Xtremehorticulture

Cutting Back a Recently Planted Peach Tree or Not?

Q. Last week I purchased a semi-dwarf Elberta peach from a local nursery to replace the nectarine I took out. Tree is approximately 65″ tall. When I mentioned to one of the salesmen that I was planning to prune it back to the 4/5 branches that begin about 20″ from the ground, up to about 26″, he was pretty adament that this was not as good idea as the hormones that promote root growth are located at the tips of branches that I would prune off? I remember that when I purchased my last tree from the orchard the gardener there recommended that I cut it back to about 24″ tall. So, the only thing I can think of for conflicting instructions is the nursery tree had leafed out and the Orchard one was dormant? Anyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you recommend pruning, should I do it now or wait until the tree goes dormant? A. You can do that to this tree but I would wait until winter. Taking the center out of a Peach tree and leaving the lower scaffold limbs is quite common. This is how we train a fruit tree into open center form. One of the major dangers that can occur when we take the center out of a tree, is sunburn to the top surface of the remaining limbs. We can discourage sunburn to these limbs by leaving some smaller branches above this area that might produce some shade to the upper surface of the lower limbs. The other thing we can do is to whitewash the upper surfaces of the remaining limbs with dilute white latex paint. White latex paint is diluted with water in a 1:1 mixture. You can use more water than this as long as the remaining wood is white. This lighter color will help to reduce sunburn to the limbs. Apply it with a brush. Taking the center out of peach tree to make an open center form. Most of the nursery workers do not know how to prune fruit trees. In fact, few do. Looking at your pictures you could take the top out this next winter. There is a precaution on peaches I should mention. If the diameter of the wood you are cutting on the main trunk is more than about ¾ inch with no side branches below the cut you may have trouble getting more branches to “sprout” from below the cut. But if you cut the trunk out to just above at least a couple of good side branches you will have no trouble. Don’t forget to paint the tree with diluted white latex paint to prevent sunburn after you make your cuts this next winter. Another thing. You are going to have problems with that Peach tree if it remains in rock mulch in our desert soils.

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Improving Peach Production on Peach Cocktail Tree

Q. I planted a peach tree that has 3 varieties of peach grafted into the same tree. I can’t remember the names of the peaches. In either case, my tree bore no fruit last spring. What can I do to get fruit this season? A. It is fortunate you have only different peaches on your fruit cocktail tree. When there is a mixture of different types of fruits on the same tree the tree is harder to manage.             You didn’t mention the age of the trees but sounds like a pruning problem if it had peaches in previous years. It is possible it could have been a late freeze as well. It depends if you saw flowers or not. Flowers and no fruit…probably a freeze problem. No flowers at all. Probably a pruning problem. Pruning a peach requires removing half of last year’s growth. It is getting late now but you can still prune during, and a couple of weeks after, bloom.             One big problem with “cocktail” types of fruit trees is the different rates of growth between the different fruits. Some are more vigorous than others.             This can give the tree an unbalanced look before pruning. All of the growth, more vigorous types and less vigorous types, must be brought back into proportion each year.This will require more aggressive pruning on the more vigorously growing sides of the tree. If you don’t do this, the more aggressive varieties will dominate and probably eliminate the less vigorous ones.             Another problem is that parts of the tree will be in flower at different times. During bloom move slowly and carefully making sure you do not accidentally hurt any bees.  They are busy “working” the flowers the same time you are pruning. If you are not careful, they will view your work as “aggressive” behavior and defensively sting. Bee in peach blossom             Fruit comes from flower buds growing along the length of last year’s growth. In peach and nectarine, fruit buds are only produced on last year’s reddish growth. Older brownish wood does not produce fruit. Older wood is there to support the fruit and, with your help through pruning, balance the fruit load throughout the canopy. Here you can see the older brown wood (two year old wood and no flowers) and the newer (last years) reddish brown growth with flowers.             Your purpose in pruning is to give the tree structure that will support the fruit, distribute the fruit load and allow light to get inside the canopy. Last year’s growth is easy to see because it is reddish brown compared to the older, brown wood.             The more vigorous growth requires more aggressive pruning. First bring the tree into “balance” by removing older wood that is growing too close together and remove any strong vertical growth.             Preserve 50% of the best reddish growth when pruning for fruit production. If your pruning removes all of the new, reddish growth, you will have no fruit. Strong vertical growth is normally removed unless there was nothing else in that area to bear fruit.             When pruning, remove reddish growth that is growing perfectly upright. Fruit from this growth will dangle above older wood and get damaged as it gets bigger. It will also help to keep the canopy open for better light penetration.             Next, remove reddish growth that is growing straight down. Finally remove reddish growth along the branch that is closer than 4 to 5 inches apart. Leave the most robust reddish growth spaced far enough apart for bearing the fruit.             Lastly, if you have reddish growth that is exceedingly long (over 18 inches in length), cut it back to about 10 inches.

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