I am in zone five, and planning to plant a peach tree asap. the only
tree I have found is Crimson Rocket which should work well in my smaller
yard. Nursery person says that this is good time to plant, however I am
reading that peach trees should be planted when they are dormant. I would
prefer to plant now but not sure.

On 10/25/11 5:09 PM, wrote:
I am in zone five, and planning to plant a peach tree asap. the only
tree I have found is Crimson Rocket which should work well in my smaller
yard. Nursery person says that this is good time to plant, however I am
reading that peach trees should be planted when they are dormant. I would
prefer to plant now but not sure.

It's best to plant peaches and other stone fruits as bare-root, which is
available only when they are dormant. However, many nurseries no longer
carry bare-root fruits or roses.

Unless cold weather has already begun where you live, planting now might
trigger the growth of new leaves and branches. These will be killed
when the temperatures drop to sub-zero values. In the spring, that will
retard recovery.

If you cannot get a dormant bare-root tree, I would wait until early
spring (when the soil can be worked) to buy a container-grown tree and
plant it then.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

On Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:09:35 GMT, wrote:

I am in zone five, and planning to plant a peach tree asap. the only
tree I have found is Crimson Rocket which should work well in my smaller
yard. Nursery person says that this is good time to plant, however I am
reading that peach trees should be planted when they are dormant. I would
prefer to plant now but not sure.

I don't think peach trees do well in Zone 5, winters can be too
brutal. With limited space I'd not take a chance with peach trees. If
you had plenty of space to experiment I'd say go for it but odds are
not in favor of peach tree survival where temperatures are likely to
dive to the minus 20s and lower. And even under the best conditions
peach trees don't have longiviety. Peach isn't even a handsome tree,
there are much better choices for your climate... with limited space
I'd be thinking cherry trees, sour cherry trees are gorgeous and
valuable.