peach trees in central ontario

[plott hound]

my poor 5 year old peach trees are not looking so good.we had some really hot weather in april that brought them out of dormancy ,it then turned really cold and froze off all leaves and flowers.they now have a few pathetic looking leaves but the trees appear to be 90% dead.will they come back to life or are they done for? thanks

 

[EastTexFrank]

They may send out new shoots from the roots or lower trunk but it may end up as a peach bush rather than a tree unless you trim it to encourage one strong shoot to become the main trunk again.

When that happened to my peach trees they eventually died back and I cut them up to use as fruit wood in the smoker.

By the way, you are 'way far north for successfully growing peaches.

 

[plott hound]

thanks for the reply sir, these trees produced nice fruit 2 years ago.peach trees do well in southern ontario and im at about the northern limit.this variety is a cold hardy variety but the cold weather last month after the hot spell i suppose was to 2 much for them.will do as you say and prune them and hopefully they dont turn into a shrub. They had been doing so well its a real bummer to see them now.

 

[FrancSevin]

I would not give upon them. Keep them watered and maybe some fertilizer around the root system. A circle three to five feet in diameter should be the edge of the small roots that take in the moisture and nutrients. Cultivate the soil and worksome13/13/13 into it.

 

[EastTexFrank]

The same thing happened to my camelias this year but they have all come back strong except for one. As Franc said, I fertilized and mulched but it is looking pretty sad. It does have new growth coming up from the roots and lower trunk though. So, all is not lost.

It's a pity that the late frost got them because at 5-years old your peach trees should be at their peak production.

 

[plott hound]

Ya man, those trees were looking great. They grew a good 6” in the brief early heat wave. Will grab some fertillizer this weekend and see if i can revive them. Cheers

 

[plott hound]

I took my jack knife a peeled some bark off the peach trees. Theres no green at all only brown, these poor trees are dead. Piss me right the f@ck off boys!!