Say this peach tree. About how old do you think it is? It was 7+ feet tall when I bought it.
I was curious to see how long box store trees have to be cared for before they are sold. Is there a source to look at for fruit trees from 1 year to 6 years to see how big they get? I know trees grow at different rates, but it would be nice to see something.
with a little experience you can guess the age of a tree.
I usually start at the new growth (this season, high in the tree) and work back to the branch that grew last year, then work back to a piece with really short internodes/ where the branch from last year goes off the year before. And work back to the scaffolds. If the tree has been pruned early in the growing season in past years, you might be off 1 or 2 years “counting” this way.
there is no easy “rule” for size. That’s to dependent on rootstock/cultivar and growing conditions.
Looking for where each branch grow from a branch that grew the year before that. Is reasonably reliably. for ages 1-10
Just looking at the size of this tree vs what age my peach tree was at that size- I would guess about 3- 4 years old.
just hit me in face ?? but why no netting down to ground level ??
On most woody plants there are “ bud scale scars “
Rings around the twig ,that show were twigs started growth in the spring,usually accompanied by a change in color.
So, go look at your tree, start at the tip of a branch ,work your way down until you see a noticeable change in color,at that point you should see rings around the twig ,above which grew this year.
Looking farther down you should see another set of rings, that’s 2 yrs old. Farther down you will find more rings ,the start of growth from the previous yr.
On many trees this can be followed back in time 5-6 yrs or more.
Some it’s not so obvious.
Like figure “C” in the bellow article.
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It is steel welded wire fence. Deers would shred plastic netting. Same with stamped out T-posts. They bend them over. Tried everything back when I first started. The trunk protector deals with the low protection. It would be a pain if it was on the ground. Weeds and grass.
Thanks for the info. Never knew about counting.
Here is that same tree this morning. (White Lady)
Wish I could be like the growers that have tons of trees and pull off the fruit from the new trees to put the energy into the tree. But I did not manage my orchard well and all my other peaches (13) are new as well, other than 1.5 old peach trees. So, I need every edible peach I can get! You can’t find decent peaches here in the stores…just garbage. Same with apricots.
peach and nectarines can grow 7 ft in one season. Most trees sold in the big box stores and major bareroot vendors are one to two years old.
