Peach lovers anticipate the arrival of the famed “Fredricksburg Texas Peaches” each year for good reason…they are delicious. But it’s just not that difficult to grow great tasting peaches in your own yard. It doesn’t even have to be in your backyard since Peach trees are small and look good in the landscape. The spring blooms offer beautiful early color and there is something truly pleasing about being able to harvest fruit from your very own tree.
The other bonus with peach trees is that you don’t have to wait that long before you can start enjoying a crop. Typically once the tree has been in the ground for three years you can expect a crop. It may not be a big one that first year but gratifying all the same. Peaches are self-fertile, so you only need one tree. One thing you need to pay attention to is the chilling hours required since these vary depending on the variety of tree. A tree that requires very few chilling hours may bloom too early and with a late season freeze those bloom will be damaged. The peach tree pictured is in my back yard and is an early bloomer that two years in a row got its blooms nipped by late spring freezes. This year will be a bountiful harvest of organically grown peaches…so spraying or chemicals of any kind…ever!
Here are some great links when deciding which peach variety to add to your landscape as well as some great information about ways to plant and prune. I encourage you to try at least one since they are really easy to grow and it’s not difficult to get a good harvest without doing anything but a little pruning each year.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/fruit-nut/files/2015/04/peaches_2015.pdf