Any good dwarf peach varieties that are good in taste and disease resistant?
Reliance and Fingerlakes are both on the small side and hardy in zone 4. And they have good flavor⌠especially Reliance. But I live in Montana and am thrilled when I have a peach cropđ
3 Likes
I have had good luck with Contender and Red Haven. I have Flaming Fury variety growing but it is young enough that this year will be the first year to get any fruit off that tree. I picked this Flaming Fury variety because it ripens later than the RedHaven and Contender variety. The Contender is a little sweeter than the RedHaven but the RedHaven has that little hint of tartness that , to me, peaches have always had when I was a kid.
I get a large amount of peaches off these trees, when the frost/freezes get the blossoms in the spring time. I live in SW Ohio so peaches are a hit or miss issue here. I knew that when I planted the peach trees. I had zero usable peaches last year. The ones I did get were the size of golf balls and 95% of the peach were just peach pit. Again,I knew the risks of trying to be growing peaches in my area. Still it has been worth it, so far. Time will tell.
One word of advice, my âdwarfâ peach trees are 18â high. I guess that is the size they are supposed to be. I thought a " dwarf" peach tree size meant it would be the same as a dwarf apple tree size. The Flaming Fury variety is not as tall the other two varieties BUT it is not as old as the other two tree varieties. I tried contacting the developer about the size their peach trees get when fully grown. They never replied back to me.
I bought my RedHaven and Contender dwarf peach trees from Stark Brothers.
I hope this information helps.
1 Like
Most fruit varieties can be coerced into being dwarf with careful training, summer pruning and dormant pruning. Training to encourage the development of good structure, then dormant pruning to correct and remove unwanted growth, then summer pruning for maintenance and redirecting vigor.
2 Likes
It was very helpful thanks for the information.
Alright would I need to be an experienced pruner for that
Anyone know if bonfire peach competes with the rest
Depends how pretty you want the trees to be.
Iâm NOT very good at this and have kept two of my trees quite short (10-15â), simply by pruning them into roughly the shape I want them in the winter (short, wide, decent gaps between branches) and then pruning off vertical shoots in the summer.
When I see better maintained trees in town I chuckle nervously because itâs immediately evident that mine are hack jobs with limbs heading off in all kinds of random directions. But theyâve given me peaches for a decade and I can reach everything with my short ladder, soâŚmission accomplishedâŚ
The ones Iâve let get taller are looking to be in the 15-20â range and are prettier trees, but I will need to buy a pole fruit picker to go with my pole handsaw this year as they exited ladder height last summer.
Are you interested in the genetic dwarf peaches like bonfire or a âdwarfâ regular peach?
I have one of the genetically dwarf nectarines and this year I noticed a little leaf curl on it. Air flow through the canopy is an issue because the leaves are so dense. Its loaded with fruit so I hope to try some this year and see how they compare to non-dwarf nectarines.
1 Like
Wait is bonfire peach genetically modified
When I said genetically dwarf I didnt mean gmo.
Just to clarify.
1 Like
Hi everyone:
I have 2 dwarf peach trees and 2 dwarf nectarine trees. Even though they spent all summers in my greenhouse I donât get enough heat/hot sunshine days to get ripe nectarines but Iâm successful with the peaches. No bugs so far and no leaf curl either. They taste great and are way bigger than Ontarioâs grown ones. They will be for sale after this coming growing season for I have decided that I prefer growing figs than peaches Marc
4 Likes
Thatâs really nice
Alright that clears this up, have you tried them before?
Marc where do you store them in the winter?
Hi Steve: I have to say that Iâm well equipped!
The heated shed:
The the barn
(upload://wzsfKB921kJe5CF6VbnSMexDUpt.jpeg) ![image|690x517]
(upload://7Qzt3RFjzTgaTjsuJx0Gu4yhx9f.jpeg)
greenhouse
3 Likes
I havenât. Iâm growing a seedling from one but I have never tried the fruit. My cousin has one planted as a ornamental tree and its a really cool looking tree Iâm just never around when the fruit are ripe.
love your barn! white cedar?