I have looked my Red Heaven peach tree, it looks like my peach tree haven’t processed forward much after my last message. Buds are still closed and looks like same way as I wrote in my last message. This is not looking good. Is my peach alive? I asked about people who where I bought my peach tree and he wrote peach tree should be now flowering. He talked about dry wind, which may have dried buds. He said spring might have those days. I asked what variety he have, no answer yet. He said they have flat peach, I think he meant Saturn peach which is on their catalog for 3 years. First year buds dried and no growth, second year buds dried and very little growth if I remember right. Spring suddenly, I think he meant this spring 2015 although I am not sure I asked about that, they woke up nicely. Don’t know if he mentioned flower bud or leaf bud, I asked that also, also not sure about what he meant by that very nicely words. I asked what variety he had. Can peach tree be a live if buds have dried? Above mentioned peach tree, make idea that it might be live, since it woke up third year. So might it be my peach tree is still alive, just something happened buds that way they dried. I don’t know much about this peach tree thing, maybe something about disease and rootstocks and fruit varieties. Do you know something about this dry wind thing or experience with this?
Well mine survived -16F which is darn cold! Do you get that cold? (-27C).
I did use an anti-desiccant spray to help protect against drying winds. It seems to have worked, all fruit buds should have been dead, but I have 20-30 peaches on each tree.
You have said before your peach tree survived, good your peach tree survived. Maybe you get some peaches this year. Just keep squirrels or birds out of peaches so you get ripe peach tree. I didn’t get that cold. This winter 2014-2015 is based December 2014-february 2015 which was zone 6 temperature, if taken by lowest measured temperature. Actually our average temperature in that same time in winter was warmer than in Detroit, Michigan U.S.A using KDTW weather station data which was Detroit metro airport.
No I haven’t fertile my peach tree. I don’t know what kind of soil I have, but have read something we don’t have high ph soil which means calcareous soil I think. I don’t have photos, but in my last message http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/southwest_michigan_fruit_regional_report_april_2_2013 image looks similar but mine is not as much red as this one and not as big in size than those buds. Don’t know if those were leaf or flower bud in my peach tree too small to see difference. Some area is red and some more of brown. How red twig is varies somewhat. I am not very good at colors. http://www.clemson.edu/extension/peach/faq/what_temperatures_cause_cold_damage_to_peach_flower_buds.html something like that brown color in first image, maybe not exactly that amount but something like that. Some red color too, but buds have not opened yet.
hopefully it is because your spring is still too cold, and that it is still snoozing.
when growing peaches and nectarines, one may need a bit of resolve, and be somewhat immune to heartbreak.
have given up raising them. Being subject to all sorts of pests and maladies, even to “sudden-death syndromes”, and there is no expert who could diagnose or prevent from happening. As a result, peaches and nectarines often top the list among fruits as being the most laden with pesticides. Understandably, they require so much of it!
these fruits also require PLENTY of water, and even when one manages to coax them into perfect health-- one still needs to write a note to self: that peaches have incredibly short lifespans, and only a few years of peak production.
the healthiest of peach trees are still likely to be outlived by abandoned alley cats…
now, before i get misconstrued, am writing this preemptively just so you’d feel some relief knowing you are not alone in failure, and still hoping your peach is merely snoozing.
Yes I have read peaches are not easy to grow. Some have said “peaches look for every possible possibility to die”. Yes in southeast U.S.A. peach trees are grown about 10 years or so and then replaced. There is so many of those disease for peaches. Sudden death syndrome you mean bacterial canker? I guess I need to wait little bit to see my peach tree to woke up, hopefully it is live.
exactly! as for ‘sudden death’, it could be canker, or borers, or not an uncommon autopsy finding-- that it died due to reasons yet unknown…
really weird that a mare could still carry a foal uneventfully at ripe old age of 18, while a peach tree is already peri-menopausal at age 9 or 10…
that peaches keep ‘looking for every possible way of dying’ may sound humorous, but to some avid gardeners/farmers it is probably not too funny— being such a waste of space, resources, and time. Plus the cold fact that it is almost a given that pesticides and use of chemicals are mandatory. Worse is that when we encourage people to eat peaches, apples, and nectarines, we usually forget to tell people that we should eat pesticide-free fruits. Unfortunately the vast majority of peach farmers can’t afford to go organic because said crops need plenty chemical prophylaxis to avoid losses and sustain profitability.
