Peach from a pit/ (Hi Bob)

Pictures later--but did you all know you might grow peach from a pit? Yes they are self fertile and can bloom in four years or so, . I usually get peaches from a small produce place near me that buys all fruit from Baugher's in Westminster. So being pretty sure this variety was MD appropriate, I found pits that had sprouted in my garden from composted pits. I now have a bloomer seven feet tall, and an in-training tree. and a new baby just found another the other day. We don't eat THAT many peaches, they just sprout rather easily I guess.
They take pruning and thinning, its painful but the books say so.
And Hi Bob who also has one.

And Critter before you get any ideas--I already claim this for my next article topic LOL

Sally,

For medical reasons we left our home state for 2 years and upon return
there was this huge tree growing out from where our compost pile had
been.

Didn't take long to identify it as a peach although due it being on Cape Cod
the growing season was never long enough. Fruit was certainly abundant
but never edible as it rotted from the cold long before it matured.

Thanks for sharing it brought such warm memories to mind:)

A local professional orchardist told me years ago you can't grow peaches or apples from seeds/pits and get anything except a junk tree as far as fruit goes. Makes sense - all those fruits are from hybrid trees and it's the same as planting seeds from any hybrid plant.

Not all peach trees will set fruit without a proper pollinator tree but I think most of them will. Sally, the trees aren't that expensive and if you buy them at Lowes or Home Depot, they'll have a guarantee. They don't take that long to start fruiting. I think mine had their first fruit after two or three years.

Hi Cris- Too bad about the cold. They are cold sensitive. I just saw on Good Eats that So. Carolina, Georgia (of course!) and California grow the most peaches for US

Well, hart, I can't go against the orchardist's opinion. I'll have to wait and see. I am pitifully more excited about my maybe peach than I would be to buy one- so far. Let's see what I say when I get junk
{ 8 ^P

Here's a note from an Aggie horticulture Q and A
6. Q: When should you plant peach pits to start a new tree?

A: Starting peach trees from seeds is not recommended because the seed will not exactly produce the same variety as the tree the pit came from. However, if you wish to try, they will either need to be stratified artificially or by Mother Nature. Place the seeds in moist paper towels in January and then in a zip-lock plastic bag and place in the refrigerator until April. At this time they will be ready to plant in a pot or in the ground. Or place the seeds in a pot of loose potting soil in early winter and allow Mother Nature to do the job for you.

You will need to keep the pots watered during the winter months if it doesn't rain occassionally. The seeds should sprout naturally in the spring once the weather conditions become favoraable.

This message was edited Apr 30, 2010 3:20 PM

Sally, So neet to get a Peach Tree from a pit. Good tree or not I think it is fun. LOL
When I dig up the little Ornamental Plum seedlings, if they are very small I can see where they have come out of the pit and sometimes they are still attached.

Sally, the discussion with the orchardist came up because I was so excited about a peach tree that had self sown from fallen peaches. I just couldn't bring myself to cut it down. Well, that was about 12 years ago and that tree has never produced one single fruit.

But what the heck, if you have room, keep it and see what it does. If you want peaches, go to Lowes or Home Depot and get you a nice tree. I had a bumper crop year before last and we're still eating on the peaches I froze that year. They put the frozen when they're half ripe peaches from the store to shame.

Meanwhile, your tree from the pit will be growing and if it turns out to be a good tree, you can't have too many peaches. :>) If it isn't you can always cut it down later. Fruit wood makes nice firewood with a wonderful scent.

rol the dice baby- garden gambling. See the thing is I am soo busy these years that I hate to commit money to a fruit tree and be disappointed because I don't have time to care for it. But if it's free then I won't feel so bad.
hart, does your peach require much special care? Do you thin and prune every year?
My roomate (awhile ago) brought back a bushel of peaches from PA one year (theres that good PA food again) We had to get them eaten or frozen PDQ. They were AWESOme! Yeah you can't have too many peaches.
Since this one is blooming at the large-shrub size it won't be too much work to get rid of after a couple years of trial.

No, I don't prune and thin as much as I should and I know I'd get a lot more peaches if I did. The main thing is you really need to spray any fruit trees every year. The peach trees are real prone to fireblight, which will kill the tree if you don't get it out. If I see any, I prune those branches and spray everything real well.

I don't thin out the fruits much either, but around here we always get at least one real dry spell at about the time they should be thinned out and lots drop off then.

The best peaches I've ever had in my life, and I've had Pa. peaches as well as the really nice fruit from the orchards around here, was in Rapidan County. There's something in the soil there that makes the peaches taste beyond wonderful. Seriously, they're like cosmic peaches in flavor. I used to go to a pick your own orchard over there every year just to get those fantastic peaches.

If it's blooming already, I'd say your chances are good that you'll get fruit unless it does require a pollinator. Won't know how good the fruit will be until you get some but just getting blooms has to be a good sign.

Ugh, spray- gives me the willies. I don't like chemicals. But thanks for the advice. I alrady have lots of baby peaches on it. It bloomed first week of April

Then it must be self pollinating.

If you don't spray, you're going to eventually have all kinds of bug and disease problems. Fruit trees really need it. Here's one that says it's natural.

http://www.planetnatural.com/site/fruit-tree-spray.html

A lot of people use dormant oil against insects. I think that's pretty organic, just smothers them. But you're still going to need something for disease. I think you only use it in the winter, not when the tree has blooms or fruit.

http://homeharvest.com/insectspraysoilbased.htm

"Queen of the links " thanks for more info! I better keep reading.
One goofball that sells peach trees in FL has videos on youtube/whatever that of course I knew were uselessly devoid of info. That's even worse, to delude people into thinking these things are totally carefre just to sell some trees.

Miller's (no relation LOL) catalog says peaches self pollinate.

This message was edited May 13, 2010 12:56 AM

It's not that much work, really. Spray a couple of times a year, prune once a year, neither of which takes much time with only one tree. Oh, and fertilize of course because they really need feeding. You'll spend a lot more time picking and freezing those peaches than you will taking care of the tree. LOL

Comng along promisingly. There's already a difference in the ones on branches where I thinned being bigger than the ones on a branch I left au naturel.

Look at that! Sally's a peach mama!

...makes me feel ALL fuzzy!!!!........:o)

Looking good Sally.
Gita LOL

snicker- I feel like a peach mama. Thanks!
but then I'll have to eat my babies! Ok the tree is my baby. The fruit is the crayon drawings from kindergarten.

I am supposed to fertilize during spring, although I gave it a good dose of manure very early. I'll go organic. and find some spray, and watch for problems.

LOLOL Gita!