AboutTom Alonzo Expertise I have been growing plants from seeds for at least 20 years. I have grown literally hundreds of different kinds of vegetables, trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, tropicals, some cacti, water plants, iris, rose, lilies, cannas, etc. I enjoy starting from seed.
Experience I've been growing my own seeds for 20 years with indoor propagation equipment I built myself. I am also an Allexperts volunteer on the perennial forum. I have completed the Master Gardener course through the Kansas State University Extension. I have experience with a wide variety of seeds and I have also read through Norm Deno's books on seed germination.
Expert: Tom Alonzo Date: 6/26/2008 Subject: planting peach pits
Question QUESTION: hi early this spring i planted some peach pits from our dwarf peach tree. about a month and a half later they sprouted and are now growing like crazy, and i was just wondering what my next move should be for the fall and winter? oh i live in central, by the way.
ANSWER: Hi Rene,
Thanx for your question. You didn't say central-where, as far as where you live so I'll wing it here.
I would carefullmove the peach tree seedlings to the desired place in the garden, yard, etc. Water them and feed them with a fertilizer rated for fruit trees. Plant them about 5-7 feet apart. In the fall, give them a heavy mulch of leaves or some kind of bark. Peaches should survive in zone 5 and warmer although their fruiting abilities are hindered in the cooler zones because of late freezes. Bear in mind that the fruit your trees will eventually produce will probably not at all resemble the fruit from which you got the pits. This is due to hybridization. I hope this helps.
Tom
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: yea sorry, it's central TEXAS. are you saying hybridization because the dwarfs are hybrids and will not produce quality fruit?
Answer Hi Rene,
Thanx for the additional information. Central Texas is a good place to grow peaches. To my knowledge, all peaches sold in today's grocery stores are the result of intensive hybridization. The fruit will most likely be edible and even taste good. But it may not be of the same caliber as the fruit you bought and in some cases it might even be better. Usually though, the fruit will be of lesser quality but that's not to say that it won't be good to eat either. I hope this helps.
Tom
