When you think about peach trees, your mind will normally drift to the succulent, juicy fruits that these trees produce.
But where there is fruit, there has to be flowers and if you’re a proud peach tree owner then you’ll have noticed how beautiful peach tree blooms are.
Peach trees tend to flower between three and five months before they fruit.
But there can be a lot of variation in this since the temperature of the previous winter and the variety of peach tree both play a part in when it blooms.
People who grow peach trees often want to get them to flower much sooner and there are ways you can do this.
In This Guide – We’ll look at how to boost your peach tree blooms and tell you everything you need to know about these flowering trees.
Table of Contents
Do Ornamental Peach Trees Produce Fruit?
Gardeners include ornamental peach trees in their outdoor space primarily for their flowers and their color.
However, there is a very good chance that these trees will also produce fruit.
There are single and double flowering peach trees but the single petal trees more commonly produce fruit.
The problem with most ornamental peach trees is that, while they are beautiful, the quality of the fruit is often not as good as fruiting trees.
When Do Peach Trees Blossom?
It can take quite some time for a new peach tree to start blooming.
In some cases, you might be waiting for three or four years. Taking excellent care of your peach tree and a little patience go a long way.
Once the tree begins blooming, you can typically expect this to happen between three and five months before the tree fruits.
But there are so many variables to this and each tree will be different. As you care for yours, you’ll get to know what’s normal for it.
For the Most Part – The tree will bloom in spring but whether this is early or late spring will depend a lot on the conditions of the previous winter.
Peach trees need to accumulate ‘chill hours’ and these are hours where the tree has been exposed to temperatures at or below 45ºF.
Generally speaking, a healthy peach tree will need to work up to as many as 600 to 900 chill hours before it will successfully blossom.
When spring comes around, the number of accumulated chill hours will determine how many flowers the tree produces and how many of these actually open up.
While this can be hit and miss, it’s important to choose the right variety of peach tree.
If you live in a much colder area, then choosing a peach tree that requires a higher number of chill hours is OK.
But if you live in a warm climate, try to find one that doesn’t need as many chill hours or the chances are that it won’t blossom.
Getting Your Peach Tree To Bloom More Quickly
When those gorgeous peach tree blooms come through, it can add a stunning splash of color to your backyard.
But if you don’t take really good care of your tree then it isn’t going to produce those beautiful flowers.
The following tips will help you to take the best care of your tree and may also encourage faster and denser blossom production.
Prune Your Peach Tree
If you want your peach tree to produce as many flowers as possible then you’ll need to make sure you stay on top of pruning it.
Not only will this encourage blooms but it will also contribute to the overall healthy growth of the tree.
When it gets to the end of fall, perhaps just going into winter, you will need to take a look at your peach tree and figure out which branches are in need of pruning:
- Choose ones that are broken or look as though they’re not far off breaking as these can hog moisture and nutrients but are not likely to flower.
- If there are any branches that show signs of disease, they should also be removed.
- As branches get older, they may cover new growth which won’t get the sun exposure they need so getting rid of old branches is always a good idea.
- The more old growth you can eradicate, the more fresh growth will occur.
But your tree care where pruning is concerned doesn’t end there.
When spring comes around, you’ll need to be ready to trim any new shoots and tackle any old branches that you didn’t back in the fall.
It might sound counterproductive to remove that new growth but just keep in mind that the tree is going to produce lots more growth over the course of the season so you need to keep everything in control.
If not, the tree won’t be as healthy and those flowers aren’t as likely to come through.
What’s More – New limbs aren’t going to produce any flowers as it’s typically those that have been there for more than 12 months that will bloom.
So, grab those pruning shears and tackle the tree as necessary. When you do this, any nutrients and water will be sent to the areas of the tree that are going to produce flowers.
Feed Your Peach Tree
Making sure that your peach tree is well fertilized is also super important in your quest to bring out those beautiful blooms.
The best time to do this is at the beginning of spring as the weather won’t have warmed up too much.
It’s important not to add fertilizer once the flowers have bloomed as this will be too late.
The best thing to use to feed your peach tree is a fertilizer with a low nitrogen content.
These products always tend to encourage better and bigger flowers. Something with a 5-10-10 rating will be just fine.
Water Your Peach Tree
As well as food, your peach tree is going to need water if it is going to thrive.
But what’s interesting about peach tree care is that, instead of cold water, you’ll want to give the tree warm water.
Keep an eye out for the flower buds starting to come through and when you notice this, use warm water to hydrate the roots of your peach tree.
The reason for this is that, while the buds will germinate during cold weather, they need warmth before they will fully flower.
For the most part, when the tree flowers will be down to the weather but by using warm water, you may be able to give things a little bit of a boost.
It won’t be by much so don’t expect miracles but every little helps, as they say.
We would advise you to proceed with caution when watering your tree this way as there are a lot of people that use water that’s too hot.
NEVER try to water your peach tree using boiling water in the belief that it’ll neutralize the temperature of the soil. This won’t work, it will simply cause damage to the tree and discourage those blooms you’re trying to bring through.
Keep And Eye On The Weather
As we have mentioned, the weather has a lot to do with when your peach tree will blossom.
Years where the last frost is later will not yield as good results as years where spring is warmer from the start.
The problem is that you can encourage the tree to flower early but if there is a frost, this will just kill those flowers off.
For this reason, it’s essential to keep an eye on the long term weather forecast as this will tell you how best to approach the situation.
Conclusion
Peach trees not only produce delicious and juicy fruits but they also yield gorgeous flowers giving your garden a stunning floral display during spring.
These typically come out between three and five months before the fruit but there are factors that can affect this.
Providing the best care for your peach tree will ensure the brightest and most beautiful peach tree blooms.
But keep in mind nature and the weather have the final say, you can only try to encourage your tree.
