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How to Grow Peaches | Planting, Pruning & Harvesting Peach Trees

Juicy peaches hanging on a branch in the orchard
Image Credit:
Pixabay
Botanical Name
Prunus persica
USDA Zones
4a
4b
5a
5b
6a
6b
7a
7b
8a
8b
9a
9b
10a
10b
Toxicity
Toxic to Dogs and Cats
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Water Needs
Moderate
Height
10–20 feet
Spread
6-10 feet
Soil pH
Neutral
Bloom Time
Spring
Flower Color
Pink
White
Special Features
Container-Friendly
Fall Color
Fragrant
Attracts Pollinators
Attracts Songbirds
Resilience
Cold Hardy
Heat-Tolerant
Plant Type
Fruit
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

There’s nothing quite like biting into a sun-warmed, juicy peach straight from your own tree! With the right care, growing peaches can be surprisingly easy and incredibly rewarding. 

From selecting the best variety for your climate to pruning, pinching, and picking, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to grow your own peach paradise.

The trick to growing peaches is to choose a type that will fit your climate. Peach trees can be grown in USDA Zones 4 to 10 but do especially well in Zones 6 to 8 (learn more about plant hardiness zones). 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, some varieties are more cold-tolerant, which you should choose instead.

Planting

Where to Plant Peaches

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-draining, moderately fertile soil. Peach trees won’t 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—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 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’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 on peach tree
Homegrown, juicy peaches are within your reach!

Check out our video to learn more about how to plant a bare–rooted fruit tree.

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.

Growing

  • 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 3/4 pounds 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.

Pinching Peach Trees in Spring

In the spring (often April), pinch your off the tips of new branches so the tree will make side branches and be shaped nicely, and your fruit will be within reach. Otherwise, the branches will keep growing long and straight without side branching. 

For pinching, you can easily use your fingers to snap off tips by hand. Just pinch off the tip of a new branch just above a bud. Choose buds a distance of 1 to 2 feet from where the branch begins from a larger branch. Then your tree will grow out buds just below the pinched bud to make side branches.

Pruning Peach Trees in Summer

Pruning in the summer can 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 for lots of fruit!

The goal is to keep peach trees small, no more than six to ten feet tall. In general, you will be 1) cutting out any branches at the top from getting too high so the fruit is reachable and 2) cutting outside branches so that enough light is getting to lower branches for flower and fruit development.

You want a globe or 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 so the tree doesn’t grow too tall. Then, remove some branches from the center. Look for three wide-angled branches, spaced equally apart, then 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.

You may need to prune a couple of times a summer. The first time you prune is when the tree has put on about two feet of new branches. This can happen as early as May, or it may not even happen at all (in which case you don’t need to prune, or it may harm the tree because some shade from leaves is important to avoid sun scald).

NOTE: Summer pruning is NOT the time for any dramatic cutting. This is done in late winter when the tree is dormant. 

Harvesting

  • 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
These look ready for your favorite Peach Cobbler recipe!

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.

Pests and Problems

Types

  • ‘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 TopazFlorida Beauty

Wit and Wisdom

  • “An apple is an excellent thing—until you have tried a peach.”  –George du Maurier
  • 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.
  • Peach blossoms are the state flower of Delaware.

Fruit

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening, so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Salvador</span> Tue, 04/29/2014 - 19:07
I have a peach tree and it bloom every year but the flower never stay. How can you help
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 04/30/2014 - 05:15

Unless you have frost issues, it sounds as if your peach trees are not getting pollinated? If you want guaranteed fruit, pollinate the open blooms by hand using a soft brush.

 <span>Ksgal</span> Wed, 04/16/2014 - 15:48
I live in Kansas, and in the late Summer last year, the Colorado peaches arrived in town. They were the size of softballs and were absolutely the best fruit I remember having. I saved some of the seeds from these and kept them moist in some soil in my fridge over the Winter, and since removing them from the fridge and planting, I now have 5 beautiful little seedlings approximately 4-5 inches tall. Any idea what variety of peach this might be? I am also wondering the best way to introduce these little guys to the great outdoors? Right now, they are under a grow light in the basement, since our temperatures have fluctuated so much recently. I am also wondering at what point they will need transplanted into a bigger container? Each plant is now in a 6" square plastic pot. Any advice would be appreciated!
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 04/23/2014 - 13:32

As for variety, we were thinking that it was 'Colorado'... 

The recommended varieties (in general) for Colorado are Elberta, Haven, Polly, Reliance, Hale Haven, and Ranger. These do not need pollination (one tree will produce fruit).

Recommended varieties for Colorado that need cross-pollination include J.H. Hale, Earlihale, Hal-Berta, Candoka, and Mikado. You need another variety in the presence of one of these in order to get fruit, and most other varieties will pollinate these.

Perhaps when the Coloradan who sells peaches comes by again you can ask him which variety he grows.

Since a lot of advice re growing peaches from seed actually suggest starting in the ground, you're ahead of the game. As the season warms, introduce your plants to the world in their pots for a couple or a few hours each day, longer as time passes. By mid-summer, identify a place in the yard that they can call home and plant them for life. Tend them for a few years and maybe they will reward you with fruit.

Remember that the peaches you grow from seed may not look (or taste) like what you ate. (You don't look exactly like your parents, do you?)

 

 <span>Amberh</span> Mon, 04/07/2014 - 13:59
I want to plant a peach tree in my back yard. I live in grand terrace, ca. I have a fenced in yard, with an orange tree already back there. I have a sprinkler system and of course the southern Cali sun yr round. What kind if tree is the best.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 04/07/2014 - 15:53

Peaches generally perform better in cooler climates. According to University of California, however, some varieties have been adapted to the low latitudes of Southern California because they have low winter chilling requirements.
"Babcock" is a medium-size, freestone, low-chill variety with white flesh.
"Earligrande" is a semi-freestone, low-chill variety with yellow-red blush and excellent flavor.
Here's a full list of low-chill varieties:
August Pride, Babcock, Bonita, Desertgold, Early Amber, Earligrande, FlordaGrand, FlordaPrince, Midpride, Tropic-berta, TopicSweet.

 <span>Georgewilson</span> Mon, 04/07/2014 - 15:46
Peaches usually require 600 to 900 hours of chilling which they would not get in Southern California, although I understand there are low-chill varieties that have been developed.
<span>Wayne Benjamin</span> Sun, 04/06/2014 - 19:19
There must be certain peach trees that are hardier than others. My question, which peach tree is the 'best' for the Delmarva Peninsular?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 04/07/2014 - 06:37

A couple of favorites are: Blushing Star Peach and Redhaven Peach. Check out an online nursery such as www.starkbros.com to learn more. Another good idea is to visit a local orchard and ask them about their on-the-ground experience.

 <span>David Goodrich</span> Wed, 04/02/2014 - 19:27
I have a question that I just cannot find an answer to!! This will be the third season for my Freestone Tree. First year I got a tremendous crop, last year we had a late frost which killed all the blooms,so no peaches. This year looks to be a bumper crop, but almost every single peach is a twin fruit per bloom. Is there something I am doing wrong or can do to correct this, or does it really matter that almost every peach will be the twinster type?? I will thin to keep only the single fruits best as possible, but any input would be appreciated. Thanks and Happy Growing....