Sprouting seeds for peach trees

I just got done preparing some peach tree seeds for planting out when we get warm enough weather.  Maybe this will help someone that has never done it before.  Peach trees are great to grow from seed because unlike apples and most others, they generally grow true to the parents, so if you have a great tasting peach, you will likely have a tree that produces great tasting peaches.  I'll post the pictures with descriptions rather than doing a long write up.


I'm sure I left some things out, or wasn't clear on some steps, so please ask if my explanation was confusing.

Do you know what the cost of leaving the kernel's shell intact is?

(The only peaches I've grown were planted as whole seeds when I was a toddler. I planted two seeds and got two trees. But that's a small sample and maybe e.g. it dramatically lowers germination success and I just got lucky.)

Christopher Weeks wrote:Do you know what the cost of leaving the kernel's shell intact is?

(The only peaches I've grown were planted as whole seeds when I was a toddler. I planted two seeds and got two trees. But that's a small sample and maybe e.g. it dramatically lowers germination success and I just got lucky.)

I don't know the difference in number of seeds that will sprout.  I do this because the time frame is dramatically different, and this way I know much sooner how many trees I will get, and if I need to prepare more.  Sprouting them this way, you will have roots growing in 2 weeks, and they can go into the ground or pots then.

Roots developing after only five days.

Thank you!!! This is absolutely awesome!  I never knew peaches can be "helped" in this way.  Thank again.
Will you be posting more progress pictures?

Christopher Weeks wrote:Do you know what the cost of leaving the kernel's shell intact is?

(The only peaches I've grown were planted as whole seeds when I was a toddler. I planted two seeds and got two trees. But that's a small sample and maybe e.g. it dramatically lowers germination success and I just got lucky.)

I have never tried this. Maybe I should!

I have a lot of spoiled peaches and I just throw them around where I want peaches to grow. Some years I get no sprouts, sometimes a few. Last year I got 32! Right now in total about 20 trees from sprout to aging adult tree in my little grove which started in 2006. A lot get eaten by bugs and rabbits the first year.

This way sounds a lot more effective than my random way.

To crack my peach pits open I’ve used a vice as my grip/crush strength is not enough. In the vice you can hear the shell crack and then are able to pry it open.

This post reminds me that I should be starting a few peaches now so they can take advantage of the summer growing season 😉

Ela La Salle wrote:Thank you!!! This is absolutely awesome!  I never knew peaches can be "helped" in this way.  Thank again.
Will you be posting more progress pictures?

I'm happy to post pictures as I go along if people are interested. I'm glad you enjoyed the information.

Rosa Mio Gardino wrote:To crack my peach pits open I’ve used a vice as my grip/crush strength is not enough. In the vice you can hear the shell crack and then are able to pry it open.

This post reminds me that I should be starting a few peaches now so they can take advantage of the summer growing season 😉

That's an excellent idea.  They are very hard to break open with pliers, a vice sounds like a much better way to go.

Rosa Mio Gardino wrote:To crack my peach pits open I’ve used a vice as my grip/crush strength is not enough.

I'm on 'team vice' for cracking pits, too. Not only stronger, but also gives you more control so you don't accidentally smoosh the seed by being over-enthusiastic.

I recently bust the pits out of all eight of the first year's crop of red vineyard peaches from a seed-grown peach tree we've been growing for about three years. I was astonished by how thick the shells were - no wonder I'd failed to open them with a pair of pliers!

I've planted them out but nothing growing yet.

In the spring I always find lots of pits lying on the ground under the trees. I wonder how they would do.

Thom Bri wrote:In the spring I always find lots of pits lying on the ground under the trees. I wonder how they would do.

That's where most of mine come from.  They work great.

This picture was taken only two days after the last one.  Roots are growing well and the plant has started growing from some of them.  The two on the right appear to be no-go's.  I threw those out and potted the others.  I'll post more if/when they grow.

I'm on team "plant the whole pit, shell and all."

In 2018 I planted a whole intact peach pit in a pot. After it sprouted, I moved it to a larger pot. In spring 2019 I planted it outside in its final spot. In 2021 or 22 (I forget) I got a harvest of about 15 delicious peaches. The next year, like a hundred. Since then, it sets huge amounts, and I thin before it gets overcrowded. One year, heavy snow in late spring during flowering thinned for me. Otherwise I've been getting over 100 juicy delicious fruits every year.

