The Palisade Peach Tree
Because Palisade is known for its huge mouthwatering peaches, I conducted a lot of research on this specific fruit. I did so much research that after the third round, I was completely overwhelmed! So as not to blow your mind as well, I’ve opted to focus on the two varieties that I think I’m going to plant in our boutique farm. I might at some point add more varieties in the form of espalier trees to the architecture of the landscape. This is a working idea that won’t be fully developed until I start mapping the overall landscape – yes it seems I’m now venturing into the world of landscape architecture… more on that in a later post!
Information sources include:
Penn State University
The University of Massachusetts
The University of Maryland
University of Maine
Texas A & M University
Peach Tree Overview
If you purchase a Peach tree that is already one -two years old, your tree should bear fruit two to four years after planting. Because our orchard will be small in scale, Andy and I are planning on purchasing more mature trees. We will have a variety of different fruit trees but a smaller quantity, I’m thinking approximately ten in the official orchard and perhaps a few others interspersed around the farm as noted above.
Dwarf varieties can produce a year earlier. Another strategy to maximize one’s harvest window and enjoy peaches longer is to plant early, mid and late bearing peach trees. A peach tree can bear fruit as early as June. That said, it is more common to harvest ripe peaches later in the summer, in July or August (some late-season varieties bear fruit into September!) In general, the peach is ripe three to five months after its flowers are pollinated. Peach trees bloom in spring, often starting in March or April. If you’ve not visited Palisade in the springtime, I highly recommend it… seeing rows upon rows of Peach trees in bloom is truly a beautiful sight to see! When Peach trees bloom, the flowers have a strong, pleasant fragrance which is paired with vibrant colors including white, pink, orange, red and violet.
Most varieties of Peach trees are self-pollinating, which means we don’t have to purchase two trees if we find our space is more limited that we had envisioned! We will still probably buy a pair so we can enjoy two different varieties… more on those later.
Peach trees can live for 15 to 20 years, growing to a height of 15 to 25 feet, or six to ten feet for dwarf varieties. These glorious trees can then yield fruit for at least a decade after they first start producing. Mother nature can throw a curve ball in the form of frost which could impact fruit production.
Temperatures below 0 degrees Fahrenheit can spell trouble for some Peach tree varieties, while temperatures below -10 degrees Fahrenheit can damage the wood of the tree. Sadly a few years back Palisade did have a significant cold spell and the valley lost a lot of trees. A late spring frost can also spell disaster for Peach trees. A cold snap after a Peach tree breaks dormancy (ie its bloomed) in the spring can kill all the flowers on the tree – no flowers means no fruit!
Mild winters can also be a problem in that Peach trees need a certain number of chilling hours each winter. A chilling hour is an hour between 32 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Peach trees need between 800 – 1200 chilling hours each winter. If these are not reached, they will not break dormancy in the spring, leading to a complete lack of flowers and fruit that year.
There are two basic types of fruit on Peach trees, freestone, and clingstone. The stone is the peach pit, aka seed! With a Freestone, the flesh separates easily from the seed. In contrast, the flesh tends to hold on to the seed in the Clingstone.
Two Peach Tree Varieties that are good in Palisade Colorado are the Elberta and Reliance peach tree.
Elberta Peach Tree
The Elberta peach is considered the favorite peach tree for home gardeners in the United States! It originated in Marshallville, Georgia, in 1870, where it was grown by Samuel H. Rumph, who named the variety after his wife, Clara Elberta Moore. This variety of tree is famed for producing large quantities of excellent fruit for canning. The juicy, yellow flesh is great for eating fresh, as well as canning and freezing. It is a freestone peach. In the spring, the tree blooms with stunning pink blossoms. It is self-pollinating, but as I noted earlier adding another peach tree nearby may increase the size of your crop.
Characteristics of the Elberta Peach Tree include:
Bloom Color Pink
Chill Hours 800
Fruit Color Red
Fruit Size Large
Ripens/Harvest September
Shade/Sun Full Sun
Soil Composition Loamy
Soil Moisture Well Drained
Soil pH Level 6.0 – 7.0
Taste Sweet
Texture Firm
Years to Bear 2-4
Zone Range 5-8
Mature Size
When your tree matures, it will be approximately 12 - 15' tall x 12 - 15' wide.
