Dying Reliance Peach

This is the second one ,I think its either a bad spot to plant them(cause the first one died) or I'm doing something very wrong.They both stated out great,winter came,then spring,both leafed out and bloomed,then leaves got curly and red.Took the first one back to the nursery,now the second one ended up the same way(no warrenty on it),it also looks like boarer's are in it,all the bottom branches are dead ,all the top leaves fell off,and new perfect leaves showed up.
The trunk looks terrible,its almost flat in one spot,and sap is poring out from more than one spot....I know she's a gonner.There is a peach seedling(5 ft tall) that I got from Aimee which is about 20 feet from it that looks great and has none of those symptoms.

My questions are,is it possible to root cuttings from the Reliance?

can cuttings be taken to graft either to the seedling from Aimee or....and I don't know if this is possible......I have a tree in the pasture that use to be a green gage plum.It got run over too many times and I think its only the rootstsock growing(has thorns in some spots)can it get grafted to the rootstock?

All good questions, CC. Wish I could answer them for ya.

The flat trunk and ooze sure sounds like peachtree borer tho. And it sounds like it has really done some damage.

peach bores are a pain-trees should be treated right away. They need dormant spray in early spring! I just planted 3 new ones last spring-becuz the last 2 are almost dead!

I did spray with Dormant oil,I do every spring.........

I dont know how them dang bores live! but they have gotten my first 3 trees and we spray yearly from spring to fall! I dont know what else to do! do you?

do they come in the trees? ;)

Actually I bought a tree yrs back that came with one in it. Fortunately the garden shop called the nursury and they sent me a replacement. (They almost didn't tho...I had to convince them it HAD to have come with the tree cuz the adults hadn't emerged in our area yet.)

The larvae overwinter under the bark, that's why they recommend the oil sprays, to suffocate them. The adults come out when it's good and warm, July in our area.

I just looked up in one of my books...it says some resistant varieties are "Elberta", "Dixie Red", and "Jubilee". (Remember tho, "resistance" doesn't mean impervious!)

I need one thats hardy to -20 or -25 and Resistant

I've built a new house and am getting ready to plant fruit trees, including peaches. The reliance is one that I have been recommended.
I am a new gardener, and these problems have got me scared.
Someone incourage me!!!!!!!!!!!

If you have no aversion to synthetic pesticides, There are several that are effective on Peach borers. They are typically applied in the early spring just as the tree is budding out. Agricultural extension agents (county agents) will have recommendations specific to your area.

I had 3 Reliance Peach trees with a Siberian root stock about 25 years ago. If you like to eat golf balls, that's what they produced. The peaches didn't mature at all and the trees finally died. I live in a Zone 4b and they were recommended by a local nursery. Maybe they will do better in Zone 5a. I am going to try another one this spring. I had hoped to order from treesdirectonline.com but their website is not operating. They had by far the best prices last summer when I looked

crestedchik,

If your Reliance Peach tree leaves became thick as well as red and curly, your tree had peach leaf curl, a fungal infection. The enclosed link has some photos of it as well as information on its control. The spores overwinter on the tree and germinate under cool wet conditions. The infected leaves will eventually dry up and fall off. The tree will produce produce a new set of leaves later in the season from dormant buds. Although the tree as a whole will survive, you can lose branches to the disease. This also weakens the tree leaving it prey to other invaders. You could lose the whole tree if it hasn't had the time to establish itself. In California, I used to spray my peach trees with a 50% fixed copper fungicide in November, December and just before the flower buds opened. Some varieties are more resistant to peach leaf curl than others.

Softwood cuttings could be taken in late spring. If you are going to graft Reliance onto another tree, you need to take cuttings when the tree is dormant, wrap them in damp paper towels, put them in zip lock bags and refrigerate until the host has reached the 'slip bark' (I think that's what its called.) stage usually in June or July. You check by cutting a slit into the bark through the cambium and peel the bark back. If it slips off easily, you can graft either a slip or bud from your stored cuttings. I found an article that says you can graft peach onto plum and visa versa. They are both from the genus Prunus.

http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/crops/facts/83-071.htm

Hope this helps.

BettyDee

Thanks you guys
the tree in question died(the second one)
I had taken the 1st one and replanted it down by the lake
wanted to give it a fighting chance
the nursery told me to burn it
I didn't

as of last fall it was still alive
barely
still had the same symtoms
this spring I will spray it as you suggest

I was going thru the Miller catalog
I WILL HAVE a peach tree
dangit all

any sugestions for a hardy peach that tastes good?