DIY Network

Pruning and Care What every peach grower needs to know about caring for a crop From "Fresh From the Orchard" episode DFFO-106

You will typically need to prune a peach tree after you first plant it, then again on a yearly basis.

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Figure A

After you plant a typical two-year peach tree, one of the first things you'll want to do is make a very hard cut on the tree. This will seem rather drastic, but you should cut the tree to about knee to hip height. By doing this, you are setting the location where its scaffolds will develop. You should also remove all the side shoots (figure A). If you don't do that, you won't force buds below the initial cut to produce scaffolds.

Annual pruning is best done when the trees are still dormant in the spring. To learn how to prune a peach tree, ask for a book or free brochure about fruit tree pruning from your local cooperative extension service.

Suckers and Watersprouts

Suckers are the tall shoots that often spring up near the base of grafted trees (figure B). The shoots come from the area below the graft union and are shoots of the rootstock. Suckers should be cut off at their base as soon as they emerge and should not be allowed to grow (figure C).

Figure B

Figure C

Watersprouts are straight vertical shoots that grow from the trunk and main branches (figure D). Like suckers, watersprouts grow quickly and take food and water away from the tree. Removing them not only allows more nutrients to get to your fruit (figure E), it also allows more sunlight through the canopy of your peach trees.

Figure D

Figure E

Thinning

For the first two years after you have planted a peach tree, you should remove all the immature fruit. Removing all of the fruit rather than letting it mature allows all of the sugars that are produced by the leaves to go into making tree structure: leaves, scaffold, roots, etc.

Starting in year three and thereafter, you should do an annual thinning. Thinning refers to the practice of removing some of the immature fruit each spring. This allows the remaining fruit to develop the correct size, shape and color; it also helps prevent the tree from using all of its energy in fruit production.

Thinning should be done before pit-hardening, which occurs about 40 days after the blooming period. As a general rule of thumb, thin three to four weeks after bloom. Thin the peaches so the remaining peaches are spaced about 6" to 8" apart.Fertilization and pest control are essential to a healthy peach crop. Here are some tips to help you grow a healthy, prolific crop.

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