Young peach seedling problem

Hello,

I'm having a small peach growing project of my own that started getting me very exited until I run into a small problem that I'm not sure what to do with it.

I have two peach trees with a week in between planting, so more or less the same age.

The problem I have as in the images posted is that from more than a week, the top leaves are distorted somewhat and also they have white spots on them. I'm really not sure what I have to do with them.

Please any help is appreciated. Again, I am a full fledge, 100% beginner in this.

Thank you

That might be Peach Leaf Curl, a common fungal disease on peach leaves. It puckers up the leaves and turns them odd colors. Usually, this is only a problem on outdoor-grown peach trees that get lots of rain in the winter.  In my own experience, peach leaf curl is kind of rare among seedlings. But on the other hand, I always grow curl resistant varieties. (And I've grown a lot of peaches from seed.)

So in this case I can't do anything? And how the bloody hell did it get this as a seedling . Am I to start over with fresh soil / pot ?

Have your trees been outdoors getting lots of rain and high humidity? If yes, then you probably have peach leaf curl. There are two solutions. One is to grow the trees in pots and put them under shelter in the winter/wet months to avoid spreading the fungus on the leaves. I have some dwarf peach bushes that I grow in pots- they go in the greenhouse during the winter and come out in the late spring. The other solution, on outdoor planted trees, is to spray copper during the late winter. I use a OMRI (Organic Association) - approved organic version of this spray. Even though my trees are resistant, I live in rainy Oregon so I still have to spray copper anyway. Also, there are other folks on this website currently debating the merits of horsetail tea to prevent curl.

If your trees have no exposure to rain and high humidity, then you probably have a different problem. Do your pots have good drainage? Can you flip the pots over and peek at the roots? If the soil is too dry or too wet, that could be your problem. In this situation, I would just prune off the diseased/curly leaves and put the trees in well-drained pots in high- quality potting soil.

Finally, if you are in the US, I could send you some Indian Blood peach seeds. This variety has good resistance and is one the most delicious fruits in existence. There is an excellent thread on here about this variety and how people grow them from seeds. Please send me a private message if you are in the US and want peach seeds. Good luck!

Thank you for your reply. The only time these two were exposed to weather was only one time when I opened the window there for couple of hours, that's it. Its true it was a bit of a rainy day and slight wind, nothing serious though.

As for the drainage, Each time I water them, I do see water coming from the bottom, and only one time it happen that I put too much water, after that I was careful on this. I don't think its drainage problem.

Its an odd thing here, because I've not seen peach curl with just white spots in the middle of the leaves.

Thank you for your message and for the fact that you even wanted to share some seeds. Unfortunately I'm from Europe.

Hmmm, that sure doesn't sound like peach leaf curl. Looking at your photos again, the soil looks super dry, and I'm thinking that maybe the curled leaves just wilted? Like I said, I'd just prune the top leaves off and repot in good potting soil that is pre-moistened. Sometimes, soil gets so dry in pots that the water just runs down the sides of the pot, this is a common problem when people use dry, peat-based potting soils. I've had seedlings wilt before with this problem. No matter how much you water, the soil remains dry. In situations like this, I dip the base of the pot in water in a bucket and soak for a minute or so until bubbles stop coming up. Hope this rant helps...