Peach Tree Pruning

[scooper54]

Last year I planted a small peach tree purchased in the lawn and garden department of a local "big box" store. We had a mild fall (2022) that suddenly ended with a strong cold front that dropped overnight lows from the 40s to the teens. Most of the leaves on the trees in our neighborhood were still green and "flash froze" without changing colors, then dropped to the ground, including the peach tree's leaves. This spring I noticed that the peach tree produced only a few small leaves on the lower branches. I gave it some time to recover, but it did not. I did some research and discovered that the peach tree apparently did not have sufficient time to go dormant, which caused most of it to freeze, and that was the reason most of the branches did not leaf out. So, I loped it off at ground level. But, much to my surprise, about two weeks later, I noticed green shoots sprinting from ground where the tree had stood. I trimmed off most of shoots, except the longest one. Eventually, a full "sapling" grew, and to a height of about 6 feet. My question is how I should prune my "resurrected" peach tree sapling? I have enclosed a photo of it. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[oneeye]

If it's a grafted peach the new shoot may be from the rootstock and not the original peach tree you bought. The best way to prune peaches is by pruning the tree into a bowl shape. Your tree is in a pyramid shape now. I wait until the tree is dormant during late Winter before Spring. Winter is the best time to spray the tree with dormant oil to kill the hard shell insects.

Grafting or budding is the most commonly used method of propagation for the peach tree. Many cultivars of fruit trees can only be reproduced through grafting to maintain the characteristics and traits of the cultivar. Google

 

[scooper54]

Thank you for getting back to me with some helpful information. I did know that fruit trees often contained graphs, but it did not occur to me that could be an issue with the shoot--that is now a tree-- coming from the rootstock. I do have a couple of followup question, if you don't mind.

1. Will this tree, which sprang from the rootstock, not produce fruit?
2. Would it be advisable for me to obtain some peach tree graphs and graph them to this tree? (not sure where I would get them, but, I guess I can Google how to)
3. With regard to your advice to prune the tree into a "bowl shape," I'm uncertain how to do that. I will wait to prune in the late winter, as you suggested.

Thank you again for your help.

 

[YumYum]

The rootstock shoot can grow and produce peaches on its own but it will not be the variety that is grafted onto it. They use rootstock for disease resistance or for some other reason. Your better off just pinching off the suckers that grow from the rootstock or even from the roots if they sprout for some reason.

I believe most of the peaches are self fertile so they dont need another variety to make fruit but yes you could graft another variety onto that tree somewhere. You may have to change your pruning strategy to accomodate another branch growing though.

The only way to get the same variety of peach (other fruit is the same thing) is to graft it which basically clones it. Think of it as all 'Elberta' trees came from a single tree way back when someone discovered that was a good peach tree to keep. Now that first 'Elberta' tree came from a seed that just happened to be a good tree. If you were to plant a peach seed you might get a crappy tree with little sour tasting fruit or something or you may just happen to end up with the greatest tree on earth.

 

[Avocado]

3. With regard to your advice to prune the tree into a "bowl shape," I'm uncertain how to do that. I will wait to prune in the late winter, as you suggested.

Bowl shape can be obtained by cutting off the central leader. Here’s a video.

 

[scooper54]

Thank you, Yum Yum and Avocado for the helpful information and instructional video. I never would have considered cutting the main trunk (central leader), so that was educational. I will probably prune the rootstock tree in the spring then try grafting some peach scions onto the tree. Etsy has several sources for peach scions. Thank you again.