Expert: nick mccann - 7/17/2011

Question
I have a beautiful peach tree in the back of the house.  It is 18 feet high with 4 large branches.  I have a ton of peaches that do not ripen, they grow to about 1" to 1 1/2" in diameter and that is it.  They stay green and hard and ultimately just drop off in the fall.  I did have a curly leaf problem but I successfully treated that but still do not get ripe fruit.  What do I need to do to get the fruit ripen?

Answer
Hi William, first and foremost, you need to cull out about 75 percent of them,,and let the remaining ripen, which they will; the tree can only provide enough energy for the remaining peaches to not only ripen, but to get larger then the  1 inchers you are seeing. Peaches are one of several fruits that need to be culled drastically for optimum results. As soon as they form, begin the culling  process. Nick