Peach

Peach: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Small fruit tree of 3–6 m with an open, somewhat goblet-shaped crown, or fan-trained against a wall.

Leaf

Alternate, 8–15 cm, lance-shaped, finely toothed, glossy green and often slightly folded along the midrib.

Bark

Reddish-brown to grey, smooth with horizontal streaks.

Flower

Pink blossom in March–April, before the leaves, singly or in pairs.

Fruit

Velvety peaches with a hard, grooved stone, in August–September. The nectarine is a smooth-skinned form.

Difference from sweet chestnut

Sweet chestnut has much larger leaves with coarse, bristle-tipped teeth, and spiny husks.

Difference from white willow

White willow has silvery-hairy leaves, catkins and no fruit.

Flowering: March–April · Harvest and fruit: August–September · Pruning: April–August

Identify by feature: Long, narrow leaves · Pink blossom

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Sweet chestnut Castanea sativa: much larger leaves with coarse, bristle-tipped teeth, and spiny husks. Difference from sweet chestnut
• White willow Salix alba: silvery-hairy leaves, catkins and no fruit. Difference from white willow

Why grow it?

• Home-grown peaches, riper and more fragrant than shop-bought ones.
• Pink blossom in March, when almost everything is still bare.
• Self-fertile: one tree is enough.
• Fan-trained against a wall, it takes up very little space.

Peach: where does it grow best?

• Full sun and warmth: a south- or west-facing wall is ideal.
• Sheltered from cold winds and, from late winter into spring, from rain (leaf curl).
• Fertile, well-drained soil that doesn’t stay wet for long.
• Allow 3–4 m across, or 3–4 m of wall for a fan.

Light

Full sun

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Normal

Size

5 m tall, 4 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Apricot: Another stone fruit for a warm wall, with the same needs: sun, shelter and pruning in the growing season.
• Fig: Also a fruit tree for the warmest spot in the garden: together a southern corner.
• English lavender: Flowers in summer at the dry, warm foot of the wall and attracts bees.

Peach: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant from November to March; a container-grown tree can go in all year, except in frost or drought.
2. Choose a variety with little susceptibility to leaf curl, such as ‘Revita’. For a large pot on the patio there is the dwarf peach ‘Bonanza’.
3. Against a wall: first fix horizontal wires a little way out from the wall, and plant 20–30 cm from the wall, where the soil is less dry.
4. Keep the graft union above the soil, firm in and water well.

Care

Pollination

It flowers so early that few bees are flying: brush a soft paintbrush from flower to flower.

Watering

Soil at the foot of a wall dries out quickly: water regularly, especially while the fruit is swelling.

Feeding

In March, some compost or dried cow manure.

Thinning

In June, thin the young fruitlets to one every 10–15 cm: the rest grow larger and sweeter.

Harvest

A peach is ripe when its background colour changes from green to yellow or cream and it gives a little around the stalk.

Tip: Plant the peach against a south-facing wall under a roof overhang: the leaves stay dry there in spring and leaf curl has far less chance.

Peach: when to prune it?

Pruning months: April–August.

When: After flowering in spring, and after harvest in summer, in dry weather.

How:

• A peach fruits on last year’s shoots: every year, cut back some of the fruited branches to a young shoot, so new fruiting wood forms.
• On a fan: in spring, remove shoots growing towards the wall or straight outwards, and tie the others in, spread out.
• Keep a free-standing tree open in a goblet shape, so that sun and air reach the fruit.

Caution: Never prune in winter: silver leaf and bacterial canker then get in easily through the wounds.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Budding

A variety is propagated by budding onto a rootstock in summer.

Sowing

A stone sown outdoors in autumn often germinates in spring and sometimes gives a good tree, but never the same variety.

Peach: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• The wood is hardy; the blossom in March is sensitive to night frost: cover the tree with horticultural fleece when frost threatens.
• From January to April, put a small shelter or plastic sheet over the tree against the rain: it prevents leaf curl.

Diseases and pests

• Peach leaf curl: Young leaves swell up, turn red and curled, and drop. Pick off affected leaves; the tree makes new ones. Prevent it with a rain shelter from January to April and a less susceptible variety.
• Silver leaf: The leaves take on a silvery sheen and branches die back. Saw off affected branches back into healthy wood, and prune only in spring and summer.
• Aphids: Curled shoot tips full of green aphids in spring – unlike leaf curl, you can see the aphids themselves. Ladybirds and tits usually clear them up.
• Brown rot: Brown, rotting fruit with small grey fungal pustules. Remove them and thin the fruit so it doesn’t touch.

Through the year

• January: Put up a rain shelter against leaf curl.
• March: Flowering: hand-pollinate and cover in night frost.
• April: Pruning after flowering; the rain shelter can come off at the end of April.
• May: Pruning: remove surplus shoots and tie in young ones.
• June: Thin the young fruitlets; summer pruning of surplus shoots.
• July: Summer pruning; water in dry spells.
• August: Harvest; after harvest, cut back the fruited branches.
• September: Harvest the last peaches.
• November: Planting.

What can you use it for?

Food and drink

Peaches and nectarines fresh from the tree; also in jam or grilled.

Garden and landscape

Trained against a warm south-facing wall, or as a small tree in a sheltered spot.

Caution: Susceptible to peach leaf curl: choose a resistant variety or put up a rain shelter from January to April.

Edible and useful

Fruit (August–September)

Pick peaches when the background colour changes from green to yellow or cream and the fruit gives a little in your palm; a ripe peach comes away with a gentle twist. They bruise easily: lay them in a single layer. Fresh, grilled, in tarts, as jam, in syrup or in a chutney.

Storing

Ripe peaches keep for a few days in the fridge; let hard ones ripen at room temperature. To freeze: blanch for 30 seconds, peel, cut into wedges and freeze with a little lemon juice. In syrup in sterilised jars, they keep for a year.

Caution: Do not eat the kernel inside the peach stone and do not use the leaves: they contain substances that can release cyanide. Peaches can cause allergic reactions, including in people who react to birch pollen; the skin is often the most allergenic part.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Peach jam (Jam · ± 4 jars · 45 min + 1 hour standing)
• Peaches in syrup (Compote · 3 jars of 500 ml · 1 hour)
• Grilled peaches with honey and thyme (Dish · serves 4 · 10 min + 10 min grilling)
• Peach iced tea (Tea · ± 1.5 litres · 20 min + 2 hrs chilling)

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• Peach leaf curl, a fungus that makes young leaves swell up red and curled, is its worst enemy. A small rain shelter from January to April helps.
• The peach comes from China, not Persia: it reached Europe by way of Persia, hence its scientific name persica.
• The nectarine is not a hybrid but a smooth-skinned peach that arose from a natural mutation.
• Persica means ‘from Persia’, but the peach originally comes from China. It reached Europe via Persia, hence the name.
• A nectarine is a peach with a single genetic change that removes the fuzz. A peach tree can occasionally produce a branch bearing nectarines.