I think my peach tree is dying

Posts

• puschkinia Posts: 229

  November 2021

  @BobTheGardener I think I saw on the forums that you used to have a beautiful Avalon Pride in your front garden? If you have any advice I'd love to know what you think

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• BobTheGardener Posts: 11,385

  November 2021

  Hi @puschkinia Peaches grow best against a south-facing wall and require a bit of wind protection when planted outside in the UK.  I see you are in Brighton, so warmth shouldn't be an issue but if you can plant a shrub somewhere near-ish, placed so that it blocks wind from the most damaging direction, which should help if you don't have a suitable south or west-facing wall.  The weeping from that bud is a bit worrying;  It might be just insect damage, but keep an eye on it.
  

  A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  

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• puschkinia Posts: 229

  November 2021

  Hi, thanks for your advice. There's no space to plant against the west or south facing walls unfortunately. We have planted a Californian lilac nearby to block the prevailing winds but it's still too small to give shelter. Maybe we can squeeze a second shrub in there too...
  
  From the pictures do you think the tree is a goner or might there be hope?
  
  
  

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• BobTheGardener Posts: 11,385

  November 2021 edited November 2021

  I can't see any problems other than that weeping sap, so would wait until next year and see if the tree leafs-up normally.  Avalon Pride is peach leaf curl resistant, but it still gets affected by the disease;  If you see distortion in any of the new leaves next year (there is often a pink-tinge on the affected 'bubbly' leaves) those should be removed.  The flowers are red and hardly noticeable, sometimes appearing before the leaves in early spring, but it may be too young to produce flowers and fruit for a couple of years while it is establishing a proper root system.

  I hope it grows well for you - the fruit are large and tasty, as good as any in the supermarket.

  PS: I didn't remove the roots when I had to 'fell' mine (it just grew too large for the position) and it sent up a few shoots from the base, so it might come back.
  

  PPS:  If that weeping bud continues to weep next spring once the tree is in full leaf again after the winter, the only thing you can really do is (carefully) slice it out with a pruning knife, then wipe the newly exposed wood underneath wood with an antibacterial wipe and then leave it alone.  That's the general treatment for cankers, which could be the cause of the issue, but I wouldn't risk it at this stage as it might clear up by itself (and you could end-up introducing something worse.)
  

  A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  

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• puschkinia Posts: 229

  November 2021

  Thanks so much for your advice @BobTheGardener, really appreciate it I'm glad you don't think it looks too awful - I'll definitely keep an eye on the weeping, fingers crossed. And I won't panic if there are no flowers, I hadn't thought that it might be too young still so it's really good to know. I'll keep planting sheltering plants too
  
  Ah congrats on your maybe-soon-to-be-sapling! How sweet
  
  
  
  
  

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• puschkinia Posts: 229

  January 2022

  The weeping seems to have stopped, and the tree has buds now! So, I had another question about protecting the tree and figured I'd just continue on my old post - 
  
  I'd like to try and protect it from the rain to prevent peach tree curl, especially while it's so young, but I'm not sure how best to do it.
  
  I have a tree fleece already (I think this one: https://www.diy.com/departments/verve-white-plastic-fleece-l-2m-w-1m/3663602558033_BQ.prd)
  
  Will this be sufficient shelter for the tree? I'm thinking that if the tree needs something fully waterproof then I could put something like this up around it?
  
  https://www.amazon.co.uk/VonHaus-Compact-Walk-Greenhouse-Shelves/dp/B01D4RPXY8/ref=sr_1_11?crid=2VV7HRR13CGIQ&keywords=greenhouse+pvc&qid=1643635576&s=outdoors&sprefix=greenhouse+pvc,outdoor,69&sr=1-11
  
  Any advice you've all got would be amazing, thank you!

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• BobTheGardener Posts: 11,385

  January 2022 edited January 2022

  Great news about the weeping!
  

  I must admit that I never bothered to try and cover mine, just picked-off any affected leaves. 
  

  I think the fleece would probably do, especially if you can check that water runs off, if you use a sprinkler or similar from above.  The ideal thing is to keep rain off of the leaves for a few weeks after they appear.  A tall enough walk-in type plastic greenhouse would work too (until the tree grows too large, of course), and you should be able to also use that to overwinter other plants which don't like the wet, as a bonus.
  

  PS: As wind seems to be your main issue, you'll need to tie anything down well - those type are often known as 'blow-aways'!  I also just noticed the cane - you should remove that - those are only to protect it during transport.

  A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  

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• puschkinia Posts: 229

  January 2022

  Hi again @BobTheGardener thanks for the tips! Yeah I've heard those temporary greenhouses can blow away quite easily - I've already lost 2 tree fleeces to the wind so I'll definitely need to invest in good pegs or something I'll test the fleece like you suggested - I've already got them anyway, and partner is not keen on setting up a mini plastic greenhouse in the front garden even though I think it'd be kind of fun  

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• puschkinia Posts: 229

  January 2022

  Oh, and whoops I'll remove the cane too!

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