Hello From Charlotte - Peach and Plum recommendations

im also from NC and am a first year peach tree planter, and am an organic gardener i prefer to do it that way, so all of my advice will be organic
from what i’ve gathered you will have to treat your peach trees with cold pressed neem oil once a year preferably in early to mid spring and may need to spray them with copper at pink tip to prevent peach leaf curl and you may need another method to prevent bugs from eating the peaches once they’ve set, maybe clemson fruit bags.

i planted Loring Peach, Tangos Peach, Arctic Jay White Nectarine, Indian Free White Peach

feel free to look over these varieties, Loring gets high marks all around for a orange peach, and i’ve seen it listed in 20 year old books as a great peach

Candy Heart Pluerry, Flavor Supreme Pluot, Emerald Drop Pluot, Bubblegum Plum (Toka), Emerald Beaut Plum, Weeping Santa Rosa Plum

also Northstar Pie Cherry,

baylaurel nursery is a good site and so is cummins nursery for peaches

you will have to treat most prunus species(Cherry, Plum, Peaches, Nectarines and Interspecifics) to prevent peach tree borers

i am no expert but am a first year planter and i will list the precautions i have taken

i sprayed water soluble bonide copper concentrate at pink tip (when new leaves start to emerge in spring from the wood) to prevent peach leaf curl, some reccomend not spraying until you know for sure peach leaf curl is a problem in your area
because spraying “too much” copper might hurt your plants if sprayed too much over time

and painted cold pressed neem oil two feet up the trunk and a few inches below the soil line, letting a small amount pool around the base of the tree where peach tree borers would attack.

here is a link to the thread i made on this issue and the earlier it gets colder in your area the sooner peach tree borers emmerge

so early spring if probably a good time for you to do this chore

since it isn’t winter/ dormant season yet i haven’t sprayed bonide all seasons horticultural oil yet, and since i haven’t had a fruit set yet i haven’t had to use clemson fruit bags

the only other advice i can give a new fruit tree grower is to heavily work the soil with alot of organic things like dead leaves those work well, before you plant to ensure a good start and a healthy fertilized tree

feel free to grow along with me and don’t be afraid to ask for help we have a lovely group of people here that want to see you succeed at growing fruit, especially peaches

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