Imagine stepping outside your door into the summer sun and picking fresh peaches to bake a fresh peach cobbler or make home-made peach ice cream. Sounds good doesn’t it? Well, if you live in zones five through eight, you can grow your own peach trees and make some of these sweet, delicious summer time peach desserts for yourself!
If there’s no more room left in your tummy for all the peaches from your trees, they can be dried, canned, made into jams, jellies or preserves. Peaches come in many varieties but there are basically two types of peaches. One type of peach is called freestone, in which the pit separates easily from the flesh. Freestone peaches are usually used for eating fresh or freezing. The other type of peach is called clingstone. The clingstone type of peach gets its name from peach flesh that “clings” tightly to the pit. Clingstone type peaches are usually used for canning.
Peach trees will do well in lower southern states, specifically zones five through eight. Listed below are three popular varieties (cultivars) of peach trees that will grow in these zones. You can check out the hardiness zone map to find your zone by click here: http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html.
The Elberta Peach Tree
The Elberta peach tree is an oldie, but a goody! Elberta peach trees are one of the most disease and insect resistant freestone peach trees available. Elberta peaches ripen to a deep, golden yellow with a red blush on peaches exposed to the sun. These peaches are large, with a rich, sweet taste and are perfect for summer time eating! Elberta peach trees will mature at about 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Elberta peach trees will need full to partial sun to thrive and will tolerate drought well. Apply mulch to retain moisture and also to prevent weeds and insects. Although the Elberta peach tree is a self-pollinating tree, you may want to plant more than one tree to encourage pollination.
The Belle of Georgia Peach Tree
The Belle of Georgia, or Georgia Bell, peach is famous for its unique flavor and will work well in zones five through eight. The Georgia Bell is Georgia’s most famous white freestone peach. This tree will produce large, sweet smelling, juicy, white flesh peaches with a red blush. This peach tree is a fast grower, prefers full sun and reaches maturity at about six to ten feet tall. The Belle of Georgia peach tree is hardy and disease resistance. The Georgia Bell peach tree produces an abundance of peaches from one tree and is self-pollinating. Apply mulch to retain moisture and to prevent weeds and insects.
Hale Haven Peach Tree
The Hale Haven peach tree produces a freestone peach that has deep orange flesh with deep blushes. Hale Haven peaches are firm, juicy and very sweet. Hale Haven peach trees need a minimum of 6-8 hours sunlight daily and are not drought tolerant. The Hale Haven variety of peach tree is fast growing. The standard variety of Hale Haven peach tree will reach up to 20 feet tall with a spread of about eight to twenty feet at full maturity. The dwarf variety will grow up to eight or ten feet in height. This type of peach tree is self-pollinating. Apply mulch to retain moisture and to prevent weeds and insects.
