So, I bought this peach tree online and afterwards noticed that it says it should be planted in zones 5-8. Is that because of the number of required cold hours?
I live in Northern Italy where it’s around freezing from Nov-Feb but I think we’re protected from the Alps because it only gets at the coldest about -6C. According to a chart I found, I’m in Zone 9 but I’m sure I get enough cold hours, it just doesn’t get super cold here.
It seems as though the growing zones are only based on the average low temp you receive, and ignores the presence of temps low enough to qualify for a “cold hour”.
-6 c aka 21.2 degrees fahrenheit. That is the colder part of zone 9 or zone 9a. That is often similar to zone 8. Many plants wont tolerate heat they can only be grown in the cold. There are always ways to cheat the zones very slightly. As an example the south side of a house in the usa is warmer or a tree grown in the shade is colder. This arbor day link with map will help with your zones Hardiness Zone Map at arborday.org
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Here is a zone map of the world from this website Temperate Climate Permaculture: Plant Hardiness Zones Maps for the World . They mean that peach should only be grown in zone 5-8 if you do otherwise your not following their advise. The tree would not be conpatable with your zone 9. Many try to stretch zones but doing so is never advisable. Having done it myself enough i can tell you it never goes well.
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Many plants cannot tolerate heat. Like lettuce is no good in the heat it becomes bitter. The june berries i grow cannot be grown above zone 6 im on the edge of their zone. If you tried to grow them in zone 7 they will likely die there it is to hot for them. Many Haskaps dont do well in my zone it is to hot here. As an example my gooseberries must be grown in shade here. In colder zones they are very easy to grow.
I always thought peaches would prefer hot weather. I mean, Georgia is not cold in the winter and is hot in the summer. Maybe all peaches are not the same
@Exmil
The USDA zones are only concerned with “cold hardiness”. A recommendation for zones 5-8 for a peach cultivar means that it does best in areas where the coldest temperature are no lower than zones 5-8. Now since peach is a pit fruit, it probably also means that cultivar will set good crops with the amount of chill hours accumulated during the winters of z. 5-8. It has nothing to do with how warm the summers might get because USDA zones only describe cold-hardiness.
@Richard ok that makes sense. So, they assume someone in Zone 9 doesn’t get enough cold hours since the average winter temp is warmer than zones 5-8.
I think in my case, even though it rarely gets super cold, it does stay around 20-36F at night and 32-50F in the day for 3-4 months. The maps I’ve seen show either Zone 8 or 9 where I am
Your climate is perfect for your peach tree. You get plenty of chilling but no severe cold. You’ve got the high chill hours normally seen in zones 5-8. That will make the tree flower well.
Your climate is similar to the best areas for stone fruit in California. The Mediterranean area which you are part of has many great areas for stone fruit. California and the Mediterranean area are the best anywhere.
Years ago, when this was explained to me it must have been explained incorrectly regarding warmer areas. See this https://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/hardiness-zones
This was my understanding and what i was saying
“to summarize—a plant listed as 3-8S/10W should successfully overwinter in zones 3 or warmer, tolerate humid heat up to Zone 8, and tolerate dry heat up to Zone 10.”
The same when i described microclimates.
Maybe more useful information for you in a zone 9 would be to find out the chill hours for your location, and varieties that are suitable.
The university of Florida has some information
Look up “low chill peaches “
I just went on the Arbor Day calculator and put my zone information in. They claim I am zone 5-6 so weirdly it can’t calculate my zone based on their map.
He’s near freezing from Nov-Febr. You don’t need to look up his chill hours he has plenty. But never below 20F so no severe cold. That’s just like northern CA the best area in USA for peach and nectarine.
Low chill peaches are for areas like FL and south Texas where they’re seldom near freezing.
