When you're planting fruit seeds you will sooner or later reach the peach seeds. Peaches may have been very exotic and rare fruits but are now cultured and sold over a big area of the world. During the summer time you will find stores filled with different kinds of peaches and nectarines; they are really popular. That is perhaps thanks to their their flesh which is at the same time sweet and juicy and fresh and quenches your throat. Succeeding in growing peach trees in your own garden will enable you to pick your own fruit directly from a branch filled with dewy leaves. Doesn't that sounds tempting? But the way from planting fruit seeds of peaches to growing peach trees may be long and difficult. There are a lot of things to think about when growing peach trees and if you're not careful and treat your plant gently, it may die from various causes. In this article you will learn about where peach trees originally came from, why we call them peach trees, how the different types look like and where in the world they are cultivated. But most important; you will read about planting fruit seeds of peaches and growing peach trees on your own. How do you actually do it and what is there to think about? But first a historical perspective. Enjoy and learn about growing peach trees!Growing peach trees result (hopefully) in peach fruits. These are delicate edible fruits whit flesh in a white or yellow color. The flesh can have a varying degree of firmness and also acidity; the white colored is low-acid (Asia prefers growing peach trees with this quality) and the yellow more acid (common when growing peach trees in Europe and America). The skin of the peach fruit feels like velvet while it is smooth on the nectarine fruit, both fruits have skins shifting in red, yellow and orange. Peach trees consists of the root system, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers and then fruits. The lancelot formed leaves are some decimeter long and some inch wide. In springtime, before the leaves come, the peach tree will bear pink flowers with five petals. The peach fruit has one oval seed which looks like an almond. This seed is protected by a brown hard covering. The peach is a stone fruit along with apricots, cherries, plums and some other fruits. These can be clingstones or freestones. The first category the flesh is fastened to the seed while in the other there is some space between the seed and the flesh. Planting fruit seeds includes planting peach seeds. You put the actual seed, the one inside the wood-like core, in soil of good quality. You'll have to wait several months after planting fruit seeds from peaches before you see a sprout, but it's worth the wait! When the plant is some decimeters high it's time to plant it in your garden.
When growing peach trees you want to make sure to get the right sort of fruit tree. The Latin name of peach tree is Prunis persica. It has been called persica, pessica and pesca. The english name is peach, the French is pêche and the Swedish persika. It belong to the family Rosaceae and the subfamily Prunoideae. It was long believed that the peach originated from Persia, therefore the name, but today the most widespread theory is that growing peach trees occurred in China and that the fruits were brought to Persia and other countries via the Silk Road a long time ago. So different people as Chinese emperors and romans to American Indians and the American president Thomas Jefferson have favored the peach fruits which has always been treated as a rare and expensive delicacy. The way between countries of the peach from origin is thus: China, Persia, Rome Empire, Spanish, America, England, France and from there it spread further over the world. In USA the first documents on growing peach trees says that in the beginning of the 1600's peaches were planted in Buckland in Virginia. It would take almost two hundred years until growing peach trees became commercial. In USA California, Georgia and South Carolina is the major producers of peaches while in the rest of the world for example China, Greece and India use big areas for growing peach trees.
When growing peach trees you have to consider what requirements the different cultivars have. You would think; the warmer the better, but the peach trees actually need a period of cold weather before blossoming but they won't survive to low temperatures. This is why you won't succeeding in growing peach trees either in tropical or arctic climates. You also have to know about the fact that the tree, the flower buds and the fruits don't have the same sensitivity to cold weather. Growing peach trees in temperatures as low as -25°C or more will go well, but the flower buds will die at -20°C. Some peach tree cultivars are more hardy and tolerant than others but you would want to have a marginal for safety reasons. The temperature during the summer must reach 20-30°C in order for the tree to mature fruits. Spring frost is a big issue in growing peach trees. Because the flowers come early before the summer and before the leaves, the temperature has to be gentle. Spring frost below - 4°C may kill the flowers. The more open the flowers has become, the more tender they are. The tree can also get diseases like fungus. If you buy your peach tree instead of planting fruit seeds from peaches, make sure it looks healthy with fresh green leaves. If your tree gets a disease you can get help at a nursery.
What to think about when growing peach trees: Climate, location and planting conditions. Oceanic climate won't fit growing peach trees. Your peach tree has to be sheltered and protected from wind. Growing peach trees will get the best result if you plant the tree at a wall facing south of your house; this will enable your tree to get the most sun light and heat. You should dig the hole some months before you plant the peach tree and fill it wit compost meanwhile. The soil must have a good drainage. The depth of the hole should be about 1 meter, the width almost 2 meters and the length 1 meter. The hole should be placed some decimeters from the house wall and it's good if you can attach some wires to the tree from the wall to make the tree steady. In October you plant your tree, make sure the roots are spread in the hole. When growing peach trees in small gardens, you can use dwarf variants. These only get 2-4 meters high but the fruits have the same size as a tree of normal hight. If you're not primarily interested in harvesting fruits, you can still grow peach threes; buy an ornamental flowering peach tree which don't get fruits. This is a great way of decorating your garden, maybe along with one of all the garden water fountains available.
After while after growing peach trees, when buds start to appear on your peach tree, you have to trim them in order to get a well-formed tree. The branches has to be cut as well. If you don't know how to do this, contact a nursery. It will take up to three years before you get your first fruit after becoming active in growing peach trees. The fruit will come in May and you can harvest it some months later. The fruit requires much sunlight to mature. Planting fruit seeds from peaches and growing peach trees is a fun challenge that may result in actual golden, tasty peaches!