More reason to grow your own. I don’t need dozens of pesticides. One or two is all that is needed.
If it kills me in 30 years, I’m not that worried, I’ll be 88 in 30 years.
for grown-ups, pesticides shouldn’t be much of an issue. But with many kids around here, and a bunch of pets, would rather just grow trees which require none of it.
Yeah all gardening is local! My youngest child is 30 years old, she bought her own house 2 years ago. I guess though grandchildren may come along! I won’t feed them any peaches…
I have a cottage and I like to grow wild fruits there, so they are no care type fruits. Elderberries, currants, mulberries, etc.
Water here is super cheap and plentiful.
I do have a dog, but IMHO the danger of these products is way overblown. Compared to all the other toxins around, I’m not really concerned.
exactly. And i see you’re based in michigan, so-- to say the least, it would be outright inconsiderate and obtrusive for anyone to preach against peach.
rude, in fact.
peaches love plenty cold winters, and need lots of water, so cold and wet michigan fits the bill quite perfectly!
states around the great lakes should be the peach capitals of america, and not the relatively warm and drought-ridden georgia
In Georgia peach trees live 15 yrs at best often 5-10. They’ve even got a name for it, peach tree short life. It’s caused by a combination of freeze damage, nematodes, and bacterial infections.
Drew is beginning to figure out what happens in MI. Except in select locations peaches live at best until the next hard winter.
CA is a better peach state than either. That’s why they dominate production. And tree life for home growers can be 20-30 yrs.
cali is hands-down the best state to grow a lot of things. Soil is rich, and climates are conducive. It holds that ultimate distinction of being the only state where one could grow bananas, longans, jujube, peaches, cherries, jackfruit, avocado, mulberry, atemoya, citrus, dates, sapodilla, almonds, birds of paradise, roses–ad libitum and almost infinitum. Durian is probably the only fruit tree which will not thrive there.
no offense to californians(i was a californian then), but when people in southern nevada gush over the beautiful gardens and fruit trees in cali, i tell them that all they need to do is move to cali, and they will easily duplicate whoever is growing what. It is like praising dolphins for being good at swimming, lol!
the big question is if the californians could have any degree of success-- when transported elsewhere and asked to grow stuff. Southern nevadans moving to cali would feel like pro’s in a jiffy.
mocking aside, the only downside to farming in cali, and one that is extremely relevant, is if it is water-wise or water-efficient.
Georgia is not the peach capital, even though it calls itself the peach state. It has double the land area of South Carolina and produces only 1/3 the amount. CA has almost 6 X the land area and 8 X the population of SC, and produces about 7 X the amount of peaches. CA produces 97% of the processed peaches, but SC peaches are almost entirely sold for fresh eating. The price per ton avg for SC peaches was close to $1,000, compared to around $700 for CA peaches. SC grown peaches are supposed to be the best tasting fresh peaches because of the soil and its pH.
As far as amount of peaches grown per population and value to the state economy, SC is the peach capital in the U.S.
I have about 50 peaches on my trees, if I can manage to get ten to harvest, I’ll be happy. Every year should be better, this was as bad a year as it get’s yet I have some peaches. So I;'m happy and feel I will accomplish my goal of producing fresh peaches. At least I’m one step closer than ever before.
As time goes by I’ll get better at growing them.
I looked my peach tree, it looks like it have now little bit leaves. They are small and below those buds that have not opened yet. Not many leaves, but I think it some process forward. I think i am cautious because I have lost so many peach tree in past, some had graft union below soil line, some didn’t leaf out in spring after winter.
Drew51 hi
Do you have some deer or some other animal there which might eat peaches before they are ripe? As you said you have 50 peaches, and you are happy to get 10. Do you need to thin your peaches? What variety of peaches you have peaches now? Peaches may drop off before maturity too. Well at least you have change to get peaches.
