Planting a peach pit, who has not tried to plant fruit pits hoping one day to get beautiful fruit trees and especially good fruit. Planting a peach pit is not very complicated and especially fun. But the results can be very unpredictable.
Here are some tips on how to plant a stone, at what time of the year to do it and especially how to maintain your plantations once the stones are potted, and how to be patient.
Contents
Why plant peach pits?
First of all, because it’s economical! A tree grown this way will not have cost you anything. Interesting.
Secondly, because you may wish to have in your garden a particular variety, very tasty, but whose name you don’t know, or that you can’t find any more at the growers, because its commercialization is abandoned.
Finally, if you are fond of grafting, it is also a way to easily obtain rootstocks for your small trials…
When to plant peach pits?
Obviously, it is necessary to recover the pits of the fruits you like. So let’s start with the second half of the summer, with the months of August and September.
Which variety of peach to grow?
One peach is not worth another. This is true in terms of taste, but it is also true in terms of processing: jams, pies, fruit in jars, etc. So many uses to think about according to your desires to better choose the peach that suits you.
Put all this in perspective if, later on, you wish to plant your sprouted pit.
Select the right peach variety
Some “newer” varieties are not stable in their genetic makeup. This means that sprouting the pit of one of these peaches may result in a tree bearing fruit that is significantly – and sometimes radically – different from the original.
Choose old varieties that no longer vary from one germination to the next to be sure of the fruit you will get.
The Peach Vine: juicy and fragrant, it appreciates a sheltered and sunny exposure and calcareous soils. It fears the wind and late frosts. Its harvest is spread out from June to September.
The Queen of the Orchards: it gives beautiful red fruits with white flesh, adapts to all geographical areas. Its harvest takes place from August to September.
Grosse Mignonne: is characterized by a very large fruit. Its tree is productive and not very difficult on the exposure, its fruit ripens at the end of August.
The Teton of Venus: its flesh is delicate, it adapts to the hot and light grounds. Appreciates the southern exposure. It ripens in September.
Madeleine de Courson : has a firm and vinous flesh. It ripens at the beginning of September.
How to plant peach pits ?
1. Choose the variety of peach you want to plant
Know one thing: just because you plant the pit of a particular variety of peach does not mean that the tree you will get will be faithful to the original. This is more specifically the case for recent peach varieties that do not yet have a stable genetic heritage.
For this reason, prefer old varieties, such as the vine peach or the queen of the orchards, to be sure of the result you will obtain. However, if you like surprises, feel free to plant newer varieties!
2. Clean the pit
Once you’ve selected a peach (preferably ripe), remove the pit and clean it thoroughly with a stiff brush and clean water. The reason? To prevent mold from developing because of the remaining pulp around the pit.
Then let the core air dry for about 10 days.
3. Put it in the ground
Once the core is dry, it is time to put it in the ground. To do this, get a clay pot with a diameter of at least 4 inches and pour 1 inch of gravel or clay balls into it.
This step is essential because it will ensure drainage and prevent water from stagnating at the bottom of the pot. Then add a mixture of 2/3 sand and 1/3 moist potting soil over 2 inches. Place the peach pit and cover with soil.
Note that to give yourself the best chance, you can do the same operation with a larger pot and with several peach pits! However, if one of them succeeds in germinating, don’t forget to remove all the others.
4. Keep it cold
To see a peach tree appear from a peach pit, it is recommended to carry out the planting at the end of the summer, in August or September. Indeed, the duration of germination of a stone is from 6 to 9 months. This means that the planted core will germinate in spring.
During the winter, it is therefore necessary to store the pot outside (or to put it in the refrigerator), by taking care that the ground remains always wet. Indeed, the seeds need the cold to germinate.
In spring, you will have to take it outside and place it in a sunny and warm place, protected from the wind. Again, be sure to keep the soil moist!
5. Transplant the peach tree to its final location
Once the pit has germinated and the peach tree has reached 12 inches in height, it is time to find its final place in the garden.
Generally, this is done in the fall.
To transplant it, move it with its root ball to preserve its roots and plant it in the ground. Then, make sure to cut the leaves and branches growing at the bottom of the trunk. The objective? To promote the growth of the tree.
Normally, within 3 to 5 years, you will be able to harvest your first fruits and enjoy good little peaches!
When will the peach pits produce?
The first fruits can appear on a young tree from seedlings from the third year. Be careful! The peach tree is fragile: a cold spell on the young flowers, and goodbye promise of harvest…
