Emerging From Dormancy

• Once temperatures begin to warm up in the spring, the leaf and flower buds on peach trees start to swell. This is the bud swell stage. Once the peach trees begin to come out of dormancy, it is important to keep an eye on the temperature. A cold burst can cause the buds to abort. As the buds continue to swell, they begin to open, exposing the green leaf tissue. This is the bud burst stage. Shortly after this the peach tree leaf tissue emerges, signaling that the flowering stage is about to commence.
  
  

Flowering

• Once the peach tree leaves begin to open, the flower buds emerge. These buds swell and grow into an elongated shape. Once the flower buds reach their mature size, the flowers begin to bloom. At first only a few flowers open. This is referred to as the first bloom stage. Over the next week the rest of the flower buds on the peach tree open. This is the full bloom stage. It is important for pollinators to have easy access to the flowers at this stage for successful fruit set to occur.
  
  

Fruiting

• The next stage is the fruiting stage. The beginning of this growing stage takes place once the flower petals begin to fall off the tree. To find out if pollination took place, look carefully at the area where the flowers were. At the end of the flower stem you should notice a small brown oval-shaped swollen area. This is the shuck and it looks very similar to a seed pod. The fruit is beginning to grow inside the shuck. As the fruit grows, the shuck splits, exposing the green fruit. As the peach continues to grow, it pushes the shuck off the blossom end. The fruiting stage comes to an end once the peaches are ready to harvest. The easiest way to determine this is to wait until the fruit looks like a peach then gently lift one of the fruits up towards the tree branch it is attached to. If the peach comes off in your hand, it is time to pick. If the fruit does not come off the tree, leave it on the tree a little longer.
  
  

Winter Dormancy

• Once autumn arrives, peach trees begin to drop their leaves in preparation for winter dormancy. During the beginning of the dormancy stage, peach trees rest. Peach trees are temperate plants that require a chilling period. This is why peach trees do not grow in tropical climates. The cold temperatures trigger the peach trees to produce certain chemicals that build up in the tree and then signal the tree that it is time for it to start growing again. Once the peach tree receives this signal, tight buds form along the branches and remain in that state until it is time for the peach tree to emerge from the dormancy stage.