Overloaded peach tree

[Debbie292d]

This is about a 6-year-old peach tree. Last year it bore normal sized and delicious peaches.

This year, they are half the size, still green, and one branch has broken already.
We should have thinned them had we known but raising peach trees in Wisconsin isn't a common thing. We just planted it, fertilize it every year, and it took off.

We're thinking of picking half the fruit, albeit not ripe yet, to save the branches and the rest. Is that what we should do?

 

[ChicNmom]

A lot of people here prop up the branches. I'd also pick off the smallest peaches or any that have a blemish.

 

[Debbie292d]

A lot of people here prop up the branches. I'd also pick off the smallest peaches or any that have a blemish.

Thank you.

We're going to have to look up pruning it this fall, too, as all I ever did was plant and fertilize it, assuming it wouldn't make it through winter. It had the best peaches last year, so I sure should have learned more about it before it got to this point! Thanks again!

 

[HollowOfWisps]

A lot of peach tree farms actually grow the trees on a trellis. As you mentioned it needed to be pruned. Peach trees have to be pruned at least once a year sometimes they will even do it twice because the fruit is so heavy. You could pick the fruit to help ease the weight, I personally would trellis it especially since it wasn’t pruned.

 

[21hens-incharge]

We thinned the daylights out of ours when it was loaded heavy. We left one peach every 8-10 inches and even then had to prop up some branches.

Sadly the power company relocated the overhead line to directly above it so I had to remove it or have bigger issues.
We planted 2 new ones away from the line.

What variety do you have that has done so well in Wisconsin?

 

[saysfaa]

Yes, thin to 8-10 inches apart even if it means taking 3/4 of them off.