Looking for help with one of my peach trees. This is a Flordaprince peach planted last October. I planted 3 peach trees at the same time. This is the only one struggling. Up until the summer heat hit it looked great. It was vigorous with nice healthy green leaves. I’m n AZ and when the temps went in the 110+ range the tree started to suffer. The leaves are yellowing, drying out and falling off and the bottom of the trunk has sap oozing from it. I recently found large amounts of sap at the base (removed so not in photo). There is no signs of frass or woodshavings and I have seem no evidence of borers. I’m starting to suspect crown root rot. gently scratched an area of the trunk with the sap and it had healthy tissue and some black streaks going vertically up the trunk. Anyone have any thoughts? If this tree is toast, I’d like to replace it in the fall but am wondering if I can plant in the same area or if it’s off limits! Thanks for any help!
I will take a sharp knife and remove the sap to see what I find. I water all of my newer trees on the same schedule which is once a week. Temps here have been between 107-120. Have a probe to check soil moisture as well and have maintained the once a week. Tried to give the tree some shade from the afternoon sun which may have helped a bit but wasn’t needed on any of my other peach trees.
I occasionally get peach trees which do this. They are on the tops of terraces, so the water drains. The bark just dies (like your pic) in the winter. The trees leaf out, then collapse. I don’t know what the cause is, but it doesn’t happen very often. Perhaps some of the diagnosis mentioned here are what’s going on.
