| Description |
The peach tree is a deciduous tree native to Northwest China that produces stone, or drupe, fruits. It belongs to the genus Prunus which includes the cherry, apricot, almond, and plum. The peach is classified with the almond in the subgenus Amygdalus because their stones are corrugated rather than smooth. Peaches and nectarines are the same species - nectarines have a recessive gene that makes their skin smooth rather than fuzzy. Cultivated peaches are divided into two groups: clingstones and freestones, depending on whether the flesh sticks to the stone or not. Peaches can have white or yellow fuzzy skin. Yellow peaches usually have an acidic tang coupled with sweetness. White peaches are very sweet with little acidity. Most cultivars require 500 hours of chilling around 0 to 10 °C during the winter, and hot temperatures in the summer to ripen fruit. Some varieties are self-pollinating, while others require pollination by a peach tree of another variety with the same bloom period within 50 feet. Peaches should be thinned to 7-12cm apart when fruit are 2-3cm in diameter to increase mature fruit size. Standard and dwarf rootstocks are available. Dwarf trees can grow to 3 meters, standard to 4.5 meters. Depending on the size chosen, the tree will bear fruit within 2-4 years of planting.
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