home > Lawn and garden > Fruits > G6030

Reviewed February 2000

Printer-friendly version of this page

Contents

• How many trees should I plant?
• What kind should I plant?
• Should I use dwarfing rootstocks?
• What kind of soil is best?
• When should I plant?
• How do I plant peaches?
• How do I prune trees?
• How do I fertilize peaches?
• What about pollination?
• Is fruit thinning important?
• What is the life span of a tree?
• How often do I water trees?
• What pests affect peaches?

Related publications

• G6010, Fruit Spray Schedules for the Homeowner
• MP585, Peaches From Harvest to Health

Use our feedback form for questions or comments about G6030.

Home Fruit Production: Peach and Nectarine Culture

Michele R. Warmund
Department of Horticulture

The peach has often been called the Queen of Fruits. Its beauty is surpassed only by its delightful flavor and texture. A tree-ripened peach is something to behold — and better to eat.

How many trees should I plant?

Perhaps only one! No more than three or four. Peach trees need considerable care. Planting more trees than can be cared for or are needed results in wasted and rotten fruit at harvest. A mature tree will produce an average of three bushels of fruit. Determine when peaches should ripen. If you take vacations the first two weeks of August, don't plant varieties that ripen then.

Peaches can be harvested from a single tree for about a week and can be held in cool storage (basement) for about another week. See Table 1 for help in determining when peach cultivars normally ripen.

Nectarines are basically fuzzless peaches and are treated the same as peaches.

Table 1
Hardy peach and nectarine cultivars

¹The numbers given under season are days before (-) or days after (+) Redhaven season. Redhaven typically ripens the second week of July in central Missouri.
²Bacterial leaf spot is a commonly occurring disease in Missouri. It is one of the few peach diseases that we can avoid through variety selection. In addition, chemical sprays are only moderately effective against this disease.
³Cultivars that are described as winter tender or bud tender should only be planted in the Bootheel and on good sites in southern Missouri. Flesh browning refers to how quickly the flesh browns after being cut open; low-browning cultivars do not brown quickly and are preferable to high-browning cultivars for appearance when processed or served fresh.

What kind should I plant?

Look for the following characteristics in a peach cultivar for home production:

• Hardiness
  Many areas of Missouri are marginally adapted for peaches because of low winter temperatures (below -10 degrees Fahrenheit) and threatening spring frosts. In northern and central areas of the state, plant only the hardiest cultivars. Do not plant peach trees in low-lying areas such as valleys, which tend to be colder than elevated sites on frosty nights. Table 1 lists some hardy peach and nectarine cultivars.
• Disease resistance
  Bacterial leaf spot is prevalent on peaches in all areas of the state. Sprays are not effective against this disease. If severe, bacterial leaf spot can defoliate and weaken the trees and result in reduced yields and poorer-quality fruit. Peach cultivars show varying degrees of resistance to this disease.
• Quality and use
  Peach and nectarine cultivars are freestone or semifreestone. When choosing a cultivar, select one that has nonbrowning flesh and can be either eaten fresh or used for processing (freezing, canning). Cultivars suggested in Table 1 are among the best. (Note: All white-flesh peaches must be processed quickly to prevent the flesh from browning.)

Should I use dwarfing rootstocks?

In general, no. Peaches do not adequately respond to current dwarfing rootstocks. Use standard trees and prune to facilitate spraying and harvesting. (See section below on pruning.)

What kind of soil is best?

Peaches tolerate a wide variety of soils, from sandy loams to clay loams, that have adequate depth (2 to 3 feet or more) and are well drained. Peach trees are very sensitive to wet "feet." Avoid planting peaches in wet, seepy spots, water drainage areas and heavy clay soils. Where these areas or soils cannot be avoided, bring in good soil to make a berm (mound) or make raised beds. Ideal soil pH is 6 to 6.5.

When should I plant?

Early spring — March in southern areas; April in northern areas as soon as the soil can be worked.

How do I plant peaches?

Dig a hole about 2 feet wider than the spread of the tree roots and deep enough to accommodate the roots (usually at least 18 inches deep). Plant the tree the same depth as it was in the nursery.

Before placing the tree in the hole, check the roots. Remove all broken roots and trim any crossed roots. Shorten long roots to 12 to 18 inches.

Place the tree in the hole and spread out the roots. They should not be cramped! Make the hole larger if necessary. Do not put fertilizer in the hole!

Next, fill the hole with good, rich topsoil. Bring some in if necessary. To avoid air pockets, tamp the soil with your feet as the hole is filled. When the hole has been filled within several inches of the top, and the soil firmly tamped around the roots, pour in 1 or 2 gallons of water. This will help settle the soil around the roots. Wait for the water to soak in for an hour or so, then fill the hole to several inches above the ground level with the same good, rich topsoil, but do not tamp. The graft union should be about 2 inches above the soil surface.

How do I prune trees?

Peach trees are easily trained to an open vase tree form. Trees trained to this form do not have a dominant central leader. Instead, an open vase tree will have three to four branches with wide branch angles spaced equidistantly around the trunk. These branches, or scaffold limbs, should be about 26 to 30 inches above the soil surface. If the scaffold limbs are adequately spaced around the trunk at the proper height, simply prune the branches back immediately after planting. About one-third of the previous year's growth should be removed. In subsequent years, continue pruning about one-third of the limb's annual growth just before the buds start to grow in early spring. Remove any shoots that grow back toward the center of the tree, keeping the center of the tree open.

