The best thing to do is to get into your time machine and go back about six years and don’t let this or any peach tree get so big. But for the present, some serious cutting back is needed. Take Graftman’s and Scott Smith’s advice (I’d prefer the latter) and get cuttin’. And do it now.
How does an overgrown peach respond to a radical beheading in mid-May? Better to wait until next winter as Scott suggests? A friend’s tree is similarly overgrown, glad to see this question asked.
Waiting to do it until next year gives the tree one more year to overgrow. Possibly to attract more borers as well. I would do the job now. It will sprout plenty of new shoots, giving you a good number of shoots to choose from for the new scaffolds. Nothing to be gained by waiting, especially since this tree is 11 years old, elderly for a peach tree.
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All right folks, the deed is done. Pollarded the old peach, mid May 2017. I left a couple small branches for some photosynthesis and watered the heck out of it. I will report back here end summer and next spring and we can see the results. Also should I fertilize it now? 10-10-10 or something?
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In my area I would be worried about sunscald and painted the tree white to prevent this.
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Patrick,
That peach tree after topping it off still way too tall. I don’t like to climb ladder, so I would chop it down to 4 to 5 feet and let let the tree send out a bunch of new shoots for one growing season and then next Spring prune it to your liking. I love all the low peach trees of Mark in KS.
Tony
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Please do post the results of this. I was planning on doing something similar to a Redhaven that is headed towards too tall. Except my plan is for early Aug after I pick fruit.
My O’Henry peach looks similar now. Well, it was headed lower. I wasn’t sure it was going to come back but its sending out vigorous shoots now.
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OK the peach pollarding was done May 11. It is now August 14. Here’s how it looks. There is still a main branch going west, and one going east (that I left for some photosynthesis) that I think I should remove … when? both or one?
Also I need to select new growth to be future branches… which ones…when?
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Ok it is August 28 and I removed both nurse branches. I may bend down some new growth and prune some out. So far so good.
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Patrick, Could you post an updated picture? I am curious as to what your tree looks like now.
None of my peaches have leafed out yet after a real tough winter in the Chicago area, but buds are plump. Another peach I did the 1/3,1/3,1/3 method… 1/3 radical pollard this year, 1/3 next year and 1/3 the third year. Here is the tree. …all shoots are alive.
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well three years later, here is the pollarded peach that I started this conversation with… will not do this again…
I did see some lower branches and hopefully this old tree will speed up growing those branches. Have you fertilize it at all?
@tonyOmahaz5 no Tony but I will try that . However, at this point I am getting tired of waiting for it to come back.
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There are a lot of mushrooms (turkey tails?) growing on that tree…
That always concerns me… (though I have no peaches/nectarines anymore)
Scott
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yup I’ll try to bleach em.
If those are turkey tails you should keep em growing!