Prunus persica
Peach
Overview
Prunus persica is a deciduous tree reaching 15-25 feet (4.5-7.5 m) tall and 15-20 feet (4.5-6 m) wide, though orchard training holds most trees to 8-12 feet (2.4-3.7 m). Bark is reddish-brown and smooth on young wood, becoming grey and fissured after 6-8 years. Leaves are lance-shaped, 3-6 inches (8-15 cm) long and 1-1.5 inches (2.5-4 cm) wide, finely serrated, folded along the midrib, mid-green above and paler beneath. Pink flowers 1-1.5 inches (2.5-4 cm) across open on bare wood before leaf-out, borne singly or in pairs at each node. Fruit is a drupe 2-3 inches (5-8 cm) in diameter with velvety skin in yellow to red tones, yellow or white flesh, and a deeply pitted stone; ripening runs 90-140 days after bloom depending on cultivar. Trees bear from the third year and reach full production by year five. Productive lifespan is 8-15 years. Early bloom is lost to frosts below 28F (-2C), which removes the crop in years with late cold snaps. Peach leaf curl, bacterial canker, and peach tree borer occur across the range, and brown rot spreads rapidly through ripening fruit in humid summers.
Native Range
Native to northwest China, in the region between the Tarim Basin and the northern slopes of the Kunlun Mountains, with the earliest domestication records from the Yangtze valley. Wild and naturalised populations occur on dry hill slopes and river terraces at 1,600-8,200 feet (500-2,500 m). Cultivation spread west through Persia, the source of the species epithet, and reached the Mediterranean by about 300 BCE.Suggested Uses
Grown in home orchards and commercial blocks at 15-20 foot (4.5-6 m) spacing, or 10-12 feet (3-3.7 m) on size-controlling rootstock. Genetic-dwarf selections grow in containers of at least 20 gallons (76 L), where root restriction shortens productive life to 5-8 years. Early bloom limits reliable cropping where spring frosts occur after mid-March, and trees on shallow or wet soils are short-lived.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height15' - 25'
Width/Spread15' - 20'
Reaches mature size in approximately 8 years
Bloom Information
Flowers open March to April in zones 6-8, and in late February in zones 9-10. Bloom lasts 7-14 days on an individual tree, shortened to 4-5 days by temperatures above 75F (24C). Chilling requirement ranges from 200 to 1,000 hours below 45F (7C) depending on cultivar, so low-chill cultivars bloom several weeks earlier than high-chill cultivars in the same location. Open flowers are killed at 27-28F (-3 to -2C).
Detailed Descriptions
Flower Description
pink to rose-pinkFoliage Description
mid-green above, paler grey-green beneathGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 6-12 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight
Care & Maintenance
Care Guide
Water 10-15 gallons (38-57 L) per week during fruit development in the absence of rain; trees on deep soil draw on stored moisture but shed fruit early under drought. Nitrogen is applied at 0.1 pound (45 g) actual N per year of tree age up to 1 pound (450 g), split between bud break and early summer. Thinning fruitlets to 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) apart when they reach 0.75 inch (2 cm) increases individual fruit size and reduces limb breakage. Peach leaf curl infects buds during wet periods below 60F (16C) in late winter, producing puckered red foliage that drops by early summer. Peach tree borer larvae tunnel in the trunk within 3 inches (8 cm) of soil level, and bacterial canker enters pruning wounds made in wet weather. Trees in poorly drained soil decline from Phytophthora root rot within 2-3 seasons.Pruning
Trees are trained to an open-centre vase with 3-4 scaffold limbs, with 40-50 percent of the previous season shoot growth removed each dormant season, since fruit forms only on one-year-old wood. Dormant pruning in late winter, after the coldest period has passed, limits bacterial canker infection of cuts. Summer pruning of vigorous upright shoots in June or July holds tree height and admits light to interior fruiting wood. Trees left unpruned for 2-3 years shift fruiting to the outer canopy and carry smaller fruit on progressively taller limbs.Pruning Schedule
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
early springsummer
Container Growing
✓ Suitable for container growing
Minimum container size: 20 gallons