White Peaches on a tree
Peach Trees hate frost pockets and will die if placed in one to grow. Peach trees do best in well-drained soil in full sun. A nitrogen fertilizer like a 10-10-10 is what a peach tree loves in early summer.
Avoid fertilizers in the fall and cut back on the watering. Never prune a peach tree in the fall. In the spring place a heavy layer of mulch around the base of the peach tree to promote delay of blooming and keep the soil cool.
Train peach trees to an open center and be sure to prune every year. Dead and diseased woods are the first pruned. Fruit is borne only from lateral buds on branches one year old. This means peaches need to remain dormant longer that other fruits to stimulate wood for new fruit the following year. If you have a year when your peach tree has a lot of blooms slightly cut the longer branches back to prevent heavy fruiting that break the branches.
During the summer pinching help control tree growth, allows for next season buds, and you get a better peach. In the 5th or 6th year, remove all the wood that was produce the previous two years. This will control the height of your peach tree and restore vigor to your older wood.
Pinch extra fruit back 4-6 weeks after bloom if you have an abundance of peaches. This is also a good time to remove any fruit that look damaged or diseased. If you see insect hole on the fruit pick it and get rid of it. (Not in your compost) Thin remaining peaches to about 6-8 inches apart. If you do so the peaches will be larger and sweeter.
Don’t pick you peaches early. Wait until with a slight twist they come off the branch. You reward will be a sweet flavorful peach like no other. A homegrown peach is the reward you receive for all your hard labor of looking out for your peach tree. Store extra ripe peaches in a cool place to prevent further ripening.
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