My flowering peach tree, I just love the pink flowers!

A while ago, I bought a few trees and bushes as a gift to myself after my fourth pregnancy. Both peach and apricot had been on my wishlist for quite some time and I decided to go for both.

The peach is of the variety Riga. It's a self-sowing variety, very hardy and it produces quite a lot of fruits early. That is to say, shortly after the tree has been planted. We only got one single fruit last year. I probably should have removed it to give the tree the opportunity to establish properly instead, but I didn't have the heart to do it.

Espaliering or not?

When I bought the tree, the seller told me about her peach tree at home. It grows freely in the garden, no espaliering necessary. The regular procedure with this type of tree is to grow it along a wall that provides some shelter, often trained and espaliered of course. But her tree actually produced an enormous number of fruits when it was left as it was. So, I changed my plan and decided to let it grow freely instead. I can of course always buy another one and espalier that one if I don't think that the tree grows as it should.

I put the tree in a row of berry bushes in my kitchen garden. The first overwintering (the winter was quite mild though) looks to have worked really well considering how nice my flowering peach tree looks now.

More about peaches: Peach tree with lovely white fruits

The big reason why I work on my peach trees is of course to harvest peaches. But just seeing a flowering peach tree here in zone 3 is pure happiness!

Help to pollinate

When the pink flowers finally bloom, it's time to help the tree pollinate. I use a little brush to spread the pollen and help the pollination process along. Not complicated at all.

I started thinking about something while I was working on the pollination yesterday. Why don't people talk about using this method for other early flowering bushes and trees? There is a whole row of honeyberries right next to the peach after all. But as far as I know, they don't need any extra help to pollinate. How does it work? Is this peach extra sensitive? There are obviously plenty of insects in the garden. But are they the right insects for this peach? Please let me know in the comments below if you know more about this.

Read more about peaches: My 4 favorite peach varieties

Waiting for fruit

All I can do now is wait. If we are lucky, we might just get a bunch of lovely peaches in late summer. The one peach we harvested and shared last year was so good!

I still consider peach to be a quite new addition to my garden. I think I will want to buy another tree of a different variety soon, and maybe espalier it. It's so easy to grow in my garden, that I think we need a little of everything to really make the most out of the space. But I think that makes sense! After all, who can get enough of peaches? Good luck with your flowering peach tree at home!
/Sara Bäckmo