Growing Peaches

Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Peaches

Peaches

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Mmmm … peaches picked at their peak are pure perfection! Here’s how to plant, grow, and harvest peaches at the right time. Plus, we have some delicious peach recipes to try with your bounty!

To grow peaches, the trick is to choose a type that will fit with your climate. Peach trees can be grown in USDA Zones 4 to 9, but do especially well in Zones 6 to 8. If you live in one of these latter zones, you can focus on choosing a variety based on its flavor and harvest-time. If you live in colder regions, there are some varieties that are more cold tolerant that you should choose instead.

Planting

When to Plant Peach Trees

  • Peach trees should be planted while they’re dormant—typically 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’s best to plant the trees the same day that you get them (if possible) to reduce stress. 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.

Choosing and Preparing a Planting Site

  • For the best fruit production, the tree should be planted in an area that receives full sun all day long. Morning sun is especially crucial because it helps to dry morning dew off the fruit. 
  • Choose a site with well-drained, moderately fertile soil. Peach trees won’t do well in areas where soil is compacted or remains consistently wet.
  • Soil pH should be on the slightly-acidic side, between 6 and 6.5.
  • Be sure to avoid planting in low areas, as cold air and frost can more easily settle there and affect the quality of your peaches.

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’s 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’s needed for fruit production.

Peaches

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—ideally a dwarf variety—on 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—directly and reflected off the house—year 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.

Care

How to Care for Peaches

  • About 4 to 6 weeks after the tree blooms, thin the fruit so that they are 6 to 8 inches apart on the branch. If too much fruit is left on the tree, it is likely to be smaller and subpar. Thinning the fruit ensures that the tree will focus energy on the remaining fruit.
  • Prune and fertilize to encourage 10 to 18 inches of new growth during spring and summer.

Fertilizing

  • About 6 weeks after planting, fertilize young trees with a balanced (10-10-10) fertilizer.
    • Tip: Apply fertilizer in a circle around the tree, but keep it at least 18 inches away from the trunk. This encourages the roots to spread outward, rather than in on themselves. 
  • During the second year, add ¾ pound of nitrogen fertilizer once in the spring and once in the early summer.
  • After the third year, add about 1 pound of nitrogen fertilizer per year to the mature trees in the spring.
  • To help make the tree hardier, do not fertilize it within 2 months of the first fall frost date or while the fruit is maturing. Fertilizer should only be applied between spring and mid-summer.

Pruning Peach Trees

Peach pruning should NOT be avoided. If left unpruned, peach trees weaken, may become diseased, and bear less fruit year after year. Peaches bloom and bear fruit on second-year wood; therefore, the trees need to make good growth each spring and summer to insure a crop for the next year.

Each winter, a large number of red 18- to 24-inch shoots need to be present as fruiting wood. If the trees are not pruned annually, the fruiting shoots move higher and higher, becoming out of reach. Alternate-year pruning results in excessive growth the year following heavy pruning, so annual, moderate pruning is essential for the long-term control of tree vigor and fruiting wood.

  • Be sure to prune the tree to an open center shape. In the summer of the first year, cut the vigorous shoots that form on the top of the tree by two or three buds. After about a month, check the tree.
  • As soon as you have three wide-angled branches, spaced equally apart, cut back any other branches so that these three are the main branches.
  • In the early summer of the second year, cut back the branches in the middle of the tree to short stubs and prune any shoots developing below the three main branches. After the third year, remove any shoots in the center of the tree to keep its shape.
  • Be sure to prune the tree annually to encourage production. Pruning is usually done mid to late April. Pinching the trees in the summer is also helpful.

Pests/Diseases

Harvest/Storage

How to Harvest Peaches

  • Peaches are harvested when they are fully ripe from late June through July and August.
  • With peaches, it’s 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.

Peaches in bowl

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.

Recommended Varieties

  • ‘Redhaven’, which is the standard and most popular choice. These peaches are medium-size, but can be small if the tree is not properly thinned. Its skin is tough and firm and red in color.
  • ‘Reliance’, which is a hardy variety. It produces small and soft fruits.
  • ‘Harmony’ (‘Canadian Harmony’), which is winter hardy and moderately resistant to bacterial leaf spot. It produces medium to large fruit and freezes well.
  • Some zone favorites are:
Zone  4  5  6  7  8  9  10
Variety  Hale  Madison  Saturn  Contender  Frost  Topaz Florida Beauty

Wit & Wisdom

  • Although peaches are native to the Chinese countryside, the peach was brought to the western world through Iran.
  • Test buds of peaches and other sensitive fruits for freeze damage. Bring in a few twigs cut from the trees and place them in a vase of water. If the twigs bloom in a week or two, expect blossoms in the spring and a crop the following fall.

