[dbrosa04]

I planted a peach tree about 5 years ago and it is growing very well. Has a nice shape and looks like a real healthy tree but I still have not gotten a single peach off it. What is wrong?

[KUXJ]

Hi! Dbrosa, and Welcome to AMHD :)

Don't despair, we can figure this out, but we'll need more info to get there. My Dad's apple trees were barren for six years before they gave him fruit.
It's not unusual for fruit trees to take longer to propagate in a yard.

Peach Trees can be one of the harder fruit trees to grow, think particular in their care and cultivation, and any of the other pests/disease's that can affect other trees seen to hit them harder.

Two questions I'd like to get out of the way are:
Did you purchase this tree from a Nursery? Or did you plant a pit after you ate the fruit or it was given to you?
And, are you getting blossoms?

In the mean time, go over these two sites, Peach Growers' Handbook Table of Contents | Entomology, at CAES | UGA, and...
Peaches: their care and cultivation | Flower & Garden Magazine | Find Articles at BNET.

See if they jog your memory. Peaches Love a lot of Sun :p / Don't like Shade :(

Hang in there, I'll be checking back

[KUXJ]

Hi! Dbrosa,

This is a good read The case of the fruitless fruit tree ANR@MSU
Another is Growing Fruit Trees

Peaches are Self-fruitful with the exception of J.H. Hale variety which has to be pollinated by another variety.
Even so, if you are getting blossoms it would increase your chances if you had one more tree.

Something else to consider... Either one of your blossoms could be sterile.
A lite hearted look at pollination My Tiny Plot Blog Archive Come on Bees, Requesting Back Up

[dbrosa04]

We have the tree planted in full sun. it gets no blooms. We bought it from a nursery and it looks to be very healthy- it is a hale haven peach tree. We are located in Iowa

[KUXJ]

I'm afraid you will have to wait another year for fruit.

Taken from this site:
CHILLING REQUIREMENTS OF SELECTED PEACH VARIETIES
Once the chilling requirement is met any warm period during the remainder of the winter will cause peach trees to prematurely bloom, and the blossoms will be killed by the next freezing temperature.

This includes buds. Which can be hard to notice.

Although the Hale Haven is not listed, J.H. Hale is, and it needs 850hrs at or below 45° which translates to 35.4 days.

So, if you have 1 month and 4.5 days at or below 45°, get a January thaw in Iowa, and then it freezes again. You won't have J.H. Hales.

Here's a link that tells you to use a baseball bat!
Orchards and gardens: how to make fruit bearing trees bear more fruit
It has to do with putting the tree in a defensive mode... If it thinks its under attack, it'll produce more blossoms = more fruit = more seeds.

You also have to watch when, and how you prune the trees... usually in the fall. Do it in the spring and your cutting all the buds off.

[chuckhole]

My stone fruits suffer the same problem. I have had a late freeze the past two springs after they started blooming. Arrgh. Well the "tree rats" and the raccoons would have gotten them anyway.

[jeepcarker]

dbrosa04,

I think one of the first things to check is the chill hours for your tree. If you have a 200 chill hour tree, and you live in an area with a long cold winter, you will not get fruit. If you have a 1000 chill hour tree, and you in an area with short mild winters you will not get fruit. I live in Alvin Texas, and all my peach trees are 200 to 250 chill hour trees, and I get good fruit every year.

Joe

[treeguy1225]

No one seemed to mention a good fertilization program to improve overall health... a customer of mine had a plum tree that did not fruit... after I did the first spring fertilizer she had a good number of fruit. This was a 15 year old tree but it could be just what a young tree needs to produce fruit.