Peach Tree

Hello,

I'm new and this is my first post. I'm not much of a gardener, my other half is so this post is on her behalf.

4-5 weeks we bought a young Peach tree that had 1 peach growing on it. After digging out the weeds and turning the soil I planted it with some new compost.

To note the ground was very dry, so I had to water it multiple times prior to digging also in parts the soil was very clay like in places and I ended up breaking it down.

Last week we have noticed it doesn't look too healthy... the leaves wilting, going yellow and with brown spots, please see the below photos.


Any information would be much appreciated. It'd be a shame to see it die off so soon.

Many thanks,
Zirenz




Planted it

 

I would make sure you keep watering regularly. How compact were the roots in the pot and did you attempt or manage to loosen/spread them before planting? If the roots were very compact (pot bound) then they can struggle to absorb water as it doesn't penetrate the centre of the root ball even though the soil around may look damp. It's normal that a pot grown tree planted in summer will need extra watering in the first year. Perhaps give the foliage the occasional spray as well.

 

Your tree is developing peach leaf curl too Zirenz This is a seriously debilitating disease of peach trees. Pick off those leaves blistering and turning red.

Your tree would grow well against a warm wall trained as a fan. Grown this way you can protect it against peach leaf curl ...which is mainly caused by spores in the rain. Usually it is the young foliage that is most susceptible to this fungal disease

I also think your soil needs some attention for your tree to grow well so I suggest you replant it in the autumn...September is good. I would dig over the ground thoroughly breaking it up and incorporating plenty of compost mixing it well with your soil. Add a general fertiliser, water well and mulch. Starting over really is not such a big deal for a recently planted tree and well worthwhile I think

For now keep your tree watered but not overly wet. Agree with Mike’s advice about the possibility of the roots being congested at planting time......best practise is to soak the rootball in a bucket of water before planting and tease out the roots.

 

Hi Mike,

Thanks for responding.

We did spread the roots before planting, but unaware to the amount of extra watering required. Though it has been raining the last week, but we'll be sure to additionally water it.

Thanks.

 

Hi Verdun,

Thankyou for your input. I shall be sure to apply your advice.

We did leave the root all in a bucket for an hour or 2 prior to planting.

Bit of a bummer that it's got a disease. It seems like a lot of them are in that condition. If the branches are showing signs with brown spots I assume to snap them off as well?

Many thanks.

 

There are fungal sprays to control peach leaf curl Zirenz. It is the most common and most devastating disease of peaches so don’t beat yourself up over it. Spray at leaf drop in the autumn and again in early spring before new growth. Spray after rainfall after that. The older foliage thereafter, mid summer and later, is often resistant to peach leaf curl.

 

Personally I cant see any peach leaf curl, and the few brown spots are nothing to worry about.

When peach leaf curl does strike you will surely know about it, its devastating.
Leaf rolling aphid is a problem that is often confused with leaf curl, but I cant really see anything drastic there either.

Show me a tree with totally unblemished leaves and I'd say you were at the Chelsea flower show.

This is what the first signs of peach leaf curl look like

 

Picture number 4 Pete......I have grown enough peaches to know that. Leaves develop those blisters, turn red then drop off.
If I am correct more such leaf blisters will develop very quickly.
I managed to grow decent peaches without PLC by fan training against a wall with polythene battened at the top of the wall to roll down when rain was imminent

 

Oh well wrong again.