Figure 1
Pruning peach trees at planting, first summer and one year.
 

• Establishing an open vase tree form
  Peach trees obtained from a nursery often have not been trained to an open vase form. In this case, cut back the trunk to 30 inches immediately after planting. Cut back all side branches to 1 inch (Figure 1).
• First summer (June)
  Select three or four wide-angled branches 24 to 30 inches above the ground, evenly spaced around the trunk and near the same position on the trunk. The selected branches will form the main scaffold limbs of the tree. Remove all other branches. Shorten the main trunk just above the three or four scaffold branches.
• After one year
  In early spring (before growth begins), cut back the scaffold limbs to an outward-growing bud or branch, removing about one-third to one-half of the previous year's growth. Also shorten lateral branches arising from the scaffolds. Remove any shoots that formed on the trunk below the main scaffold branches. Eliminate shoots that grew toward the center of the tree.
• Pruning next five years
  The framework (trunk and main scaffolds) is now established. Each spring, shorten branches arising from the scaffolds. Shorten branches that tend to grow more rapidly than others. Keep the center of the tree open and remove any dead or diseased wood. Unlike apple trees, peach trees bear fruit on one-year-old wood, so new growth must be encouraged each year.
• Mature trees
  Cut back all branches that exceed 7 to 8 feet in height. This keeps the tree low and manageable. Cut to an outward-growing branch. Remove all vigorous, upright branches arising on the trunk and main scaffolds. Thin out 10 to 20 percent of the one-year-old fruiting wood each year.

How do I fertilize peaches?

About one month after planting, apply one-half cup of a 12-12-12 fertilizer (or similar analysis) in a circular pattern about 6 inches from the trunk. After the first year, a good general recommendation for fertilizing peach trees is to use 1 to 2 pounds of a 12-12-12 fertilizer (or similar analysis) per year of tree age. Apply in early spring before growth begins.

After the trees come into normal bearing, use up to five pounds of 12-12-12 per tree. The amount to use depends on the type of soil, the amount of pruning, the cropping load, and fertilization of the surrounding area (such as lawns). Use the maximum amount if new growth (last year's terminal growth) averages less than 6 inches. If last year's terminal growth exceeds 18 inches on average, don't use additional fertilizer until the next year. Apply fertilizer by broadcasting in a circular pattern under the drip line of the outer branches.

What about pollination?

With rare exceptions, peach cultivars are self-pollinating. Extra "pollinator trees" are not needed.

Is fruit thinning important?

Most peach cultivars set too many fruit. Only 10 percent of the flowers need to set fruit for the tree to have a full crop load. Natural thinning works fairly well on a few cultivars, but extra hand thinning is usually necessary.

Failure to hand thin properly will result in very small fruit at harvest and broken tree limbs. To prevent this, hand thin the fruit in May. Remove all deformed, damaged or diseased fruit. Thin remaining fruit to about 8 inches apart. This may seem drastic, but it will ensure large peaches at harvest!

Commercial growers use flexible wooden rods, about 1/2 inch in diameter and 5 to 6 feet long with the top 18 inches covered with a rubber hose, to hit branches gently but firmly, knocking off excess fruit.

What is the life span of a tree?

Because of the susceptibility of peach trees to low winter temperatures, diseases and most pests, peach trees rarely survive more than 10 to 12 years in Missouri. However, proper fertilizing, pruning and irrigating will prolong the productivity and longevity of trees.

How often do I water trees?

Peach trees should be watered during dry periods in the summer. The period of final swell, the last few weeks before harvest, is a critical time for irrigation. If water is limited during this time, fruit size will be reduced. Avoid watering trees after October as this can reduce the winter hardiness of the trees.

What pests affect peaches?

Brown rot is a serious peach disease. It can attack the blossoms and the developing or ripening fruit and even form cankers on small twigs. It must be prevented to ensure harvest of sound, good-quality fruit. Peach leaf curl, another troublesome disease, curls and deforms the leaves early in the season (Figure 2). It must be prevented by applying a fungicide, not oil, in the dormant period.

Figure 2
Peach leaf curl.

Bacterial spot infects leaves, twigs and fruit. As lesions on the foliage enlarge, their centers abscise, leaving a shot-hole appearance. Lesions on the fruit often become cracked and exude gum. Few peach cultivars are resistant to bacterial spot. By the time the symptoms of this disease are apparent, it is generally too late to control the disease on that year's crop. However, preventive sprays may be used early in the next season to protect the subsequent crop.

Cankers often follow winter damage, sunscald, or insect damage (Figure 3). After infection, large amounts of amber-colored gum exude from the wounded tissue. Later the infected bark cracks open and the affected tissue turns black. Cankers should be removed by pruning; pruning shears should be disinfected between cuts with an alcohol or bleach solution.

Figure 3
Peach canker.
 

There are several insect pests that can be troublesome to peach trees. The oriental fruit moth causes die-back of young growing tips and wormy peaches. Plum curculio lays its eggs in crescent-shaped cuts on the young fruit, causing them to drop or be wormy. Catfacing insects (tarnished plant bug and stink bug) feed on developing fruit, causing disfigurement. Borers attack the base of the trunk and the crotches of the main scaffold branches.

G6030, reviewed February 2000