After the first success, I planted several more from other sources, and got good results again. Soon after eating the fruit and sucking the pits cleanish, I put the whole pits in a flowerpot of soil for the winter, in spot where it would go below freezing but not as hard frozen as outdoors in my location. I kept the soil damp over the winter. In early spring I prepared a garden bed and sowed the pits there as a nursery. The next year, I chose the ten best seedlings and planted them out. If I recall correctly, all the transplants succeeded.

I don't remember the percentage success of the seeds germinating, but it was high, without opening the hard shells.

In the same family, since peaches aren't hardy here, we are starting to experiment with apricots.

Last summer/fall, after eating locally grown apricots, we kept many pits.  As it didn't occur to me to even go looking to check on how to get them started, I just set them out (quite densely) in a raised bed we are calling the nursery (also laid out chokecherry pits, heeled in some seedling trees, and will place some cuttings in) without any sort of prep to the pits.  We shall see what sort of germination / survival we get.  

Earlier this month was a local "Seedy Saturday" event which includes a seed exchange and talks as well as local organizations and businesses in the genre.  One fellow is an arborist I've met before (he did his online PDC with Geoff Lawton if I recall correctly).  He was cracking open apricot seeds.  He had a bunch on hand that he'd previously cracked open and had sprouted that he was selling.  I believe he was using some sort of a vice to crack them after covering up with a cloth to ensure shards didn't go flying.  He damaged the odd seed, but had a pretty good success rate while we were chatting.  The ones he'd sprouted still had their coating on them.  I'd be concerned that I'd damage the seed if I attempted to remove the coating.

So, depending how things go with our germination, I'll have to remember the cracking for the coming year.  If I do more, I may have to experiment with cracking some and setting them out versus cracking and sprouting in the spring.  

There is certainly nothing wrong with planting the whole pit and waiting. As I said, the germination rate may be just as good. By removing the seed as I do, I know exactly how many trees I will have to plant out so it helps me with planning. It's also much faster, and very little work. That said, few things are less work than sticking a pit in the ground and waiting, so there is a lot to be said for that as well.

Here is a progress pic from my seeds

WOW! Look at those sprouting seeds!? Awesome!

This may be a silly question but .... may I ask what are the lowest temperatures in Winter  and... do peach trees need two of the same trees for cross pollination, or different variety?
I've never grown peach trees (did different  fruit trees and bushes) but since we moved (much colder climate up north than where we used to live down south) , I can't seem to find any definite information. Even at the (one and only, small) local greenhouse can't agree on an answer. Their fruit trees are very expensive and I'm not willing to spend over $200 for tiny "branch".
The next nearest greenhouse is over 2 hours drive one way (on a good day).
Thank you in advance.

Ela La Salle wrote:WOW! Look at those sprouting seeds!? Awesome!

This may be a silly question but .... may I ask what are the lowest temperatures in Winter  and... do peach trees need two of the same trees for cross pollination, or different variety?

How far north? Lots of peaches in Michigan, and it gets pretty darned cold there.

The internet tells me most peaches can self pollinate. When I had one tree it made lots of peaches, and I have not seen other peach trees in my neighborhood.

Ela La Salle wrote:WOW! Look at those sprouting seeds!? Awesome!

This may be a silly question but .... may I ask what are the lowest temperatures in Winter  and... do peach trees need two of the same trees for cross pollination, or different variety?
I've never grown peach trees (did different  fruit trees and bushes) but since we moved (much colder climate up north than where we used to live down south) , I can't seem to find any definite information. Even at the (one and only, small) local greenhouse can't agree on an answer. Their fruit trees are very expensive and I'm not willing to spend over $200 for tiny "branch".
The next nearest greenhouse is over 2 hours drive one way (on a good day).
Thank you in advance.

I'm in Wisconsin and we get -20 F pretty much every year, and some years much colder. We only have the one peach tree here and we got peaches this year.

If you want to try this, grab a few peaches from the grocery store and grow your own from the pits. It took me less than two weeks, start to finish, to get these little trees to this point. Peaches are pretty short lived trees, but that also means they grow and produce pretty fast.

Thom Bri wrote:[ /quote]
How far north? Lots of peaches in Michigan, and it gets pretty darned cold there.