Recipes

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Reader Comments

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Leaving a comment

Submitted by donna L jacques on

I want to thank you for all you do for us. I always come to your page. your so helpful.
Thank you
Donna

Peach Care

Submitted by Sarah Isbell on

Hello, I'm new to peach tree harvesting//care. When we moved into our home they had an established peach tree growing. This was the first year it bore fruit, so we were excited. But when we went to check there were already bugs//animals feasting before they were even ripe. So we weren't lucky enough to enjoy them this year. How can we we prevent this next year? I got to taste a slice of one good one, and it was delicious! I'd love to make peach cobbler next year!!
Thanks.

Can this peach tree be saved

Submitted by Mary Jones on

As a housewarming present we were gifted two Redhaven peach trees 3 years ago in early summer, and had no idea how to care for it. But we followed instructions on the tag and planted it. The deer gnawed them down severely in winter 2016-2017 but a few branches regrew. Last year (2018) one of two sprouted a couple more scraggly branches and we erected a deer fence. We had a brutal winter so one branch died. This year three branches have reached about 8 feet high, on both trees and just one bore a lot of peaches so we thinned the fruits in mid-June. The peaches remaining were picked last week, and are tasty (about 20), but small (about twice the size of a golf ball). As there are only three branches on the fruiting tree and two on the non-fruiting I am wondering if to prune them I just whack the branches down to 5-6 feet high? As I have so few branches I don't really have any other choice for thinning and hopefully promoting new wood so I will get peaches again next year. I hope by doing so, branches will sprout from the pruned branches. Also, I read that fertilization should happen in spring and early summer but not during fruiting. But in our zone (6B) they bloomed in April so were growing fruit in early summer (June). Is it okay to fertilize now (late July)? I hope we can save these trees....

Thinning Peaches in Zone 7B

Submitted by JJ on

It is now April in my zone 7B. My red-haven Peaches started to produce fruit . my question is which month do i thin them?

Thinning Fruit

Thin peaches about 4–6 weeks after they flower, while the peaches are still small.

When to plant peach trees in zone 7b

Submitted by Smita Warrier on

Hello

I live in Charlotte, NC and it is zone 7b here. The article mentioned that peach trees should be planted in the spring. Since we have a milder climate, I have heard that fall is the best time. What is your recommendation for this zone?

Thank you!

Peach tree growing

Submitted by Sunil Sharma on

You have written in your article that it is a spring season suitable for planting. But after reading your article I am curious to plant peach trees. Can not I put the grafted tree in this season, or I will have to wait till the spring season..

Planting Peach Trees

Yes, you can plant a potted peach tree during summer or fall, too. However, you should not plant during the hottest part of summer, as this will cause too much stress on the tree. If you live in a mild climate, mid- to late August will likely be a good time to plant.

Peach tree

Submitted by Bill D on

I live in downstate NY. I have a very healthy 14-foot donut peach tree. it produces hundreds of peaches. I net a few branches to fend off the squirrels, but the ones left never seem to get to maturity. Do you think my area is too cold? Do I need to water more?

donut peaches

Downstate NY, such as around NYC or Long Island, is in Zones 6 and 7. Other southern regions of NY state, such as in the Binghamton area, are more in Zone 5. The donut peach has been bred to grow as far north as Zone 5, but sometimes has difficulty in the coldest zone. But Zones 6 and warmer should be OK. Make sure that the peach tree is receiving full sun. Ideally, peaches like moist, well-drained, sandy loam. Check for diseases such as peach leaf curl. You can ripen peaches that have already been picked by placing them in a paper bag on a counter, and storing them for a few days at room temperature (putting them in the refrigerator will stop ripening).  Hope this helps!

Weather

Submitted by RobertM on

Wrong advice. I'm in Zone 7B and the temps are in the high 80s, 90s and low 100s. I tried starting herbs, IN THE SHADE and they wouldn't germinate. Too hot, so young peach trees will have to wait 'til late September/early October, for cool weather.

My eggplants, bush string beans and tomatillas are doing great, though :-)
.

planting

Submitted by John Wolfe on

I'm going to plant a peach tree. I was told you need to plant at least two so they pollinate. Is this true?

Peach tree pollination

Peach trees, unlike apple and pear and plum trees, do not require a pollinator. They are self-pollinating. That said, most expert still recommend planting another variety in your yard for optimum fruit production. Make sure you ask a tree nursery which types of peach trees pollinate each other.

