When to plant peach trees in Burns, OR

Peach leaf curl and how to beat it

Peach leaf curl is a fungus that infects swelling buds during cool, wet weather in late winter. The leaves come out red, thick and puckered, then drop, and repeated attacks weaken the tree. It's the main reason peaches struggle west of the Cascades.

Planting a curl-resistant variety like Frost, Q-1-8 or Charlotte is the easiest answer. Many growers also spray copper fungicide once leaves have fallen in late fall and again before buds swell in late winter. Keeping winter and spring rain off the tree, with a roof overhang or a simple cover, works too, because the fungus needs wet buds to infect.

Pruning for fruit every year

Peaches fruit only on shoots that grew the previous summer. A tree that isn't pruned produces less new wood each year, and the fruit moves out to the tips of the branches. Prune every late winter to an open, vase-like shape, removing about a third to half of last year's growth so new shoots keep coming.

Peaches set far more fruit than they can size up. Thin young peaches to 6 to 8 inches apart when they're about the size of a marble. The crop looks smaller, but the peaches are bigger, sweeter and less likely to break branches.

East vs west of the Cascades

Peaches need summer heat to grow sweet fruit. The hot valleys east of the Cascades grow excellent peaches, including Redhaven, but cold winters and spring frosts can kill buds, so avoid low frost pockets. West of the mountains, put peaches in your hottest, sunniest spot and stick to curl-resistant varieties. Peach tree borers, which tunnel into the base of the trunk and leave gummy sawdust, are a pest on both sides.