Grow your own peach tree with this step-by-step guide.
Among fruit trees,peaches(as well as nectarines and apricots) areideal candidates for growing from seed.
Proper planting technique is important for successful seedling establishment and tree growth.
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Weve provided everything you better know to grow delicious peaches from seed.
As such, trees grown from seed provide a reliable and affordable (free) option for backyard growers.
Collect seeds only from fully ripe peaches.
For the best results, purchase fruits from local growers at a farm stand or farmers market.
It is important to plant peaches that are well adapted to your region.
Taste several different peach varieties to find your favorite(s).
Peaches are self-fruitful, so you only need to plant a single tree or single variety to produce fruit.
Take care when cracking the pits open to avoid damaging the seed (or embryo) inside.
The seed inside resembles an almond (a close relative) in shape and color.
Discard any damaged seeds and those showing signs of disease, such as discoloration or fuzzy growth.
Also discard anyshriveled, darkened seeds.
This cold period causes natural germination inhibitors to break down.
Remove seeds from their pits for indoor stratification.
To stratify seeds indoors:
Soak seeds overnight in room temperature water.
Place seeds in a lidded container filled with slightly moist potting media.
Do not make the media too wet as it will promote mold.
kill the container and store it in the refrigerator.
Keep seeds away from apples and other fruits.
Do not allow the seeds to freeze.
Check seeds regularly beginning about one month after starting stratification.
In time, you will see thick white roots begin to emerge.
Keep sprouted seeds in the refrigerator until ready to plant outdoors.
The best time to plant sprouted peach seeds outdoors is about one month prior to your last frost date.
Select a planting site with full sun and well-draining soil.
Conduct a soil test and adjust nutrients and pH accordingly.
Peaches perform best in soils with a pH around 6.5.
To start seeds in outdoor containers, select a container with good drainage that is about 12 inches deep.
Bury containers inthe ground so that the soil surface is even with the surrounding soil.
This helps to keep the soil and seed insulated over the winter.
Plant seeds twice as deep as their lengthabout 3 inches deepin containers or well-draining garden soil.
Pack soil gently around the seed and water until moist, but not soggy.
Apply several inches of mulch to insulate seeds and maintain soil moisture.
Water throughout winter only when the soil has completely dried.
Transplant container-grown seedlings into the garden when they reach a height of 12 inches.
Fruit blossoms are sensitive to spring frosts.
Sandy and loamy soils are ideal.
Peaches require regular irrigation during the first growing season as saplings establish.
Monitor rainfall and provide supplemental irrigation as needed to provide plants with about one inch of water per week.
Water slowly and deeply to thoroughly wet the root zone.
Apply a three-inch layer of mulch in a three-foot circle surrounding the tree.
This helps conserve soil moisture and manages weeds that compete with saplings for water and nutrients.
Many gardeners will need to lime soil to raise the pH to around 6.5.
Apply the same amount again 5 weeks later.
Peaches are susceptible to several insect and disease pests.
Commercial growers spray plants every seven to ten days beginning at bloom and lasting through harvest.
Spray programs targeting fungi and plum curculio insects are most critical to producing a good harvest.
An alternative is bagging individual fruits with a mesh bag to protect them, certainly a labor-intensive strategy.
Other management strategies include proper sanitation.
Pruning And Thinning Peach Trees
Peaches develop large dense foliage that shades the interior branches.
To provide developing fruit with ample sunlight, peach trees are commonly pruned to an open center shape.
The goal is to remove all but three or four strong branches spaced evenly around the trunk.
These will become the tree’s scaffold branches.
Identify the strongest branches to serve as scaffold branches.
Remove all other side branches and cut the central leader back just above the topmost scaffold.
A vigorous, well maintained peach tree often produces more fruit than it can support.
This can cause branches to break from the weight of the fruit.
It some years, it is necessary to remove many of the developing fruit.
This can be done by hand or, for very large trees, by beating brancheswith a pole.
Thin fruits about four weeks after full bloom, leaving one peach every six inches.
The remaining fruit will be larger and more flavorful than if trees had not been thinned.
Peach seedlings thrive in full sun and well-drained soils.
Soil drainage is critical, as roots are prone to root rot.
Water peach seedlings every seven to ten days if adequate rainfall (about 1 inch) has not fallen.
