bberry, I just ordered a Reliance and a Veteran so I'm also interested to know how how they do.
How long have you had yours in the ground and have they fruited yet, if so how did they taste?
I'm also interested in the other types and how they would do. I'm in minn. so i expect to have the same problems as you.
Tom

Tom,
The peach trees that I have now are small and will need another year or two for fruit. I did have two Reliance trees and they grew great and at 3 years produced 5 large and tasty peaches. The next winter was unusualy cold and they both died. I know of a Reliance 1/2 hour from here that is 20 years old and produces a large crop every year! Up state New York is about as cold as here and some of the old cultivars from there must have been very hardy. There are some growing techniques that may make it easier to grow them in our zones. I hope some of the more experienced growers pipe up and help us out.
Jerry

Jerry, my impression is that Reliance is more hardy than any of those older cultivars listed in Peaches of New York, and that is one reason why you will not find them anywhere.

If you want to guarantee you will get peaches, you can always put a tent over the tree for the winter. That is how I protect my figs here - I use aluminum bubble insulation. Since it works so well for my figs here, I am pretty sure it would also work for you. You would need to keep the trees pruned smaller since about 6' tall is the limit of easily covering.

Scott

Scott,
You may be right about the hardiness of the Reliance. I did find some other new cultivars that are supposed to be as hardy. I ordered the Madison and the PF-24c Cold Hardy yesterday. Veteran is another one that is supposed to do well in marginal areas. Since there are some large peach trees doing well near here it may be the planting location. Have you heard any pros and cons about the above peaches? I think covering them will be a good idea if all else fails. Also some sites are listing the Saturn or donut peach as being hardy. Getting info from other growers about how these cultivars perform in cold areas is great. I hope more growers chime in here.
Thanks
Jerry

bberry. Reliance at your 3rd year should produce much more than 5 when conditions are right. The northeast hasn't had a cold enough winter in years to kill Reliance from temperature alone. I think there's more to your problem.

Reliance at the SECOND year should produce more then 5 peaches, unless all the buds were killed by late freeze or something. I had around 10 peaches the second year on my Reliance. I now have one 3 yr tree and three 2 yr trees. I should be able to give a very good account if this spring is kind. We have been at -22F 3 times this winter and quite a few more times in the negative teens. Tomorrow night should be -12F.

Last years coldest night was -19F, so this should be a better test. I think no matter what, an older tree is going to cope a lot better then a younger, with these cold temps. I'm hoping for a couple dozen fruits this summer, but i'm not holding my breath!

Frank,
Are you doing anything to protect your trees from winter damage? Sounds like you have colder temps than here this winter anyway. We have a challenging growing season here as well. It is on the coast and the ocean moderates the summer temps so peaches probably grow slower than most places. Our nightly onshore breezes keep it cool for sleeping but not ideal for tender fruit trees. We only rarely get high humidity here.

"I use aluminum bubble insulation"

That sounds like an interesting approach to a problem I have. Peaches are no problem in my zone... but I want pomegranates.

But, I'm not real sure what kind of product you are talking about. Could you provide an internet picture or link so I have it for sure?

Google answered my question above.

But, how much does it cost to put up about a five or six footer of that material?

I think it cost me around $150 to cover 30' worth of figs that are around 6' tall. Note that since it lets no light in it is not usable for the whole winter on evergreen plants such as pomegranates. You could probably cover for a couple weeks without ill effects but it would probably have to be a watching the weather on-off kind of thing. Maybe you could use clear bubble wrap on the top for a bit to let some light in.

Scott

PS here is a picture of one of the covers:

{{gwi:60489}}

Very helpful info Scott. Thanks.

I'm thinking it might work pretty good from after the first hard freeze until after the "killer" freezes are past. For pomegranates that's around 10 or 15 degrees.

I was thinking about making a round frame out of cement wire that I could put over them. I just have two at the moment as an experiment.

Scott and RCNaylor,

Pomegranates are very much deciduous! So go ahead and cover or wrap them -- it seems to me that exactly the same techniques that are used for growing figs in colder climates could be applied to pomegranates. I'm not sure why this is not done more often.

