Joined: Feb 01, 2006 Posts: 480 Location: Northern US
Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:48 am Post subject: Re: Citrus and Peach trees
There are a few ways to check your trees after a freeze.
Take a small fruiting shoot into the house and place it in a glass of water. Check it over the next several days to see if the blooms and fruit continue to mature.
On the tree, pull a few of the tiny developing peaches and cut them open with either a small knife or your fingernail. If the very center (the developing seed) is green you are fine. If the center is brown, that one will not survive. _________________ "...the problem is today we have unknown unknowns."
Dominique Strauss-Kahn; IMF chief
Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5434 Location: Oklahoma
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:35 pm Post subject: Re: Citrus and Peach trees
My mom's peaches (near Tyler, TX) were lost this year to a late frost.
BUT I'm glad this thread got bumped, because I've been meaning to thank you for the citrus idea! Our local (TX, not OK) Kroger had a bunch of Texas grown citrus trees for great prices the other day, and I picked up 3. I got a Mexican lime, a blood orange, and a Satsuma mandarin . I would've gotten a lemon but they were sold out. They're in my atrium in OK right now, in great shape so far. Obviously they'll need winter protection. _________________ "Every junkie's like a setting sun..." - Neil Young
Joined: Sep 16, 2004 Posts: 4454 Location: Southwest WI
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:35 am Post subject: Re: Citrus and Peach trees
Ended up planting 4 peaches grown from seed yesterday. My older trees are starting to show a tiny bit of green on the buds. Looks like they should be opening in a week or so?
This year is later then last year, so it will be interesting to see when the fruit ripens. Last year it was right around Aug 1.
Just read that this has been the coldest spring since 1996, although yesterday was 71F and today should be 76F.
PO'er-
Do you mulch around your peaches at all? It seems like its just grass or something? I've got a thick layer of woodchips around mine, but once they get older, i'd like to stop piling on woodchips every year. _________________ "Oil is going up because we use too much oil, and the capacity to replace reserves is dwindling"
-President Bush 11/07/07
Joined: Nov 18, 2004 Posts: 1090 Location: Central Texas
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:06 am Post subject: Re: Citrus and Peach trees
frankthetank wrote:
PO'er-
Do you mulch around your peaches at all? It seems like its just grass or something? I've got a thick layer of woodchips around mine, but once they get older, i'd like to stop piling on woodchips every year.
Yes, there is some mulch around each tree, but I need to re-dig and add some more.
Shanny: Sorry to read your mom's peaches got hit by a late freeze. Some of the early bloomers I showed above got some frost too. But this is what I've learned: plant a lot of them so not all of your "eggs are in one basket!"
Even though I've counted almost 150 peaches, I'm guessing that up to a third of them will be lost to high winds, birds, bugs, and the tree's natural thinning process.
Frank: Please post some pics to show us your progress. _________________ About my avatar: Guess.
Joined: Dec 25, 2005 Posts: 577 Location: Hillsboro, West Virginia
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:50 am Post subject: Re: Citrus and Peach trees
I have two peach trees. No actual citrus. The peach trees are in bloom now, but both are still young. One is growing faster than the other, and maybe this one will make a few peaches this year... if it doesn't freeze again of course.
My tart drinks will come mostly from staghorn sumac, which grows wild in great abundance in this part of the West Virginia hills. You nip off the red flower torchies in late July and soak 'em in water, then strain off the hairs (and sometimes bugs) to make pink sumacade. But in about a month, late May, I'll be getting edible shoots off some of the sumacs. Sumac shoots are one of those forageables that you can get in my area.
Joined: Nov 18, 2004 Posts: 1090 Location: Central Texas
Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 8:07 pm Post subject: Re: Citrus and Peach trees
A few survived. Here's one of them:
About a week or so ago, a storm came through, mainly wind and not much rain, and hammered my peach trees. Last year I harvested over 230 peaches. This year I may be lucky to get 25. The late freeze on the early bloomers certainly didn't help the yield this year.
The citrus, on the other hand, are doing well. Here's some of the lemons that will be ready this winter.
_________________ About my avatar: Guess.
Last edited by PeakOiler on Wed May 14, 2008 7:05 pm; edited 1 time in total
Joined: Sep 16, 2004 Posts: 4454 Location: Southwest WI
Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 9:03 pm Post subject: Re: Citrus and Peach trees
You really did take a hit. Wow.
I had 11 flowers, but am unsure how many will set fruit. If i can get a few large ripe peaches, its better then nothing.
Mine were killed off by the horrible winter weather. Also had a lot of dead wood on 3 of my young trees. The older tree didn't have very much dead wood, but only had 4 flowers! _________________ "Oil is going up because we use too much oil, and the capacity to replace reserves is dwindling"
-President Bush 11/07/07
Joined: Jan 03, 2005 Posts: 1185 Location: western Wisconsin
Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 9:21 am Post subject: Re: Citrus and Peach trees
I'm about 100 miles north of Frank, and my peaches are just leafing out. The wild plums are in blossom, and smell great, though. I have a few seedling peaches that I should have transplanted last year, and I purchased a Reliance peach that is in the ground. My other seedling peaches are looking good, so far. We had frost a couple of nights ago, lost some tomatoes that were sitting in a tray outside but others sitting 20 feet away were okay. I'm glad that nothing much was blossoming in the orchard.
Joined: Sep 16, 2004 Posts: 4454 Location: Southwest WI
Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 11:17 am Post subject: Re: Citrus and Peach trees
Jim-
Weird... My plums were in bloom about 2 weeks ago and all the petals have fallen off by now... Them being a Superior and an Alderman. My apple tree open its first blossom yesterday, and now today has all kinds open. Very pretty and smells great. I plan on baggings these.
Pruned all my peaches yesterday (removing mostly dead wood). Looks like i should be able to put on a lot of new wood this year, so hopefully if winter turns around then i'll have a lot of 2 year wood ready to fruit _________________ "Oil is going up because we use too much oil, and the capacity to replace reserves is dwindling"
-President Bush 11/07/07
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Obviously they'll need winter protection.
