Help With a Peach Tree

[RyanB]

We have been in our house a little over a year. There is a peach tree in the back yard and the first year we did nothing. The Japanese beetles got it early and it has lots of little branches on it. Someone told me we need to cut it back because it is basically using too much energy on the little branches instead of making fruit. This winter I trimmed some branches but I didn't know how aggressive to be. It looks like a very large branch was cut off before we owned the house. I would love to get this tree to fruit what should I do. I know it may be too late to do anything for this year but maybe I can get it right next year. I was going to make sure to get beetle bags out early to try to keep them away.
Thanks,
Ryan

[Rocky Fields]

Hey.

The little branches are where the fruit will form. Cutting the "little branches" will make the tree stronger, since it won't be expelling so much energy into making fruit. Generally, after 14 years, peach trees start going downhill and their productive days are numbered.

RF

[e.alleg]

I planted a nice healthy 6' peach tree last summer, then it rained for 2 months straight and the tree died. I want peaches.

[Rocky Fields]

e.alleg,

Don't give up. Plant a couple Reliance peach trees in late Spring...about May. Summer is a bad time to plant fruit trees unless you can baby them 24-7.

RF

[dragonfly1113]

I prune my peach trees in Feb or March. This year it was in Feb. I prune to leave the inside middle fairly open. It lets the sun in and you need that for peaches. After that I just prune limbs that will make the tree look balanced.
Japanese beetle traps acutally attract them to your area. There is a chemical that you can spray your lawn with and it kills the larvae before they turn into the beetles. I have not used it. IT is a powder called milky spore. The beetles eat for about 6 weeks and are a pain to deal with. As a last resort you can (in mid to late spring) treat your lawn with Merit, a soil pesticide that is less toxic than most. About now is the time to use the milky spore product. If you dont use anything at all on the lawn then just get a spray and keep your trees or whatever they attack sprayed every week or two and after hard rains. Those things attack my peach tree and my grapes every year. I usually just keep my items sprayed while they are around. If you dont they will chew everything bare.
About the pruning.... do a search and find a picture or drawing that shows how you should prune it. There are a few ways to prune trees. The peach trees should be fairly open in the center. Once you see a picture it will be easier to understand. Good luck.

[GoatsRus]

Dragonfly is correct. The traps actually lure the beetles closer. The first year (3 years ago) they devoured our peaches. Then I bought milky Spore 2 years ago. We didn't end up with peaches last year due to a late snow and hail storm that wiped out them and the blueberries, but we didn't have hardly a japanese beetle in sight. I'm hoping for a good crop this year though (and no beetles). The Milky spore actually kills the grubs that turn into japanese beetles and it's the grubs that spread the spores when they die. I think the stuff works for over 20 years. We have a large pasture, woods and fields close to our trees, so it will be hard to wipe out all the beetles. I'm hoping that I get a little help from my guineas this year, so long as nothing gets them before the beetles show up.
We pruned heavily for the first time as the trees are about 4 years old. You need to prune so that the center is opened up to let sun in (wow, I actually did learn something in that master gardener course ). You also should thin out your fruit when they're small if you see there are too many clumped together. Just pinch off some of the fruit when it's small and you'll end up with larger nicer peaches.

[.netDude]

Originally Posted by GoatsRus

Dragonfly is correct. The traps actually lure the beetles closer. ...

and right into the bag, right? They seemed to work well for me last year, kept them off the grapes.
Can you get milky spore from a garden center? How much does it take? Do you cover your entire yard?

[GoatsRus]

Actually the traps lure MORE beetles that you would have had normally. Sorry I didn't spell it out sufficiently. I ordered the Milky Spore online from www.yardlover.com . a 10 oz can will do 2,500 sq feet and is $18.25 on special right now. I did my front yard and some of my backyard the first year, then bought another can the second year when I realized it was working. I only applied what 20 oz would cover as it would be too much to do out into the pasture. I'm hoping it will spread itself by the grubs dying.

[Marilyn]

I agree about the bags attracting beetles. We had tons of them until last summer when a couple of my neighbors hung the bags. I didn't have a single one!