charis1 I have a Floridaprince and usually start harvest the 1st week of May. Our winter and spring have been much cooler this year though and I suspect the harvest on my Floridaprince to be more like the 1st week of June.

My peach trees are at red bud stage and yours are at apricots size... I HAVE TO MOVE!!!
md

So you think they will still have time to grow large enough to eat? My tree is only six foot tall but produced at least a hundred tiny green fruit this year. I think I thinned close to two thirds of it. The caliper is 1 1/4 " so it is a small tree. However it is probably four feet across. Thanks thisisme I feel much better knowing I will probably have more time. How big would you say your peaches are at this stage? I know Schneff Farms is still planning their peach festival in May so I am just curious. I guess I am a tad bit obssesive over my garden. :)

I'm going to thin once i see little fruit. Last year i made the wrong move and didn't think nearly enough. I'd rather have fewer big fruit then a million small ones.

Thin one fruit per 6 to 8 inches, or so i've read.

{{gwi:20790}}

charis:

Thinning at this late date won't do much for the remaining fruit. Early maturing peaches need to be thinned very early. Some even suggest thinning the blossoms.

charis1 If I understand you right then you have about 35 pieces of fruit hanging on a tree that is only 1 1/4" caliper. If thatÂs the case then one would assume the branches are roughly ½". To me that sounds like a lot of fruit for such a small tree. On branches of that size I would only leave 2-3 fruit on each branch not more than 18-24" out from the trunk. Leaving fruit further out on the branches could do some damage as the fruit gets heavier.

My tree is a 2 1/2" caliper pruned to an Open Center form with four 1+" caliper scaffold branches. I did not count but I would be surprised if I left more than 40 peaches on the tree.

It may be to late to thin for size as fruitnut suggests. Even so you may still want to thin out any fruit that are to far out on the branches to be properly supported. As far as them ripening goes; sure they will ripen.

good info on when to thin out Peaches, I now need to make sure I do it earlier.

Basic rule: The longer I do this, the more willing I am to thin. Its much more of a psychological issue than anything else. Rule of thumb is at least the width of your closed fist between fruits. For a smaller tree, I'd go two fist widths, about 10 inches.

Earlier is better than later, but nothing says it has to be done on the same day. I do it in stages. I go through when the fruitlets are pea sized and take out anything shriveled or just weird looking. Where there is a particularly thick cluster I take out all but the largest fruit of that cluster.

A couple of weeks later, I thin more, maybe 2-3 inches between fruit.

A couple of weeks after that I finish it. Its easier for me psychologically, and I have the benefit of not being wiped out by a late frost or in your case, a major fruit drop caused by a hot spell or something like that after I've thinned.