Peach – watering a peach tree

• Peach tree origin
• Peach tree care and location
• Pruning a peach tree
• Watering peach trees
• Fertilizing peach trees

Peach Origin

The peach (Prunus persica), or Persian apple, belongs to the rose family like many types of fruit and is a stone fruit. It grows as a small deciduous tree with a spreading crown and reaches a height of between two and eight meters. It was cultivated and bred in China as early as 6000 BC. There it is a symbol of immortality. It was brought to Germany by the Romans via Persia and Greece. In the 12th century, Hildegard von Bingen mentioned the peach plant as a medicinal plant. Today it is found in Germany mainly on the Moselle, where the number of vineyard peaches is estimated at 15.000. The fruits are processed into fruit spreads, liqueurs, brandy, etc.

In Central Europe, the flowers bloom before the leaves sprout in April. They usually appear individually in pink and white and have very short stalks. The hermaphrodite flowers are five-petaled with a double perianth and have a diameter of 2,5 to 3,5 cm.

The lanceolate leaves of the peach tree are about 8 to 15 cm long and two to four centimeters wide. The leaf edges are serrated and both sides of the leaf are dark green. Peach trees bear fruit for the first time after three to four years. Depending on the variety, the spherical stone fruit is ready for harvest at the end of July to the end of August, when the skin turns golden yellow to red and the flesh is soft. In Central Europe, ripe and aromatic peaches can only be harvested in your own garden. Fruit bought in stores is harvested unripe so that it can survive transport, but does not ripen completely and the aroma is not as pronounced.

Peaches are heart-rooted and the roots are about as wide as the crown and up to one meter deep.

Peach care and location

A sunny, sheltered location with permeable and warm soil is ideal for planting a peach tree. The soil should be rich in humus and nutrients and contain enough moisture. Since they bloom very early in the year, they are at risk of late frosts.

Cutting peaches

Peach trees need to be pruned once a year, which is best done after the flowering period, because then the fruit buds can be easily distinguished from the leaf buds. Pruning has the advantage that the tree bears a lot of fruit in the summer and the treetop does not become senile over the years. In recent decades, training the tree to be a spindle has proven successful. The tree develops a main trunk from which secondary branches branch off to the right and left.

When pruning, attention should be paid to the different types of shoots on the peach tree. There are true and false shoots, as well as woody shoots and bouquet shoots. True shoots grow to the right and left of a pointed leaf bud. These are cut back to 30 cm, leaving four to six bud buds. The false shoots grow in places on the leaf buds and can be removed. Without leaves, the flowers are not supplied with enough nutrients, so no fruit develops. The opposite of false shoots are woody shoots. They only develop leaf buds, which also do not produce fruit. These shoots can also be removed. Bouquet shoots are the perfect basis for perfect fruit. They are short shoots that grow from older shoots.

Watering a peach tree

Due to climate change, it is getting hotter in our regions and is leading to longer dry periods. This has an impact on the environment and especially on the trees. Depending on the location and the climate, watering may be necessary more frequently than in previous years. Peach trees have a high water requirement and must be watered regularly in the first few years. Care should be taken to avoid waterlogging.
During the flowering period and in summer, it is advisable to water generously. As a general rule, you can use 75 to 100 liters per watering for young trees and 150 to 200 liters for older trees. When watering with a garden hose, a lot of the water seeps away or evaporates before it reaches the roots.

With Irrigation bags The plants are supplied with water drop by drop, making watering more efficient and saving water. The roots, which do not go as deep, can therefore absorb the water well without the water seeping through the root area.
By filling a watering bag, young trees are provided with sufficient water. For existing trees with full hanging fruit, two to three watering bags can be connected with a zip to provide them with sufficient water. Attaching and filling the water bags is simple and self-explanatory. The bag is placed around the tree trunk like a jacket, closed with the zip and filled.

Fertilizing peach trees

A layer of mulch protects the soil from drying out. In spring, the Fertilize with compost and horn shavings is recommended to provide the tree with nutrients.