North eastern Ontario. Zone 3. Temperatures anywhere between - 22 C to -30 C  and windy. Depending too which side of the yard , the wind makes much colder.
I have an area with full sun I would like to test, somewhat sheltered, could be zone 4.
Thank you  for your answer

Trace Oswald wrote:
I'm in Wisconsin and we get -20 F pretty much every year, and some years much colder. We only have the one peach tree here and we got peaches this year.

If you want to try this, grab a few peaches from the grocery store and grow your own from the pits. It took me less than two weeks, start to finish, to get these little trees to this point. Peaches are pretty short lived trees, but that also means they grow and produce pretty fast.

Thank you. I'll try and see what happens.

Ela, we are also effectively in Zone 3.  I haven't seen any peaches I'd confidently pay money for yet to grow here.  I do recall seeing a "hardy peach" that I believe was listed as zone 4, but I checked a couple sources and am not finding it right now.  I think you are onto the key thing to monitor and perhaps create a microclimate that could be appropriate.  If you could espalier against a south-facing wall, that may work.

That said, there are hardy apricots that are grown in southern Manitoba.  I know it isn't the same, but it is a side-shoot of similar fruit.

While Michigan and Wisconsin may not look that far on a map, there's enough difference in climate that I suspect they are better suited for many peaches.  There is information out there about a Russian / Soviet method decades ago that allowed them to grow citrus.  There was an element of trenches, but I don't recall much about the method.  Of course, a lot of northern Ontario is Canadian Shield, so rocky making it less amenable to digging.  A hugelkultur arrangement may allow for enough wind protection, heat absorption, and potentially heat from compost to give you the added boost you're looking for.

Derek Thille wrote:

I can relate when it come to "hardy" plants (on the advice of local greenhouse. They sell it, but it won't grow it, or it's the wrong kind).
I got burned few times, and surprised too when I was told it "won't grow here" LOL.  I have  tiny microclimate spots for small bushes.
After looking out the window  today, I'm not sure (bitter wind, cold, rain, snow) any fruit tree will survive (I so want a pear tree! Whine, whine whine LOL).
I will try anyway. Thank you ! Appreciate your time

Ela La Salle wrote:I can relate when it come to "hardy" plants (on the advice of local greenhouse. They sell it, but it won't grow it, or it's the wrong kind).
I got burned few times, and surprised too when I was told it "won't grow here" LOL.  I have  tiny microclimate spots for small bushes.
After looking out the window  today, I'm not sure (bitter wind, cold, rain, snow) any fruit tree will survive (I so want a pear tree! Whine, whine whine LOL).
I will try anyway. Thank you ! Appreciate your time

There are some pears there are hardy for zone 2/3, so you may be able to make it work.  Patterson (I think) is one that was developed on the prairies.  Beedle is another that comes to mind, along with Ure and others bred from it.  Ussurian pear seed is available from Incredible Seeds.

I used to procure most of my plant material from one local garden centre, but later learned that they were shipping in a lot of the bare root material.  Even though they were varieties that should be hardy here, they weren't grown out here and adjusted to the local conditions.  I still go there, but I've shifted most of my purchasing elsewhere to others I know are growing out their own plant material.  

I've been experimenting with a number of borderline seeds lately. There is a couple nearby that has been doing this sort of thing for decades.

1. Location: The English and French used espalier and similar against walls and did wonders. I have a peach tree against our white, west wall and it produces, but I usually hand pollinate it at least a little.

2. Early treatment: I have potted the seeds so I can give them more protection and care the first couple of years. However, I take the approach of planting more and protecting them less so that the survivors learn that it's a harsh world out there and learn how to cope.

3.  I do protect them from deer because they will chomp a baby down to the roots which is beyond "tough love".  

4. I wish I'd read this thread before starting some nectarine seeds, as I didn't remove the shell and that might have improved my success. That said, I only need one, and it's already planted in its forever home near the peach tree. Wish it luck!

I recently bought some nectarines and tried this method out. I used a bolt and wire cutter and put the pit between the handles and applied some pressure. The shell split open easily and I wrapped the seeds in damp paper towel and placed in a zip lock bag. Roots started to emerge in just 5 days! I used to bury the pits in ground the previous fall but tend to forget about the location afterwards. With presprouting, I can make sure viable seeds are ready within a week or two. Thanks for posting.

