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aklinda

Do peaches grow well in NM?

aklinda
18 years ago

Hi all,

Do peaches grow well in the Albuquerque area, more specifically Bosque Farms? If so, are they prone to any problems in the area? Thanks for any and all info.

Comments (4)

  • abqpalms
    17 years ago

    Hi!

    In my personal experience and in talking to others, yes, peaches do VERY well in the Albuquerque area.

    I have a Belle of the South peach tree in my back yard in a pretty sunny area against a west-facing wooden fence, and it does incredibly well.

    Now, I am in a Northeast Heights area of Albuquerque, which is a pretty warm area - a pretty solid 7b zone where I am. Bosque Farms may be a bit colder...I really do not know the climate of BF. I do know though that in the Albuquerque area, the areas very close to the river - the Valley areas - are much cooler in nighttime lows than the Heights areas are.

    Anyway, I would think you'd have a good experience with peaches too, hopefully, in BF. Here are two tips I have learned with mine:

    a) Try at all costs to freeze the tree with hose-water during a prolonged warm late-winter stretch. Peach trees are very prone after a long warm stretch in late winter (which is pretty common in this area) to come out of dormancy and to start producing their blossoms. It it does that, and then we get a night with a hard freeze, it can very prematurely kill the blossoms. However, if you are proactive and try freezing the tree in these times BEFORE blossoms sprout (similar to what they do in Florida with their citrus trees when a freeze is anticipated), it will keep it in dormancy longer and the blossoms then will hopefully come after our last hard freeze.

    *This year, we had such a warm stretch in late Feb., that I missed my chance to get it to freeze, and it blossomed like crazy. However, by using Christmas lights and tons of burlap wrap, I actually saved most of the blossoms. However, it was an incredible pain in the rear that way! :) Much better to keep it blossom-free until at least late March. All of this, of course, is to maximize fruit production in summer.

    b) As with many plants in this region, you do have to keep up with watering on peach trees. They are not necessarily "water guzzlers", however, especially in the heat of April through October, they will need regular watering.

    But yes, with our warm days, bountiful sunshine, etc., if you water regularly and try to keep the blossoms to not bloom prematurely, peach trees do wonderfully here, and can really give off some great quantities of good fruit in the summers!

  • frdnicholas
    17 years ago

    I have a nectarine tree that is still in bloom. How much water are you giving your peach tree now? How will that change as the temperature starts climbing?

  • aklinda
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    What do you mean by "freeze the tree"? Do you mean to really give the ground a good soaking or do you mean to hose down the tree? Thanks for the info.

  • abq_bob
    17 years ago

    I haven't had a problem with my peach blossoms freezing... but I have seen people "freeze" their trees up North, usually on apricots though, since they bloom so much earlier than peaches. And they just freeze the canopy, not the roots or main trunk.

    As for watering, mine gets a good watering now about once a week or week and a half, depends on how warm/dry it is. By the heat of summer it's up to three times a week. Like Monday, Wed, Fri, on a timer. I'll skip Wed. if everything looks like it's doing OK. There are other plants around the peach-tree, so really I'm watering for them and the peach just happens to get watered at the same time.

    As for types, I have a "Late Elberta." It's a summer producer (July/August), and a sweet freestone variety. I wanted one mainly for fresh-eating, not preserving/canning. I'm located in Albuquerque, Taylor Ranch area, not too sure how that relates to BF, you might be more prone to bloom-blasting freezes if you're near the valley floor (?).

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