maybe. for what fastgrowingtrees charges they should be able to answer an email and tell you exactly what rootstock they’re on, can you ask? you’ll know a lot more then
They told me it is a semi dwarf tree. Hopefully a semi dwarf peach tree will work well in pots.
yeah, that’s an unacceptable answer for trees that are $70-100+. I’d keep looking unless they can tell you the exact rootstock
When you wants to buy treees online, you may want to check that nursery’s reputation by googling Scoop on + the name of that nursery.
Here is the review, not that great considering 147 positive vs 60 negatives.
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I have bought from them before. In my experience their plants are amazing but their prices suck. I only go to fast growing trees when I can’t find it anywhere else. In this case I don’t know many other places that are well known and have good reviews that sell dwarf or semi dwarf trees.
Not sure you have seen this thread.
Genetic dwarf peaches - #12 by scottfsmith.
@Bear_with_me has experience with such type of peaches. Hope he will chime in.
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Hey @elivings1, I think some more context is going to be able to help steer you in the right direction. I believe you’re in Colorado, like myself and a few others. Is there a reason you want a container peach vs in ground?
I have a Pix Zee miniature peach in a container, mainly because it think the genetic dwarfs look cool and are manageable when to comes to frost protection. While the taste might not be as good as the non-genetic dwarfs, I was extremely thankful to have any peaches this year from my Pix Zee in that I was able to move it into the garage during our spring frosts - it tasted great to me. IMO, the best tasting fruit for our climate are the ones that produce regularly. I even ordered a few of the new Zaiger dwarfs from Bay Laurel last Fall.
I would check out the thread mamuang posted above. If you’re looking for the best tasting or highest yielding peaches then the genetic dwarfs are not going to be the best option. But if you’re looking for, IMO, a cool little container tree that you can protect and actually get peaches from each year, I’d recommend trying some out.
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I am growing in pots because I want to maintain mobile at the moment. I am trying to eventually save up enough to move into a home. I am currently a PSE at USPS and USPS pays the same no matter where you live so I plan to get a transfer and move somewhere cheaper. Yeah I am looking for a peach with high yield and very good taste. Like I mentioned above I bought a Red Haven peach and a early Elberta peach that is semi dwarf already.
I just read the entire thread. There seemed to be mixed opinions even on that thread. Bear_with_me seemed to think the genetic dwarf varieties were better than store bought but needed thinning. Others said the fruit was just ok but was not siting varieties like honey babe or elderado. Others just said that the pots would naturally dwarf it anyway so just grow a regular tree in a pot kind of like others have mentioned on this thread. When I called fast growing trees and stark bros they mentioned that I don’t need a dwarf as well.
In that case I think you’re on the right track going with standards/semi dwarfs and just keeping them in pots for the foreseeable future.
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Bear is correct that any peaches, dwarf or not, usually taste better than store bought.
Yes, a regular sized peach tree will stay dwarf in pots as their roots are confined. However, I think to get good peaches from a potted tree, you need a large pot 20” -25”. I kept my peach and nectarine trees in 15 gal pots. By year two, they are rootbound. It is also difficult to get the right potting mix that could retain enough moisture.
To top it off, the fruit produced from those potted trees were smaller in size and not as juicy or tasty compared to after I moved those trees in ground. That’s my experience.
I don’t know how challenging it will be to grow peaches in ground where your house will be. If it is not challenging, I would forget the potted peaches. Peach trees grow like weeds. Once you own a home, plant peach trees, you could get fruit as early as the second year.
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My pots I have are 22 inches so they should work according to the specifications you gave.
I started with one genetic dwarf in a #25 pot last year, golden glory. I liked the look of it so much I ordered another seven this bare root season: garden annie apricot (not as compact, still has a half functioning gibberrelin reponse I think), golden prolific nectarine, empress peache, dorado peach, arctic babe nectarine, necta zee nectarine. I won’t get much fruit from these for a couple years so I can’t help you decide if they’re any good, but all of these are reportedly good in my climate except the two new zaiger ones at the end of the list. I have a large greenhouse that can fit them for our spring rains so I can avoid leaf curl (biggest peach problem here) and odd frosts. I also value being mobile although I do have a few peaches in the ground.
the yield efficiency of genetic dwarf peaches is the same or better than regular peaches, see this article:
http://calag.ucanr.edu/archive/?type=pdf&article=ca.v033n09p4
my guess as to why they haven’t been used commercially is that regular peach trees can already be held to pedestrian size with good pruning, and genetic dwarf peaches require huge amounts of thinning which would be costly to do commercially
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I have grown a lot of the dwarf peaches and nectarines, including Honey Babe, Necta Babe, El Dorado, Bonanza, Pix Zee, and Necta Zee. I found that Necta Zee is the best and a very good nectarine of the mentioned varieties. The other really good one was Necta Babe nectarine. The peach varieties were not all that tasty, but decent anyways. I am still growing Necta Zee, and have an Arctic Babe, and Arctic Sprite ready to plant. The Sol Dorado looks really good and I will probably buy that one too. I think the newer nectarines should be very good, but we will see. The trees are really cool and look great during the bloom, as well as fit in small places you can’t fit a full size tree. Also, the newer nectarines ripen up at times when other fruits are not available, like a sweet low acid white nectarine in late May, awesome!
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The reason I was considering a dwarf was the root system. I am zone 5 Colorado so if I were to grow a genetic dwarf peach I would have to over winter it in the garage. Family would not like it but if it is only 6 feet it is not the end of the world. I saw varieties like elderado are said to be excellent tasting on certain peach sites but have also heard genetic dwarf taste worse. The differing information is why I asked.
I think it would work great. I did with Pomegranates for me, so peaches should be a piece of cake.
I’m in 6a/5b
many nurseries are suggesting growing the dwarfs in containers. I want to put one in ground here. They are very cool trees.
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I have an old genetic dwarf peach in ground. It is now about 15 foot tall. It will not stay small unless you cut it and if you have to cut it then it is no different.
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Yeah. Raintree nursery called me back today as well. They said they trees would get way too big for my pots even on a semi dwarf rootstock. I plan to just get the elderado and honey babe because even on that thread someone else showed they said the genetic dwarf peach trees still taste better than store bought peaches. They also state on other websites the taste on elderado and honey babe are excellent.
I like honey babe and el dorado. I have not tasted them side by side but i think i like el dorado better.
I also have grown garden gold. I got a new tree of that last year. I cant grow regular peaches so it’s these or nothing. These are real home grown peach flavor. The peaches have always been smaller even with thinning - like Asian plums.
I have grown them in containers. They need a big container, like half a wine barrel. smaller needs too much watering and fall over due to top heavy.
Photos are Garden Gold, El Dorado, and El Dorado in container on deck. I should have thinned it better that year.
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I have got several Honey Babe and Nectar Zee fruits this year (the first year I planted them). I like them.
I have a harvest and tasting video here.
I should have mentioned that Nectar Zee has a special aroma, like rose or Lechee:) So far I have picked another Nectar Zee and it was sweeter than the first one. So I am sure I picked the first one (in my video) too soon.
I also have a Bonanza (maybe) and a Snow Babe tree but they didn’t have edible fruit so far. I may post on this thread in the future.
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