Peach and Nectarine Trees: Planting, Pruning and Care

Where to plant peach and nectarine trees?

To plant peach and nectarine trees, choose a sunny spot sheltered from prevailing winds, in an orchard or on a short grass meadow for example.

These fruit trees thrive in all soil types provided they are well-drained.

Hardy, they nevertheless prefer warm climates. In northern France, opt for late-flowering varieties and train them against a south-facing wall.

If you have a small garden or terrace, note that there are dwarf varieties (such as the Garden Beauty® nectarine or the Amber® Pix Zee peach tree), suitable for growing in the ground or in containers.

Finally, note that peach and nectarine trees are self-fertile. The presence of another variety is therefore not essential, although it can help increase fruit production.

When and how to plant?

The peach and nectarine trees are ideally planted between October and March, avoiding frost periods. Young plants sold in containers can be planted all year round except during extreme heat or frost.

Peach and nectarine trees thrive in all types of soil, including stony ground, provided it is well-drained, deep and non-calcareous.

To plant:

• Loosen the soil deeply, remove stones and unwanted herbs.
• Dig a wide planting hole at least 3 times the size of the root ball. Add some gravel to improve drainage if needed. Keep the subsoil and topsoil separate. Mix crushed horn and organic matter (compost, potting soil…) with the subsoil and place this mixture at the bottom of the planting hole.
• Insert a stake, place the root ball and cover with topsoil without burying the graft union. Create a basin around the base and water generously.
• Secure the stake to the young plant, crossing the tie in a figure-eight shape, without touching the trunk.

Peach and nectarine trees can be grown as free-standing specimens or trained against a support (such as a fan-shaped espalier).

Maintenance

Every autumn, apply a layer of well-rotted compost on the surface. Then, in winter, add a small spadeful of wood ash, rich in potash, to improve fruiting. Hoe around the base of the tree if needed and apply a mulch to retain moisture in summer.

Water moderately and regularly, according to the climate, as these trees dislike both drought and excessive moisture.

Diseases: combating peach leaf curl

Peach and nectarine trees can be susceptible to various diseases: peach leaf curl (blistered leaves), brown rot (withering of flowers and rotting of fruits on the tree) and shot hole disease or Coryneum (grey circles surrounded by red on the leaves) for which it is possible to spray preventatively with Bordeaux mixture and horsetail decoction.

Note that there is a fairly resistant peach tree variety:

Prunus persica Amsden - Peach Tree

This is an old and vigorous variety that produces white-fleshed peaches, tangy and juicy. Early, they are harvested at the end of June beginning of July.

• Flowering time April
• Height at maturity 5 m

See the product sheet

Pruning peach and nectarine trees

Pruning should be carried out approximately every 3 years, at the beginning of autumn (except for trained forms where pruning will be annual, favouring flowering buds).

You can practice a “hook pruning” technique, well suited for peach and nectarine trees.

Indeed, these trees have the particularity of producing fruit on the previous year’s branches. The aim of pruning is to have two branches, one bearing fruit and the other serving for renewal.

To prune peach and nectarine trees:

• On a wood-bearing shoot, prune to two eyes. This pruning will give rise to two branches. Keep one branch bearing flowering buds and prune it above a wood eye, after 4 or 5 flower buds.
• The other branch, whether bearing wood or flower eyes, should be cut after the 2^nd eye to avoid overburdening the tree.
• The following year, remove the shoot that has fruited. The other shoot should be pruned as before. Also remove dead or crossing branches.
• In summer, pinch back after the 7^th or 8^th leaf on the retained shoots and after the 12^th leaf on the replacement shoots.

At the beginning of summer, after the natural drop of malformed fruits, thin out by removing excess fruits and those that are too small.