The general rule for bare root fruit trees is to prune them to belt level when planting them.

You are ok, just pick 3 or 4 branches, rub the lower ones of, try to space them around 120 degrees for 3 or 90 degrees for 4.

Here are two pictures or the tree.

It seems real late in the season for a bareroot (depending on where you live). To keep the scion alive, I hope the top sprouts asap and any branchlets get enough time to mature a bit through the fall before the growth gets toasted in a freeze (if you are in a more northern climate) when the tree goes dormant.

Do you know which variety of peach? I know there are some low-chill ones.

Jenny, it was literally one of the last Bareroot trees Stark Bros sold. I put it in the ground at the end of May/Beginning of June, probably not ideal. The variety was listed as 4th of July (wiluich I can't find mention of anywhere else) I'm assuming a variety that ripens in July normally.

I'm in Maryland, zone 7b, and the trees in a pretty sheltered spot with partial sun (until it gets taller) and a fence one one side.

It's been putting out a bunch of growth, just in the wrong places.

Tropic, that's a really interesting idea. I've never heard of using seaweed fertilizer that way. I'll definitely give it a shot though, wrapping it for one full day seems fairly harmless.

The root system was actually pretty good for this tree but it barely had any leaf growth when it arrived so I thought I may have had a chance with such a drastic prune.

Really appreciate all the feedback everyone.

Seaweed is supposed to have low levels of both auxins and cytokinin. They are also unstable and exposed to elements they break down quickly. I have not done what I suggested myself since I did not face a situation like yours.

There are artificial cytokinins but they are tricky to use properly. The dilution has to be very precisely controlled. Nurseries and commercial growers use them in all sorts of fancy ways to increase fruit production.

May is a bit late to ship bare-root but it is still OK. General rule for pruning deciduous/evergreen tree when they are growing is to prune just above at least one or two leaves or a branch with a few leaves. Otherwise it may end up in branch death. When they are dormant, you can be more aggressive with established deciduous plants as long as they are strong and healthy. I do that frequently.

Scratch the bark off in a little spot in the top inch of the scion and see if you notice any green. If it is green the scion is still alive. If not then try a little lower. Use a knife to scrape the bark. I bet the bark is pretty thin and should scrape off.

Since your scion is not showing any sign of growth, I would let one branch grow from the rootstock and keep that pruned to 5-6 leaves. Keep the height of the rootstock branch below the first bud on the scion. That will keep the juices flowing and feed the roots. If the scion is still alive it may push growth. I will be inclined to provide all day shade for that plant.

So I gave your recommendation a try yesterday. I hope it helps

Also, can anyone take a look at this need growth that started a few days ago? I've been getting a ton of growth on the rootstock but this looks just barely above the graft line. Do you think I should be good? It's the first growth I think I can keep.