Peach leaf curl

Bought a peach tree a few years back, stuck it in the front garden where it immediately contracted peach leaf curl and has had it ever since. A bit of (metaphorical) digging appears to say that the copper-based fungicides are now outlawed by the EU so I can't do anything about it. I also read that keeping it dry will help...
So, I appear to have a couple of options:
1) Campaign vigorously for a hard Brexit in the hope that we will abandon all EU rules and regulations and I can get my hands on this 'Bordeaux' mixture, or..
2) Dig it up, stick it in a pot, and put it in the greenhouse until the fungimould dies of thirst...

Will it survive the digging? (#1 was a joke - I voted "remain"... ) and will the dry air kill the fungus or simply make it dormant until such time as I take it outside again?

I'm thinking about sticking a spare plum tree in the hole... or I might buy a cherry tree and shove that in... :D

 

Hello

Bordeaux mixture doesn't work, trust me! Not only that but you can only treat before the fruit has set, or once the fruit is harvested, otherwise you end up with strange, blue, furry peaches
Hereabouts, there are plenty of folklore remedies, like hanging nets of clean, unboiled eggshells in the tree. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't Underplanting with garlic bulbs is another gem.
If your tree isn't unmanageably large, the best solution is to handpick the affected leaves, clear any fallen ones and then feed and water the tree to compensate and stimulate new growth.
If your tree has been established for a while, I'm not sure that you'd be able to get enough intact roots for it to survive transplantation. The accepted wisdom is to construct a plastic shelter over the tree to stop rain-borne spores from getting in. This pre-supposes that it's growing against a wall!
Have a look at this link...Top Fruit: P | Product tags | The Agroforestry Research Trust
I got a variety there that is definitely more resistant to the fungus.
Sorry I couldn't be more help.....it's heartbreaking to see a peach tree succumb year after year, isn't it?

 

I grow peaches without peach leaf curl!!!
I grow them in pots...
You need to understand how peach leaf curl "functions".........rain spreads the spores causing PLC and it is the new foliage which is esp susceptible
My regime is to spray at leaf fall with a copper based fungicide...yes, copper is effective but it needs to be reapplied after rain!
I take into a dry place like a greenhouse. Spray again at bud burst. When the new foliage has become mature....down here this is around mid April......it resists plc very well. In my experience, the mature foliage does not suffer from it. I have peaches swelling beautifully.
To have peaches outdoors permanently train them as fans against a wall or fence. Fix a batten to hold a roll of polythene and drape this polythene over your trees during wet weather. This prevents spores being washed onto the foliage
An alternative is to grow a plc resistant variety like Avalon

 

Thank you both for your help. To clarify, the tree is quite small - maybe three feet high? I think (hope...) I could probably pot it into a 40cm pot without doing too much damage... assuming I'm potting it, shall I wait until winter? Autumn?

 

At 3' can you put an umbrella type cover over it during rain?
Wait until late autumn to pot Jack
If you do pot it use a john innes compost.....I like to add some dried manure too as well as fish blood and bone.

 

Peach trees are vegetarian aren't they? Should I wear gloves when I go near it?

 

Learnt something here... I assumed the fungus was already on the tree and just needed some moisture to burst into life - I din't realise it actually came down with the rain!
OMG - that means it's in my hair... aaargghh!!!

 

And it spreads fast.........
Actually the spores ARE on the foliage but need rain to energise them. So a spray at leaf fall and again at bud burst plus keeping foliage dry at the critical new leaf stage is necessary

 

No problem....I'll send you some Bordeaux mixture and you can do a blue rinse Fetching!