Redhaven peach

Sun

Full sun, with at least 6-8 hours of direct light daily; choose a warm, sheltered position in cooler climates.

Water

Water deeply during dry spells, especially while establishing and while fruit is swelling; avoid waterlogged soil.

Soil

Fertile, well-drained loam, ideally pH 6.0-7.0; avoid heavy, persistently wet ground.

Height

12-20 ft (3.7-6.1 m) on vigorous rootstocks; dwarfing rootstocks and pruning can keep it smaller.

Spread

12-20 ft (3.7-6.1 m), depending on rootstock and training.

Flowers

Pink flowers in early to mid-spring, before or as the leaves emerge; flowers are vulnerable to frost.

Foliage

Long, narrow, pointed green leaves, sometimes turning yellow in autumn.

Growth

Moderate to fast when young.

Care needed

High

• Pollinators
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife
• Low allergen
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Hard

Toughness

Needs looking after

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   7 ft (2 m)

2. After 1 year

   7 ft (2.2 m)

3. After 2 years

   8 ft (2.4 m)

4. After 3 years

   8 ft (2.5 m)

5. After 5 years

   10 ft (2.9 m)

About 16 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Growth rate

Fast

• Water newly planted trees deeply whenever the root zone begins to dry; continue watering established trees during prolonged dry spells.
• Apply a balanced fruit-tree fertiliser in early spring according to the label; reduce feeding if growth is excessively leafy.
• Spread 2-3 in (5-8 cm) of organic mulch over the root area, keeping it clear of the trunk.
• Thin young peaches to about 6-8 in (15-20 cm) apart after the natural fruit drop to improve size and reduce branch breakage.
• Keep grass and weeds away from the trunk, and protect young trunks from rabbits and other browsing animals.
• Cover flowering branches with horticultural fleece during forecast frosts, removing it during the day for pollinators.

Pruning. Prune annually around flowering or in early summer during dry weather, particularly in cool, damp climates where winter pruning increases disease risk. Train an open-centred tree or wall fan, removing crowded and damaged branches and renewing fruiting shoots because peaches bear mainly on the previous year's growth.

Pick peaches in midsummer, often July-August in the Northern Hemisphere and January-February in the Southern Hemisphere, with timing varying by climate. Harvest when the background skin changes from green to yellow, the fruit smells fragrant and yields slightly to gentle pressure; lift and twist carefully rather than pulling. Grafted trees usually give their first worthwhile crop about 2-4 years after planting.

Winter

Plant bare-root trees while dormant if the ground is workable; choose a sunny position away from frost pockets.

Late winter

Where peach leaf curl is recurrent, put a rain shelter over a wall-trained tree before buds open, leaving the sides ventilated.

Early spring

Feed and refresh mulch; protect blossom on frosty nights and uncover it during the day.

Spring

Prune around flowering in dry weather, keeping the centre open and retaining well-spaced young fruiting shoots.

Late spring

Thin developing fruit after the natural drop, leaving about 6-8 in (15-20 cm) between peaches.

Summer

Water during dry weather, support heavily laden branches if needed and harvest fruit as it ripens.

Autumn

Remove fallen diseased leaves and any shrivelled fruit remaining on the tree or ground.

• Grow as a small orchard tree with enough space around it for pruning, picking and good airflow.
• Train as a fan against a sunny wall to improve ripening and make blossom protection easier in cool climates.
• Use as a productive focal tree in an edible garden, with low herbs beyond its clear, mulched root area.
• Combine with other fruit trees in a home orchard, spacing crowns so they do not shade one another.

Garden styles it suits: Backyard orchard, Edible landscape, Potager (kitchen garden), Homestead, Cottage garden and Food forest.

Plant it with: Chives, Thyme, Oregano, Calendula and Sweet alyssum.

Wildlife: Flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees. Birds, squirrels and other mammals may take ripe fruit; if netting is needed, use wildlife-safe netting secured tightly to a frame.

• Peach leaf curl causes thickened, red, distorted leaves: shelter trained trees from winter and early-spring rain, choose an airy site and, where needed, use a locally approved dormant treatment before buds open.
• Brown rot turns ripening fruit soft and brown, often with pale spore patches: remove infected and mummified fruit promptly, thin crowded fruit and prune for airflow.
• Peach tree borers can cause gum mixed with sawdust-like debris near the trunk base: inspect regularly, avoid trunk injury and seek locally appropriate treatment because the pests and controls vary by region.
• Spring frost can kill flowers despite the tree surviving winter: avoid low-lying frost pockets and cover blossom during cold nights.

The ripe flesh is edible. Leaves, stems and the kernels inside the stones contain cyanogenic compounds and can seriously poison people, cats, dogs and horses if eaten; wilted leaves are a particular risk to livestock. Do not eat or crush the kernels, and keep fallen stones away from pets because they can also cause choking or intestinal blockage.

• Nectarine (Prunus persica, nectarine cultivars)

  The tree and flowers are very similar, but nectarines have smooth fruit skin rather than peach fuzz.

• Apricot (Prunus armeniaca)

  Apricots have broader, rounded leaves and generally smaller yellow-orange fruit; peach leaves are long and narrow.

• Other peach cultivars (Prunus persica)

  Many peaches look much like Redhaven. Ripening season and fruit traits can help, but a reliable nursery label or propagation record is needed to confirm the cultivar.

Prunus is the Latin name for plum, while persica means 'Persian', reflecting the peach's historical association with Persia although the species originated in China.

Propagation. Propagate by budding or grafting onto a suitable peach-compatible rootstock. Seedlings will not reliably retain Redhaven's fruit quality, size or ripening time.

Accepted botanical name

Prunus persica

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Canada, the lower 48 states and US Virgin Islands.

Native range

China North-Central.

Measured

Average height 640 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.