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How to grow and care for peach trees
- BBC Gardeners' World Magazine
Published: Monday, 15 May 2023 at 4:18 pm
Advice on growing and caring for a peach tree, in our Grow Guide.
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Homegrown peaches (Prunus persica) are well worth the extra effort involved in growing them, as their fuzzy, juicy fruits taste better than any peach you can buy in the shops.
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There's a wide variety of peaches to choose from, with fruits either rounded or slightly flattened that ripen to shades of red, orange and yellow, with yellowish, red or even white flesh. Peaches can be either 'cling-stone', where the pit is firmly attached to the flesh, or 'free-stone', where the pit comes away cleanly from the flesh, therefore making the peach easier to eat. The flavour and sweetness of the fruits varies as well.
Depending on the variety, peaches ripen from July to September, and some are hardier and more reliable in the UK climate.
Peaches vs nectarines
Peaches and nectarines are genetically almost identical; indeed, nectarines are really just smooth-skinned peaches. Both peaches and nectarines have similar nutrient values and identical growing needs, but peaches are slightly hardier than nectarines, and therefore better suited to the UK climate.
How to grow peaches
Grow peaches in fertile, moist but free-draining soil in a sheltered sunny spot, preferably against a south- or west-facing wall.
Mulch annually to feed the soil and suppress weeds, and prune in late summer, after fruiting.
Where to grow peach trees
Peach tree growing against a wall. Photographer Sarah Cuttle
Peach trees are hardy in the UK (apart from the far north), but they blossom early in the year and are therefore vulnerable to frost. For the best chances of success you should therefore grow your peach tree against a south- or west-facing wall and fan-train it so its branches extend out to absorb as much of the wall's heat as possible.
Alternatively, buy a dwarf peach tree and grow it in a large pot, so you can move it under cover for winter. For the rest of the year it will need to be positioned in a sunny, sheltered site such as a patio, ideally in front of a sunny wall.
You can grow peaches in an unheated greenhouse, either in the ground or in a pot. Pot-grown peaches can spend some or all of the year in the greenhouse, while those in the ground will live there permanently.
How to plant peaches
A bare-root peach tree being soaked in a bucket of water before planting
Plant bare-root peach trees on a mild day any time from November to March. Container-grown trees can go in at any time, although avoid planting into frozen ground or during periods of extreme heat or drought.
Before planting, dig in plenty of well-rotted garden compost or manure. If you have clay soil, improve drainage by filling the bottom of the planting hole with rubble. Plant your tree so the top of the rootball sits level with the soil’s surface and the stem is at least 20cm away from the wall. Prepare a framework of wires ready to tie in the stems as they grow.
To plant a tree in a pot, choose a large pot at least 45cm in diameter. Add pea gravel to the bottom to improve drainage and stability, then use a soil-based compost such as John Innes No. 3, and plant your tree so the rootball sits level with the soil's surface. Leave a gap between the compost and top of the pot for easy watering. Water thoroughly and allow to drain.
Caring for peach trees
Peach tree blossom being pollinated with a soft brush
Water regularly during the growing season. Mulch annually – in spring or autumn – with garden compost or well-rotted manure.
Peaches flower early in the year, usually from March but sometimes even earlier, when the risk of frost is still high. To protect peach flowers from frost, cover at night with two to three layers of horticultural fleece or hessian; ensure potted peach plants are under cover.
Peaches often flower before pollinators have emerged from hibernation, but you can encourage fruiting by hand-pollinating flowers using a soft brush.
When fruits are cherry-sized, thin them out to one per cluster. When the fruits are swelling, apply a high-potash liquid fertiliser, such as an organic tomato feed, once a week.
Prune in late summer, after fruiting. Peaches flower and fruit on one-year-old shoots, so remove as much of the old growth as possible. Cut back a fruit stem to where a new shoot has grown, then tie in the new growth as a replacement.
How to harvest peaches
Ripe peaches
Peaches are ripe when they have coloured up and feel slightly soft. They should come off the branch with a gentle twist.
How to store peaches
Peaches bruise easily and don’t store well. You can freeze peaches, but when defrosted they should be used for cooking.
Pests and diseases
A discoloured, shrivelled and misshapen peach tree leaf, due to peach leaf curl
Like many stone fruits, peaches are susceptible to several pests and diseases:
- Peach leaf curl causes puckered, distorted leaves that eventually fall, which can reduce the tree’s vigour and potential to crop well. This fungal disease is spread by rain splashes in late winter and spring. To protect the tree from rain splashes, move potted trees undercover and cover outdoor-grown trees with polythene. Watch the video (below) for Alan Titchmarsh's advice on preventing and controlling peach leaf curl.
- Silver leaf disease is another fungal disease that enters the tree via cut stems or wounds. Look out for silvery leaves and dieback of branches, then remove affected branches immediately and disinfect pruning tools to prevent spreading the disease elsewhere.
- Bacterial canker causes brown spots or small holes on the leaves, along with dieback of shoots and sunken, dead patches in the bark. Remove affected growth if you can and disinfect pruning tools afterwards.
- Aphids, which have many natural predators such as birds and wasps, so should be left for predators to eat.
- Red spider mite can affect peaches grown in a greenhouse or conservatory. This mite thrives in dry conditions, so increase humidity by misting regularly.
Advice on buying peach trees
- Peach trees are self-fertile, so won't require a pollination partner
- Peach trees are usually grafted onto the ‘St Julian A’ rootstock, which restricts the tree’s vigour and size, making them ideal for fan training
- Choose a dwarf variety if you want to grow a peach in a pot
- Bare-root trees have been lifted from the ground while dormant and have no soil around their roots. They are cheaper to buy than pot-grown peaches but are only available when dormant, from mid-autumn to early spring
- You can also buy partially trained two- or three-year-old fans from specialist fruit nurseries. These can be more expensive than untrained trees but save you the hassle of training the trees yourself
Where to buy peach trees
Great peach and nectarine varieties to grow
Peaches ripening on the tree. Getty Images
Peach ‘Avalon Pride’ – the variety most resistant to peach leaf curl also appears to show some resistance to frost. Pink flowers and juicy fruits from early August.
‘Peregrine’ – considered one of the best varieties to grow in the UK, its pink flowers yield heavy crops of delicious fruits, with red skin and white flesh, in mid-August. Mildew resistant.
Peach 'Rochester' – one of the best for growing outside in the UK, 'Rochester' flowers later than other varieties, so misses the frosts, then produces large, juicy, yellow-fleshed fruits from August.
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