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Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Peaches
Planting
For the best fruit production, peach trees should be planted in an area that receives full sun all day long. The morning sun is especially crucial because it helps to dry morning dew off the fruit and keeps it from rotting. Be sure to avoid planting in low areas, too, as cold air and frost can more easily settle there and affect the quality of your peaches.
Choose a site with well-drained, moderately fertile soil. Peach trees won鈥檛 do well in areas where the soil is compacted or remains constantly wet. Soil pH should be on the slightly-acidic side, between 6 and 6.5.
When to Plant Peach Trees
- Peach trees should be planted while they are dormant鈥攖ypically in late winter or early spring (depending on climate).
- In regions where the ground freezes during winter, hold off on planting until the soil has thawed and the ground is no longer waterlogged from snowmelt or heavy spring rains.
- It鈥檚 best to plant the trees the same day that you get them (if possible) to reduce stress on the seedling or sapling. Potted trees can tolerate not being planted for a little while, but bare-root trees should be planted as soon as possible.
- Select a tree that is about 1 year old and has a healthy root system. Older trees tend not to be as productive or vigorous overall.
How to Plant Peach Trees
- Dig a hole that is a few inches deeper and wider than the spread of the roots. Set the tree on top of a small mound of soil in the middle of the hole. Be sure to spread the roots away from the trunk without excessively bending them.
- For container-grown trees, remove the plant from its pot and remove any circling roots by laying the root ball on its side and using clean shears to cut through the offending roots. (Keep root pruning to a minimum, overall.)
- For grafted trees, position the inside of the curve of the graft union away from the sun when planting.
- Tip: Especially for dwarf or semi-dwarf grafted trees, the graft union must be 2 to 3 inches above the soil surface. If it鈥檚 any lower, the grafted tree (called the scion) may start to put out its own roots and grow into a standard-size tree.
- Do not fertilize at the time of planting.
- If you are planting standard-size trees, space them 15 to 20 feet apart. Space dwarf trees 10 to 12 feet apart.
- Most types of peach trees are self-fertile, so planting one tree is all that鈥檚 needed for fruit production.
An Alternative Planting Method
If your circumstances are suitable, you might want to try a technique practiced in England. It involves planting a peach tree鈥攊deally a dwarf variety鈥攐n the south side of the home (or other structure), directly under the eaves. Over time, the gardener prunes and trains the peach tree to espalier in a fan shape against or very near to the wall of the house.
Plastic sheeting is attached to the eaves and draped to cover but not touch the tree, similar to a lean-to tent. This keeps the tree dry in winter, and the tree enjoys the warmth of the sun鈥攄irectly and reflected off the house鈥攜ear-round. The plastic should be opened or lifted during bloom time to welcome pollinating insects and on hot, sunny days to ventilate the tree and prevent foliage burn.
Harvesting
- Peaches are harvested when they are fully ripe from late June through July and August.
- With peaches, it鈥檚 especially important to harvest at the RIGHT time.
- Though this timing depends on what type of peach variety, you can generally go by the color of the fruit. When peaches are fully ripe, the ground color of the fruit changes from green to completely yellow. No green should be left on the fruit. They should come off the tree with only a slight twist. The fruits found on the top and outside of the tree usually ripen first.
- Be careful when picking your peaches because some varieties bruise very easily.
- Tip: Peaches ripen faster in a closed paper bag at room temperature.
How to Store Peaches
- You can store peaches in the refrigerator in a plastic bag. They should keep for about 5 days.
- You can also make use of fresh peaches by making peach jam or peach butter.
- Peaches can also be canned or frozen for storage.
Catherine Boeckmann
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We have a peach tree in a large container, really it's a garden pool. We planted a dwarf type because we intended to keep it on our fenced patio. I keep it watered and fertilized using your guide. But...it is dropping it's leaves, only a few at the time but consistently. The leave turn yellow and drop. Is this normal? Our winter was cold for this area but the tree did not get burned and started out really well. This is its second spring.
Most container plants need protection in winter鈥攊ndoors, even if it’s a garage. Roots (on anything) in a container have greater exposure than those in the ground. And size is container size is relative; usually a 5-gallon container is minimum recommended, but a 15- to 20-gallon container is better.
Your local cooperative extension may be able to give you better/more specific advice re the local weather, your container, and the variety of peach. Find your state and then the service here: /content/cooperative-extension-services
Our leaves started turning yellow and dropping in the last couple of weeks. The tree is planted in the ground, and is four years old. Also, last year, the squirrels ate all but two peaches. Is there a way to keep them off of the tree?
For yellow leaves that are falling off, this indicates you need more water applied each time you water.
If the soil is covered with a 3 to 4-inch layer of mulch on the surface, then you should be able to squeeze two to three days between irrigations, provided enough water is applied.
Make sure the applied water is wetting the soil 18 to 24 inches deep. Use a metal rod, rebar or long screwdriver to judge the depth of the watering. Push it into the soil after watering and see when it is hard to push any more.
Peach trees that are 7 feet tall and 7 feet wide should receive about 90 gallons of water each week. This can be applied with drip irrigation or a level basin built around the tree about 6 feet in diameter and 4 inches deep.
It is virtually impossible to keep squirrels out of fruit trees because of their superb climbing and jumping ability. You can protect the crop by netting it. While squirrels can readily gnaw through the plastic netting, they may not persist if enough alternative food is easily available. Another idea is to leave one tree un-netted and sacrifice it to the squirrels who will avoid the other trees.
my peach tree always produces great crops. Fruit is good sized, color is beautiful but no matter when I harvest the fruit all the peaches are pethy/mealy. The texture is horrible, They are dry and the taste is horrible. What can I do to correct this situation? Or would it be best to just cut it down. I have no idea what kind it is except it was supposed to be a dwarf, self pollinating variety. It must be about 8 years old. Any suggestions? I live in Portland, OR and there are peach orchards all around me.
We would recommend consulting your local Cooperative Extension service, who should know more about local conditions that may be causing subpar fruit. Here’s a link to the , and another to the .
I live in Saint Louis, Mo. I submitted a question before about the same topic and it was answered so this is more or less a followup question. The winter of 2016-2017 was too mild to produce fruit for either my apple or peach tree. Beginning around christmas of 2017 the temperature plunged into sub-zero wind chill factors for well over eleven days. I am to understand that a fruit tree needs a good freeze to produce fruit. Is it safe to assume that in the summer of 2018 I will be eating fruit off of both trees due to the winter deep freeze we are currently experiencing? Please tell me what you think. And also my apple tree is three years old but has yet to produce fruit. Is there something that I am doing wrong by only watering it? My peach tree is the same age but is producing fruit. Thanks.
I have a volunteer peach tree in Nova Scotia, no idea what variety. We are getting along fine. I prune vigorously the upward shoots to keep the height to where I can harvest from a stepladder. I am wondering, will twigs that bore peaches possibly bear them again or should they be considered goners at pruning time?
Peaches are produced on one-year-old wood (branches) that grew in the previous season. So branches that bore fruit will not bear again.
I left a peach pit (from a peach stand in South Carolina) in the freezer all winter, took it out early spring and gently got the seed from it and planted it in a small,then medium then large now extra large planting pot !
My question is when is the best time to plant it in the yard (I live around Myrtle beach SC area)
& when can I prune some branches and which ones to cut , as you guessed I'm a newbie at this! HELP! It is September almost October and we still have 80 to 90 degree days left , a few leaves have dropped off, I believe because it's getting cooler at night , Thank you in advance
