Peaches

A beautiful tree produces this soft fleshy fruit!

Growing this fruit is for you if you have a warm wall that faces south, as peaches need both warmth and shelter. Get a container-grown or bare-rooted tree from a garden centre and plant the base of the tree about 22cm away from the wall so it can expand. Plant the tree in a 60cm deep and 90cm wide hole. This allows the roots to have plenty of soil to get stuck into. If planting multiple trees, space them at least 3.5m apart.

It’s best to plant peaches in the autumn, as the soil will still be warm from the summer heat, and regular showers will prevent drought. Towards the end of the winter, after planting, mulch around the bottom of the tree to provide key nutrients and to help the soil retain moisture. When the tree starts to blossom, these must be protected from frost to produce fruit, so cover it with fleece on particularly cold nights. Thoroughly water the tree daily for fruits to properly swell and become fleshy. When the stalk softens, they are ready to be picked.

Top tips

 – If the peach tree needs extra support, you can use bamboo canes as stakes along with horizontal wire supports to hold it in place.

 – To get larger peaches, thin the tree a couple of times to leave fewer fruits. Any that are facing the wall in the shade should be removed too as these won’t swell.

 – Avoid too much, or irregular watering when the fruit is ripening to avoid the skin splitting.

Key timings