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Fruit & Orchards

Dwarf Peach Graft Care, and Pruning Question

12 years ago

Hi, I just planted my first dwarf-supreme peach tree a few weeks ago that I order from Stark Bros. I've search for hours about these questions and I can't seem to find definite answers. I was wondering if someone could help me or give some suggestions.

When I received my tree there was a clearish jelly oozing from the hole on the grafting site, almost like it hadn't completely healed. After I planted it it's no longer oozing. Should it have been sent to me like this? Will it heal by itself? I'm very worried about peach borers getting in there. When I spray for peach borers is it ok to spray in the crack at the grafting site or will it hurt the tree? Also when I paint the trunk with latex paint for sun scald in the winter, do I paint inside the crack as well? I don't want to prevent it from healing.

Another question, I recently removed the sprouts coming from below the grafting site but what about the lower shoots above the graft? The tree seems to have alot of growth happening on the lower portion which is growing faster than the top shoots. Some places I've read that I should remove all the shoots on the bottom 18 inches of the trunk during the summer because these branches are too low to be used as scaffolds anyway. At this time my tree only has three shoots towards the top of the tree. Other places say not to prune at all during the summer unless they're suckers coming from the ground. What should I do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

And last question, should I fertilize the tree this year?

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Graft union and lower shoots

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Graft union closeup

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Top Growth

Thanks for your time, :)

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Comments (4)

mrsg47
11 years ago
Looks like your tree has a borer?
chamel
Original Author
11 years ago
I just planted it. Do you think they could have send it to me with a borer in it?
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blazeaglory
11 years ago
It looks like a fungus or bacteria from maybe not healing correctly? It could possibly be a canker? I would call them up and tell them. It should not look like that.

One of my peach trees grows from the bottom. It grows in a nice menorah type candelabra vase. All the red baron type trees I have seen from the grower have all looked like this. The growth is always thick and strong followed with many buds. The tree is young still but looks good. Then I have another peach tree that grows shoots from the top and all over. So I think there are a couple different styles of peach tree growth maybe??

But as far as that hole goes, it doesnt look like a borer. I would check for it tell tale signs of "saw dust" like waste coming from the hole with some honey like substance. If not it could be an infected canker or fungus. If it doesnt get better you could try some copper spray. If its the bug just kill it with a wire hanger or spray but be careful not to damage your tree. Either way I would call the company back and talk to them.
olpea
11 years ago
I don't think I see any significant problems with the peach tree.

The slight discoloration and oozing probably resulted from some minor mechanical injury.

It looks like the tree has plenty of energy to push new growth below and above the graft. I planted lots of trees this spring that looked worse than that and are doing fine.

Continue to remove any growth below the graft.

You probably don't need to fertilize. It looks like the tree is mulched, and based upon the grass in the background, your soil is probably fertile enough for a new peach tree.

Take care not to over-water your peach tree.

Most literature instructs to avoid scaffolds below 18" for peach trees. The reason is for weed contol. It can be difficult to spray weeds when scaffolds are lower than 18".

On peaches, I start my scaffolds as low as possible. I have some scaffolds that literally start at ground level. The reason is I want to keep the fruiting zone w/in arm's reach. I've found the higher the scaffolds start, the more difficult it becomes to keep the fruiting zone low and still get full crops. So far, weed control hasn't been that much more difficult with low scaffolds because I've primarily used mulch for weed control.

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