This is great info! I'm trying a variation on this with almonds. I just sorted out the intact-looking kernels from a supermarket bag of (organic) almonds and soaked them. The first batch I left in the fridge for a bit before removing the coating on the seed (since I read they need cold stratification), but it's only after removing it that they started putting out roots. The next batch, I removed the coating first, and then stuck them in the fridge for a bit just in case. They haven't rooted yet, but are looking good. I'm thinking they might not need the cold if the coating is removed? I might try one batch without any stratification at all. I'd guess that peaches and almonds should work the same, being very closely related.

I'd like to sprout some plum seeds and found the shells too thick to crack. I ended up using a pair of dykes cutter. Cut in the middle of the pit and the kernel will come out intact.

May Lotito wrote: I ended up using a pair of dykes cutter.  

Good idea!  

FYI, for Canadians these are called "side cutters", at least my electronics engineer Hubby does.

I am dreaming peaches too, but they are zone 4 at best.  In 2 well protected areas in my community they do occasionally fruit and the trees are surviving.

So this is what I have been looking at as a possible work around.  A lot of work so still in the dreaming stage.(I am thinking rammed earth or cob)
 This is the fruit wall dating back many hundreds of year and they are supposed to give 1 to 2 zones protection without any glass.  Since I am zone 4 border line zone 3 I think it is at least possible.  Goal in my thinking is the serpentine or wavy wall version.

fruit wall

Another link on the same topic.

Fruit wall 2nd link.

Sorry for the side track on the main discussion

Now on the seed side I am many hundreds of peach pits in on just trying to plant them over 3+ decades.  Have only ever had a couple germinate and they died the first winter.  So here at least planting undamaged pits has had a poor success rate.  I have used both local peach pits, fruit truck peach pits and grocery store peach pits.

Walking around my little peach grove I spotted several new sprouts this week. Looks very hopeful! I have 7 trees with at least a few blossoms right now, and 3 trees have a lot of blossoms. 2 of the trees have never produced fruit in years of anxious waiting. Hopeful that this is the year. All grown from seeds that were simply dropped on the ground, not planted.

I thought I would post a quick picture of one of the trees one month after sprouting.

This is one of my 2-week old nectarines. The plum seeds are having root developments too. It's easy to germinate seeds from store fruits but I am not sure if they will thrive as both were imported: one from South Africa and the other from Columbia.

May Lotito wrote:This is one of my 2-week old nectarines. The plum seeds are having root developments too. It's easy to germinate seeds from store fruits but I am not sure if they will thrive as both were imported: one from South Africa and the other from Columbia.

I have had bad luck with nectarines. The trees grow but the fruit never developed. They were small and all rotted year after year. I finally cut them down.

Thom Bri wrote: All grown from seeds that were simply dropped on the ground, not planted.

Won't those seedlings get shaded by the parent tree?
Yes, nectarine isn't just fuzz-less peach. I heard that it is much harder to grow. Recently I cut down an Eastern red cedar for make room for half a dozen fruit trees if I can keep them smaller. I will just experiment with tree structure from these free trees.

Two of my almonds germinated! And a couple more look like they will! Yay! Unfortunately, I lost track of what exact treatment was used on these. The first batch all molded and died, but I'm not sure if the germinated ones are from the batch that spent a little bit of time in the fridge or not.

In the future I won't bother with letting them germinate on a wet paper towel before planting, I think. Too many of them molded, and there doesn't seem to be that much benefit to it. Just soaking, removing the coating and planting right away feels like the way to go. I wonder if sweet almonds are more sensitive to mold than peaches, since the kernel doesn't contain as much amygdalin? Can mold get cyanide poisoning?

May Lotito wrote:

Thom Bri wrote: All grown from seeds that were simply dropped on the ground, not planted.

Won't those seedlings get shaded by the parent tree?
Yes, nectarine isn't just fuzz-less peach. I heard that it is much harder to grow. Recently I cut down an Eastern red cedar for make room for half a dozen fruit trees if I can keep them smaller. I will just experiment with tree structure from these free trees.

Well, I don't worry about it! Anyway most of the sprouts are around the edges of the shaded area, not directly under the main tree.

Seedlings from hardy apricots - pits were planted in the "nursery" bed late last summer / early fall.

One little peach tree had just one flower. Now it has one peach! Tree is about 7 feet tall, 3 (I think) years old.