And remember that climate is the most important factor. Make sure that the tree is recommended for your hardiness zone. Peach trees tend to grow best in zones 5 to 8, but there are also cold-hardy types for the cooler climates in parts of the north (Zone 4) and heat-tolerant varieties for the warmer climates in parts of the south and west (Zone 9).

Tree dropping leaves

Submitted by Helen in Conway SC on

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.

Peach problems

Most container plants need protection in winter—indoors, 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: https://www.almanac.com/content/cooperative-extension-services

Leaf dropping and how to seep squirrels off of the tree.

Submitted by Margaret Lockwood on

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?

watering peach trees and squirrels

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.

pethy/mealy/dry peaches

Submitted by Oregon on

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.

Cold weather and fruit trees

Submitted by hubert Bruce on

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.

which parts to prune

Submitted by Nancy Roberts on

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?

peach pruning

The Editors's picture

Submitted by The Editors on

Peaches are produced on one-year-old wood (branches) that grew in the previous season. So branches that bore fruit will not bear again.

Young Peach tree from pit !

Submitted by Joni on

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

when to plant a peach

The Editors's picture

Submitted by The Editors on

Kudos to you! Peach trees will shed their leaves (go dormant) in winter; the best time to plant in your area is from early December to mid March. You want to give the plant time to set roots before spring. Your local cooperative extension service has a lot of info on growing peaches, and may be available for direct questions. See here: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/vegetables/tree_fruits_nuts...

 

 

PEACHES

Submitted by Linda Colonel on

What makes some peaches pethy? They may look beautiful but when cut there is no juice and is very yucky in texture and taste.

unusually warm winter

Submitted by Hubert Bruce on

Hello everyone. I live in Saint Louis, Mo. I planted a peach tree two years ago. Last year I got seven small peaches from it. We had a normal winter last year as well (2015-2016). This year (2016-2017) it was unusually warm. The entire winter I think we had a total of three weeks at best where the temperature went below twenty degrees. Thats fourteen days out of the entire winter that I am talking about here. Will this warm winter effect my peach tree? I water my tree every other day as well as my apple tree and noticed that the leaves are not shriveling up like they were before I started watering them. Am I hurting the trees by watering them that much? Please advise. This is my first house and my first stab at planting anything. Thanks.

Watering Peach Trees

Hi Hubert,

If the leaves on your peach tree are not shriveling up anymore, that is a good thing. It’s hard to say if the warm winter will affect your peach tree. It’s true that most fruit trees need a set chilling period of dormancy, but the warmer winters that are occurring have not been happening long enough for anything more than guesswork. As for watering, your peach tree needs around 30 to 40 gallons of water a day during July and August, though combine that with rainfall and the amount you have been giving is probably close to what it needs. Continue with what you are doing. 

Peachtree fruit problems

Submitted by Hildegard Wykoff on

Hi, we live in Visalia, California, near Fresno. We have two peachtrees,about 7 years old. We prune them in Jan. or Feb.Fertilize with tripple 16 and spray them with a sulfer/copper oil, when buds begin and fungacide when pests are visible. We had beautiful fruit 2 or 3 years ago, but nothing good since. This year they bloomed very nice and set on enough, where I did not have to cull them The peaches grew to a little bigger than golfball size, and now are falling off. I can't see anything wrong with the falling peaches. What can I do ? Please help.

why are peaches dropping?

There are a number of reasons why this might be happening; scientists do not know for certain.
Here are a few theories:

• cultural/environmental factors that effect pollination, flower fertilization and fruit set.

• foliage damaged by diseases (scab, for example) and/or insects (stink bug or curculio have been suggested)

• fruit drop can be heavier on young, vigorous trees

• rainfall, esp after a dry period can cause fruit drop

• some scientists think competition for water and nutrients causes fruit drop (are they getting enough?)

You might want to contact your local cooperative extension service (find it here: http://www.almanac.com/content/cooperative-extension-services ). These folks are quite knowledgeable and may have experience with this or know someone who has…and can provide more insight.

Peach tree

Submitted by Pat padovano on

We planted a peach tree last year and so far successful . Blossomed beautify and full. We then aHad a very large number is small peaches sine of a ping pong ball . Watched them for about a WEEK OR SO AND WAS READY TO THIN THEM......... No more peaches not one on the ground. I'm guessing the squirrels had a feast. Should I have placed a net over the tree?

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Growing Peaches

Botanical Name Prunus persica
Plant Type Fruit
Sun Exposure Full Sun
Soil Type Loamy, Sandy
Soil pH Slightly Acidic to Neutral
Bloom Time Spring
Flower Color Pink, White
Hardiness Zones 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
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