On 7/21/2008 2:11 PM, Ivan wrote:
Hi all,

Over a year ago I planted a peach tree in my back yard.
It was rather small back then, but has since grown to be approximately
1.8 meters (6") tall.
It grew an astonishing amount of leaves and I was extremely happy with
its process.
Winter came, and the leaves started to fall..
Though not all of them..
And now, winter is a month from being over, and lots of flowers
formed, but the tip of the branches still have all the leaves from
last year and flowers didn't get to them....


I'm sure the tree is growing fine and I'll probably get some fruit in
summer, but .... .. I didn't prune the tree in the fall.. Is it too
late to trim the branches now?
Should I pluck out the leaves that are still there?

If it is already in flower, it is too late to prune. Leave the old
leaves. They will fall off as new leaves open.

If your winters are relatively mild, prune about two weeks after the
soltice (for me, early January). If your winters are icy with snow and
freezing temperatures, prune about two weeks before the equinox (early
March in the northern hemisphere).

As this is a new tree, be sure to remove the leader (the central trunk)
above the lowest branches. Stone fruits -- peaches, plums, cherries,
apricots -- should grow outward and not upward. Main branch crotches
should be at right angles to the trunk below; at least, they should form
Us and not Vs. When you next prune, remove old wood and keep wood that
was new during the recent growing season. Some say to remove an amount
of wood equal to 2/3 of the newer growth. Branch tips on new wood
should be cut to encourage further branching and not allow branches to
grow longer. I remove or cut short most vertical branches, pruning my
peach tree so that I don't have to climb a ladder to pick fruit.

Thinning of fruit is important for peaches. This is done shortly after
all flower petals fall. Try to allow 8-12 inches (20-30 cm) of branch
between fruits. Thinner branches should have fewer fruits. Thinning
prevents the weight of mature fruit from breaking the branches. More
important, thinning causes the remaining fruit to mature larger without
making the pits any larger. Thus, thinning can actually yield more
usable peach flesh than not thinning. I generally remove half of the
immature peaches when they are about the size of an almond in the shell.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/