Last updated on December 9th, 2024 at 06:34 am
Best peach tree varieties. A list of peach tree descriptions of the best peach tree varieties. Many peach trees will grow somewhere between 15 and 25 feet tall. All peach trees need at least 6 hours of sunlight anything less and your tree will have a challenging time producing fruit.
Information on Peach Trees
Peach trees will do well in USDA zones 6 through 8. Find your USDA Zone.
The life span of peach trees is about 15 – 20 years. Some peach trees can live longer but the soil, placement, and care of the tree should always be cared for throughout the growing seasons.
What is a freestone peach?
Simply put, it is a peach that when it is sliced, the pit will fall right off. It can also fall off when someone splits it open by hand and eats it right off the tree.
What is a Clingstone peach? The flesh is attached to the peach. This makes it hard for those who want to use them for canning or eating from the tree. However, clingstone refers to peaches that are harder for the pit to come off but are usually juicer and sweeter.
Everyone wants large juicy peaches from their tree. If you want larger fruit from your trees here is an article on how to do just that. “How to grow larger fruit”.
Babcock Prunus persica. A Self-pollinating peach. It is a white peach that is about medium-sized with red skin when peaches are ready for harvesting. A sweet juicy flavor that is good for canning and has excellent taste. It needs about 375 chilling hours to produce good-sized fruit. Produces showy pink flowers in early spring and is Self-fertile.
Peach Trees for the Southwest USA
The Belle of Georgia is a large white flesh with a good firm flavor. Does well in colder regions of the USA. It will ripen in mid-August. Great for canning or eating straight from the tree. Self-pollinating sweet juicy taste.
Bonita Peach Tree – Prunus Bonita. A large red and yellow blushed skin is a heavy bearer in milder climates such as the desert Southwest. Requires about 300 chilling hours for good fruit. Freestone and self-fruiting, Peaches are ready to harvest in late July.
Desert Gold Peach – Medium-sized fruit with yellow and red blush. It is a Semi-Freestone meaning it is fused with another clingstone peach. A hybrid of two peach trees. A good peach tree for the Southwest USA as long as there are at least 300-350 chilling hours in your area. Self-pollinating but best to plant another variety nearby for the best results.
Earligrande – A medium to large-sized fruit, firm and with a great flavor. Fine texture and semi-freestone a heavy producer of peaches. Good mild winter peach tree. Also, good for the hot Southwestern sun. Ripens in late May. Needs about 275 chilling hours.
A good Medium-sized peach with dark red blush is the Early Amber Peach. Excellent flavor and firm, fine texture. Semi-freestone. Will do best in regions that have mild winters. Does well in and around the American Southwest. It will ripen in May.
The Elberta peach – A large, elongated peach with gold flesh that will turn a red color when the sun hits its flesh. Extremely sweet and firm, great for canning or eating right off the tree. Does extremely well in colder regions of the Southwestern USA. Needs about 800 chilling hours.
Best peach tree varieties for New Mexico
Hale Haven – Large fruit with orange-yellow skin and some red blush. Firm peaches and best to eat right off the tree. A freestone peach does well in well-drained soil. Self-pollinating and will do extremely well in zones 6-8. Good for canning too. Furthermore, it provides beautiful bright pink blooms in early spring.
The Harvester Peach Tree – It does well during winter seasons and produces a lot of peaches. A really good peach tree for backyard fruit tree enthusiasts. Semi-sweet taste. Needs about 750 chilling hours. Ripe at about late June or early October.
Red Haven – A large-sized peach with a red and yellow blush color. A sweet firm taste, freestone when it ripens normally in late June, A good canning peach. It needs about 900 hours of chilling time. The Red Haven is a hardy Peach tree that produces lots of peaches and tolerates colder climates.
The Reliance – A fast-growing peach tree with a light blush over yellow skin and firmness. Excellent taste and will blossom in late spring. This peach tree is a hardy tree for regions with at least 750 chilling hours. Freestone and self-pollinating.
Rio Grande – Another large peach with a medium to fine texture. Very juicy and has a bit of an acid taste. Great for canning it blooms in early June. It needs about 350-400 chilling hours. This peach tree does well in the lower elevations of the Southwest USA. It is self-pollinating and a clingstone peach.
Rio Oso Gem – Large fruit with firm yellow flesh. Red at the pit. A good-tasting peach and will ripen in mid-August. Will pollinate the J.H. Hale peach tree. A really good peach for making pies, canning, and eating right from the tree. An Heirloom species. Needs about 900 chilling hours. A peach tree that is hard to find at most nurseries or garden stores. If you find one, I highly recommend you purchase it.
A peach that produces lots of fruit is the Rubidoux Peach. A large, red-blushed peach will produce lots of peaches around the first or second year of planting. It only needs about 350 chilling hours. A good, sweet flavor. It will ripen in late August. It is self-pollinating.
The Santa Barbara peach tree. Large peaches Yellow fleshed freestone and red near the pit. Oval and a very sweet flavorful-tasting peach. Only needs about 200 chilling hours. It will ripen in early July.
Tropic Snow is a small to medium-sized peach. With white flesh and extremely sweet to taste. Another freestone peach that ripens in early May. It needs only about 200 chilling hours.
Dwarf Peach Trees
The following Dwarf Peach Trees have been genetically modified. Furthermore, all are self-fertile.
Dwarf Peach Trees produce lots of peaches and are much easier to harvest when peaches are ready. The varieties below will do well in dry hot climates.
A gorgeous dwarf peach is the Bonanza Peach. Beautiful bright deep pink blossoms in mid-spring. A large yellow skin and red blush freestone peach. It ft is excellent for the Southwest desert areas. It will not surpass 6 feet in height. Needs about 500 chilling hours.
The Bonfire Dwarf Peach tree is another tree that blooms pink blossoms in spring. There is a patent for this peach No. 8509. This one has been genetically modified meaning it was grafted with another type of fruit tree. Needs 400 chilling hours. You can learn about budding and grafting. read more here.
Guzman’s Garden Centers will have most of these peach trees available during the spring season.