I have ordered a Contender and a PF-24C peach tree. I live on edge of zone 4, near zone 3 near Minneapolis. That aluminum bubble insulation intrigues me. Is it more for the variations of temperatures or for low temps? It would seem that after about 24-48 hours of -15 to -25°F. weather, any insulating qualities would no longer be of much value. Has anyone else tried this? I appreciate the reports on people's attempts at peach growing in the North, even if it is to report a failure. I hope I am not spending money on an fleeting dream here. J.W.

JW,
I think you have a good dream and like many of us are willing to do extra to get them to produce. The aluminum bubble wrap would help keep the sun from warming one side and causing the dreaded south west injury from the sun. I think white paint would do the same. Wrapping a whole small tree would keep the small tender ends from drying out which is a problem that I have. I do not think it would do much good to alter the lowest temps but as you know sheltered trees of any type do better when out of the cold north wind. That is why some people have advocated shoveling a mound of snow around or even over tender fruit trees. Snow will also insulate the ground and keep the frost from penetrating to any depth. I always found it interesting to dig down through the snow in places of great snowfall like Buffalo and find the ground not frozen at all! Be aware that snow that forms a saucer shape at the bottom of a tree may do great harm in concentrating the sun's heat on the lower trunk area and increasing the likelihood of SW Injury. Again here painting the trunk white may minimize that.
If there are other peach trees near you that are surviving then you should have some success. Using these new hardy peach varieties and all the tricks in the book make life interesting out here on the fruit frontiers. More tips are sure to come from this thread as we head into spring.Keep that picture of a peach tree loaded with ripe fruit in your mind. It may not be just a dream.

My Reliance was a third year tree last year and produced its first crop of about 11 peaches.

When I saw the tree blooming for the first time ever last spring I applied a very small amount of pelletized chicken manure a couple times that I dug into the soil a bit. I acquire this from the local feed store to feed my rose bushes.

I sprayed regularly w/ a fruit tree spray from the local Farm & Fleet. I used this on my roses too, and added a little fish emulsion and Miracid for the roses. Figured it wouldn't hurt the tree.

They ripened. I watered a little, not a lot. The peaches off our tree were very very nearly as good as the ones we bought in June at a fruit stand in Alabama. I was so heartened by this development I bought Contender to plant this year.

Last Fall I painted the trunk white. My brother-in-law, a farmer told me that it was beneficial to do so, but I don't know why -- I just did as I was told. The trunk was oozing all last year, worse in the spring. I thought what the heck, maybe this white paint will help -- I'm no expert, but I can follow directions as well as the next guy.

Hang in there JW. I suspect you can grow peaches at least one-third of the years.

Mark-

How far are you from La Crosse? I'm right next to the river, which may help. I have no idea what zone i am, because every winter is so different then the next. This winter being cold, but not extreme. I'm not really sure how bad extreme cold is if your tree is gradually subjected to it.

My Reliance bloomed 1 bloom the first spring i put it into the ground!, and had 10 peaches the second year (last summer). If everything goes as planned, i'm guessing a bumper crop this summer if spring is warm/mild with no big freezes. My younger 3 trees should have a few fruits, but am unsure.

I think if you are up by MSP, you might have a few more problems then us, but i still think you should see fruit. Watch where you plant them.

I never sprayed my trees with anything and had no bug problems (bugs up here don't know what to do with them!). I also watered very little and never fertilized (you should never have to fertilize fruit trees, from what i understand). Watch the spring for dryness. I think i read that water early can really make or break the size of the peaches later on in the season. Make sure they get enough water early on, although like any plant, don't overdo it!

Frank,

I am about 114 miles south of La Crosse, and about 45 miles due west of Dubuque.

I have read that it is wise to plant fruit trees on high ground because the frost tends to get worse in the valleys. Even two feet higher, helps. And it is the late spring frosts that kill fruit tree blossoms.

If you have been to Gays Mills, Wisc. you will see that Gays Mills itself is in a deep river valley. The orchards (mostly apple, but a few peach and cherries) are on top of the hills both directions out of Gays Mills. Apple blossoms are affected by frost the same way as peach blossoms, although apples are hardier in this area than peaches.

s/Mark

J.W., if it helps give you some more hope, last year the Morrison County Record had a photo of a fruiting peach tree near my hometown of Holdingford, MN, located ~100 miles north of the Twin Cities. I've been trying to find that article, but so far nothing.

Good luck.