want sprayed too (such as windows).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unusual\ngrowing ideas: It is possible to plant 2\ntrees in the same hole to get slightly different maturation times. You can also\nhave several varieties grafted on to the same tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rootstocks<\/p>\n\n\n\n Same as for almonds, plums<\/p>\n\n\n\n Citation: 15 feet\nTolerates wet soil, reduces canopy more than height, needs irrigation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lovell: Produces\na standard sized tree but longer lived and hardy <\/p>\n\n\n\n Myrobalan 22 feet\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pixy 12 feet<\/p>\n\n\n\n St. Julian A:\n15ft<\/p>\n\n\n\n Genetic dwarfs: Peaches are also commonly available as\ngenetic dwarfs. I have always been suspicious of these every since I worked in\na garden where they produced such poor quality fruit that no one even bothered\nto pick them, but apparently newer varieties are much improved in this regard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Varieties: It is important to choose the right variety for you\narea with regard to disease resistance, chill hours, heat tolerance, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nharvest season isn\u2019t very long for an individual tree, so it pays to have\nseveral trees with staggered maturation times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Food\nuses: No one needs to be\ntold how to eat peaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have an abundance of fruit they freeze very well. They\nalso dry well too. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"About Peach and Nectarine
Hours of winter chill: 200-900
Size
Standard \u201315 – 25 ft tall x 15 – 20 ft wide
Semi-dwarf \u2013 10 – 15 ft tall x 10 – 15 ft wide
Genetic dwarf \u2013 4 – 8 ft tall x 4 – 8 ft wide
Zone: 5 – 9
Blooming period: Early spring
Fruiting period: Mid \/ late summer
Life expectancy: 8 – 50 years (depending on climate and site.)
Bearing age: 2 – 3 years
Yield:
Dwarf – 30lb
Standard – 100lb
Spacing:
Standard tree 20 – 30 ft apart
Dwarf tree 10 ft apart <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n