The nursery will ship you a 4- to 5-foot bare root plant that is hardy in zones 5-8. ‘Frost’ and ‘Avalon Pride’ can withstand cold weather, as can ‘Harken,’ which is available from Nature Hills Nursery. Select a healthy, mid-size specimen that has an established root system. Purchase a plant from a reputable nursery or online source. This variety needs 750 chilling hours, so it might be good for areas with moderate to pronounced winters. Or, if ‘O’Henry’ is more suitable, try this 5-gallon specimen from Burchell Nursery, also available on Amazon. Check to make sure shipping is available in your area. Young saplings or more established trees will be 3-4 feet, 4-5 feet, or 5-6 feet tall and ready for spring planting. If ‘Contender’ grows in your area, Brighter Blooms sells trees in three different sizes, available via Amazon. Your best bet is to consult with your county extension agent to learn which varieties do well where you live. Sadly, this has happened to us a few times. Sometimes, even if you have the right cultivar for your area, a late frost kills your blossoms anyway. And then a subsequent cold snap could kill all your blooms, meaning no peaches when harvest season rolls around. If you choose a cultivar that needs fewer hours of chilling than what commonly occurs in your area, your tree might start blooming during a January or February warm spell. For example, ‘Bicentennial’ requires 750 hours under 45☏ each winter in order to bloom, whereas ‘Gulfking’ needs only 350 hours under 45☏.
Peach trees have very specific chilling requirements in order to break dormancy and begin flowering.Įach variety needs a certain number of chilling hours below a particular temperature. It’s important to select a variety that is known to do well in your area. Photo © Ralph Barrera.Īnd while Georgia - the Atlanta area in particular - fancies itself the peach capital of the universe, California actually produces more of the fruit annually. The 1/2- to 1-inch flowers bloom in various shades of orange, red, pink, and violet, and can be quite fragrant. The tree’s delicate blossoms are heralded for their beauty and is similar to those produced by other close relatives (all in the Prunus genus), the fruiting cherries, flowering cherries, plums, nectarines, and almonds. The peach is a deciduous tree native to northwest China, and was brought to Florida by Spanish explorers in the 16th century. These plants are self-pollinating, so while you may want to grow an orchard so that each of your children has his or her own tree, you don’t need more than one to get fruit. Varietal selection is particularly zone-dependant, and we’ll explore this more later in the article. Peaches will grow in zones 4 to 9, but do particularly well in zones 6 and 7.
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