You're stressing way too much over this. You really cann't hurt a peach by pruning unless you cut it off at ground level. Your trees are too tall. I'd cut them back quite a bit. Peaches will bear on any one yr old wood. Leave some of that and cut the trees down shorter. Unlike some fruit trees, peaches have their best fruit on the most vigorous vertical wood. The vigor of your tree looks fine. It is just getting too tall. You won't hurt it by cutting, so cut where it is too tall for your taste. Most people prefer a vase shape.

The Fruitnut

Are those pics from today? What variety? Mine aren't open that much yet. Tree looks nice and that lawn looks like a jungle! I want mine to grow tall instead of wide. I don't have much space between my trees, so i've decided to use the latter approach. I know very little about pruning, yet, so i'm interested in responses. Is now the time to do it?

Fruitnut, yes, I am stressing. Those pruning manuals make the methods of pruning seem life or death (maybe it's more vital in my zone where peaches are less hardy). Did you mean to say "peaches have their best fruit on the most vigorous HORIZONTAL wood"? If not, do you mean the horizontal branches growing off of 'the most vigorous' vertical wood? I heard only horizontal wood bears fruit, but I might be mixing that up. I'm attempting a vase shape and thats why I think I shoud cut that leftcenter leader entirely.

Franktank, Yes, these picture are from this week, I'm in Chicagoland. I think this peach is Red Haven, although it might be Reliable (I planted both). I THINK now is the time to prune old wood and summer time you prune new wood. I also heard you shouldn't prune if the forcast calls for rain. Still hoping for some additonal responses too, anyone else? Thankyou both, marnie

Peaches will bear on any kind of wood, horizontial or vertical. It is my experience that the fruit on any vigorous wood is good, even wood that is vertical. Fruit that isn't good is that on the underside of the tree on hanger wood. That is the little wood that hangs down under the tree. Might as well just cut that wood off.

My point is that peaches grow back new wood wherever you cut some off. So if you get it wrong, you can correct it later. Cut the tree off whereever you think is right and see what happens. If you pay attention and work on the tree every year, you will learn the best way possible, by experience. We all feel like you at one point or another.

Another point, a tree doesn't have to be text book perfect to be strong, long-lived, and bear good fruit. Sure some trees are better shaped than others. But good enough is just that.

The Fruitnut

Marnielee:

The time to spread the branches and shape the tree was several years ago, closer to the time when you first planted it. Now you have what you have; a more vertically oriented tree with most of the fruiting wood higher up and the lower branches relatively bare.

This is not an unmitigated disaster, although if you reduce the height of the tree you will be removing much of the fruiting wood for the coming season. But, if the tree is becoming tall enough that you can no longer reach it for tasks like spraying and pruning, sooner or later you will have to do it, and when you do new fruiting branches will grow in lower down.

Next time you include a photo, take it to include the whole tree. Closeups are nice for localized problems, but here we are talking about the shape and size of an entire tree, and we need a better perspective. Agree with fruitnut that peach trees will bloom and bear on both vertical and horizontal wood. My personal preference is for wood that is between the two; angled slightly upward. Most of the time, peach trees overset so much (except when frozen like this year) that it is necessary to remove hundreds of peaches from the average mature tree so a few can grow up.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA