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?

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/

On Jul 22, 10:15*am, "David E. Ross" wrote:
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/- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Perfect!
Thanks very much for your detailed answer.
It seems as if though my trunk is extremely short in comparison to the
branches..
And all the branches are springing up..
But there are only three branches coming out of the trunk of the tree,
and the rest of the branches spring out of these three ..
The tree was given to me by my father.. Not sure where he got it , but
am hoping it is, in fact, a peach tree!
The leaves look different on each of the three branches, and the
flowers are too, so.... I guess I'll have to wait and see what comes
out..
In any case .. You've certainly answered my concerns about prunning,
which I will do next June .. And remember to pull out some of the
peaches before they mature ..

I'll see if I can get some more information about the tree,
alternatively, I'll certainly put up results once the fruit start
appearing!!

Just a quick question:
When should I be adding fertiliser to the tree?
I read at the beginning of spring and end of autumn.. IS this correct?

Pruning suggestions are here for peaches:
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT20...ing/index.html


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books that
will give them understanding.

"Ivan" wrote in message
...
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?

On 7/22/2008 2:30 PM, Ivan wrote [in part]:
It seems as if though my trunk is extremely short in comparison to the
branches..

This is good.

And all the branches are springing up..
But there are only three branches coming out of the trunk of the tree,
and the rest of the branches spring out of these three ..

When you do prune, keep the main branches and shorten the others.

The leaves look different on each of the three branches, and the
flowers are too, so.... I guess I'll have to wait and see what comes
out..

You might have a "top worked" tree. This is a tree on which different
varieties have been grafted to the same trunk. While this is not done
for commercial orchards, it is indeed well known for home gardens.

You might even have different species from the same genus: peach, plum,
nectarine, almond, etc. I've also heard of this being done for the pome
fruits: apple, pear, etc. My mother once had a rose bush with three
varieties of rose grafted to a young apple trunk (roses being related to
apples).

Just a quick question:
When should I be adding fertiliser to the tree?
I read at the beginning of spring and end of autumn.. IS this correct?

I feed in the spring, just as leaves begin to open. I rarely feed
anything in the autumn. Nutrients promote new growth, which will not
happen with deciduous plants (e.g., peaches) and which will be too
tender for frost with evergreen plants (e.g., citrus). Yes, we do get
night-time frosts every winter. (But I haven't seen snow here in over
10 years and only three times in the 35 years I've been in my current
house.)

--
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/

Oh yeah,

peaches require fine pruning. removal of large branches on peach trees,
even if correct, can cause the death of many parenchyma cells thus reducing
the trees potential for storage of starch. Dissection he
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT20...ach/index.html Peach
trees are not forgiving for improper pruning. On the other hand a apple
tree would say hit me harder. I would suggest reading and looking at the
pictures in this book so you have a clear idea of where the target is for
removing parts of the tree.
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/TPRUNING.html

And we must treat the system and not just the wound. Instruction lucidly
presented is he
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/MARBOR.html

Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books that
will give them understanding.

--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books that
will give them understanding.


"symplastless" wrote in message
...
Pruning suggestions are here for peaches:
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT20...ing/index.html


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding
us that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books
that will give them understanding.

"Ivan" wrote in message
...
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?

"Ivan" wrote in message
...
On Jul 22, 10:15 am, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 7/21/2008 2:11 PM, Ivan wrote:

Perfect!
Thanks very much for your detailed answer.
It seems as if though my trunk is extremely short in comparison to the
branches..
And all the branches are springing up..
But there are only three branches coming out of the trunk of the tree,
and the rest of the branches spring out of these three ..
The tree was given to me by my father.. Not sure where he got it , but
am hoping it is, in fact, a peach tree!
The leaves look different on each of the three branches, and the
flowers are too, so.... I guess I'll have to wait and see what comes
out..
In any case .. You've certainly answered my concerns about prunning,
which I will do next June .. And remember to pull out some of the
peaches before they mature ..

I'll see if I can get some more information about the tree,
alternatively, I'll certainly put up results once the fruit start
appearing!!

Just a quick question:
When should I be adding fertiliser to the tree?
I read at the beginning of spring and end of autumn.. IS this correct?

You may have a "show" tree with different fruits grafted onto one trunk,
your description of the leaves and flowers are similar to just that type of
tree in my side yard.