Seedling peach tree success/proof that it's worth it to grow from seed.

This tree is 2 years old, and produce at least a bushel of delicious peaches, and the blossoms survived 2 frosts. I cut it down two years ago because I thought it was a dud, it had tiny yellowish pink flowers and didn't produce fruit so I didn't think it was a true peach. I cut it down and grafted scion wood from another seedling peach that is the same age and also produces good fruit, but the grafts failed and this year it surprised me and made an abundance of peaches. This is in zone five. Out of four original seedlings, I now have four producing fruit,  three of which are good, and one that is a sour grapefruit tasting dud, which I plan to graft the others onto. One makes a large yellow peach, one a small yellow red peach and the newest on is a large orange red peach. I cut them all down at one point or another over the last 4 years because some rabbits got loose and girdled them. One of them has been fruiting for 2 years and has given me several babies from fallen fruit. I find that if I feed them compost like tomatoes they grow like crazy and produce early.. Just want people to know that peaches are definitely worth growing from seed, at least up to zone 5.

Awesome, I have a seedling plum, nectarine and a peach.
They are all fruiting at the moment and exceeded the store bought grafted ones.

Gurkan Yeniceri wrote:Awesome, I have a seedling plum, nectarine and a peach.
They are all fruiting at the moment and exceeded the store bought grafted ones.

Yes!  Seedlings are the only way to go in my opinion. Even for apples. I've never eaten an apple from mine yet, but it doesn't matter because I'm using them for rootstock. I've grafted up to four named varieties per seedling and many of them have taken. I usually leave enough of the original seedling to taste in the future. They grow much faster than potted grafted trees too.

Wow, awesome pictures and results! I heard peaches did pretty well from seed, but that sounds even better than I expected. I think it was Luther Burbank that said if everyone planted fruit seeds, we would have many more good varieties well suited for each particular climate.

I'm exited about doing this soon too! My peach trees would have produced this year for the first time, but the bugs got in them really bad this year. I'm going to protect them this coming up year, so I'll hopefully have some good peaches and peach seeds to plant next year!

I do have some baby Triumph muscadine grape seedlings that came up as volunteers this year, so I'm excited to see how they do and see the fruit they bear. Keep up the good work!

I was sceptical, but this year i had quite a lot of nice peaches of my three year old seedling volunteer. I read peaches were the first exotic invasive species in USA on permies somewhere. I saved all seeds of my three peaches , it was mad this year, i made peach wine for moonshine. I had 300 maybe, and agreed with the farmer to have a lot of peach trees, we have some cooperation going on. I planted 200 of those. If a hundred come and fifty get big after moving to definite spot and 25 have good peaches, it will be great. For us in the community, and for the wildlife that will gubble up what we don't use. Peaches, pears and apples used to grow in the hedgerows my local neighbour says, and now hunters complain there is no wildlife like used to, but everybody has these neat hedges with nothing edible in it.

Hugo Morvan wrote: Peaches, pears and apples used to grow in the hedgerows my local neighbour says, and now hunters complain there is no wildlife like used to, but everybody has these neat hedges with nothing edible in it.

Seems like the natural adaptation of fruit trees growing from seed and vigorous in that climate created a little permaculture haven in the hegderows. :) It's encouraging to see ideas of growing food shifting back in that direction!

I have two trees from seed, both in containers, as I live on a very rainy island :)  I was convinced they were both doughnut peach seedlings, but when one fruited for the first time this year it turned out to be a nectarine.  I can't say it was a particularly spectacular fruit, but I'll give it another chance at least, and there's still the other (younger) tree which will hopefully fruit next year (four and three years old respectively).  Both little trees are very sturdy, despite growing in pots.  My young son and I have planted several seeds from storebought peaches this summer, so maybe we'll get a few more up next spring too.

Here  are a few second generation seedlings, all first year.

And a two year old nectarine seedling, has been munched down by deer a couple times.

And here is a seedling apple with several named varieties grafted on. It's about 12' tall and three years old. I used a tongue and cleft and just wrapped with cellophane.