Spacing
The recommended spacing of these trees is between 12 - 15' apart to ensure room for growth.
Pollination
This variety is self-pollinating.
In many cases, you may still want to plant pollinating partners to increase the size of your crops, but with self-pollinating varieties doing so is optional. You'll get fruit with only one plant!
Important Information about Growing the Elberta Peach Tree
These fruit trees need full sun and well-drained soil. To produce the best fruit, peach trees should be pruned, and fruit should be thinned. When you prune a peach tree, first remove branches that no longer produce. Remember that a peach tree only produces fruit on 2nd year growth (branches that are 1 year old). Then, trim any remaining branches to 2/3 of their original length. This will stimulate the growth of new wood lower on the tree, where you can reach the fruit. Another interesting option is to grow the tree against the side of your house, training and pruning it espalier style.
Regular pruning is recommended for peach trees. Fruit thinning can help to prevent broken branches or biennial bearing (fruit every other year). Light pruning can be done at any time of year. Heavy pruning should be done in late fall to late winter before the peach tree breaks dormancy. Peach trees should be pruned to encourage proper growth and branch structure during the first 3 years. This will also mean fruit thinning which will help produce healthier trees with stronger root systems that can support more fruit in later years. The goal of pruning is to remove old shoots that will not produce fruit (one way to tell is by their gray appearance).
When watering, avoid letting the soil get too dry for too long if you have young peach trees. On the other hand, over watering can spell death for your peach tree, due to root rot or fungal diseases. For older peach trees, give them deep, infrequent watering. This stimulates the root system to grow deeper and wider, rather than remaining shallow and staying near the surface of the soil. This will help the tree to survive periods of drought or neglect. These pruning and watering strategies also apply to the Reliance peach tree.
The Reliance Peach Tree
Also self-pollinating, the Reliance will be the peach tree I partner with the Alberta! The Reliance peach tree produces a heavy crop of fruit as far north as Canada, even after frigid winters. It is perfect for northern fruit gardens! Its fruit is medium-to-large with a sweet, peachy flavor. The Reliance features a flush of pink flowers in spring. It originated from New Hampshire in 1964. This tree is also Cold hardy, a freestone and ripens in July.
Characteristics of the Reliance Peach Tree include:
Bloom Color Pink
Bloom Time Late
Chill Hours 1000
Fruit Color Red
Fruit Size Medium – Large
Ripens/Harvest July
Shade/Sun Full Sun
Soil Composition Loamy
Soil Moisture Well Drained – Average Moistness
Soil pH Level 6.0 – 7.0
Taste Mild, Sweet
Texture Soft, Juicy
Years to Bear 2 - 4
Zone Range 4 – 8
The mature size and spacing is the same as that of the Alberta Peach tree.
Reason why Peach trees might not bear fruit (I hate to think this could happen, but one should still be mindful of the possibility!)
Even after reaching maturity, peach trees may fail to produce fruit for a variety of reasons, including:
too much fruit in the prior year – this is known as biennial bearing (lots of fruit one year, but no fruit the next year). Basically, the tree spent all its energy to produce fruit last year. As a result, it does not have enough energy to produce fruit this year. You can prevent this by thinning the fruit each year to avoid over bearing.
too much wood production – the tree spent all its energy to produce new wood. This is often caused by over pruning or over fertilizing. The upside is that this can lead to more fruit in the following years.
frost damage – warm weather in late winter (false spring) can trick peach trees into flowering too early. A cold snap can kill the flowers that appear, preventing fruit that year.
Keep in mind that these problems can delay fruiting on a peach tree by a year or more!
To avoid biennial bearing, use fruit thinning on your peach trees. Fruit thinning is when you cut off fruit in the early stages of growth. Leave one fruit every 6 to 8 inches (this will prevent moldy fruit, which is more likely when two peaches touch each other).
So, there you have it! Everything you ever wanted to know about growing peach trees as well as the two varieties that Andy and I will be trying our hand at growing! So far, I’ve blogged about Cherry’s and Peaches, and let’s not forget about the Walnuts and Pecans! Next up, I think will be pears… I’ve been tasty testing potential varieties from our local grocery store… Pears are yet another fruit I very much enjoy, especially when paired with a lovely cheese!
