Aged Peach Trees.
What should be done with peach trees 35 years old which are becoming
unthrifty, bearing only at the ends of the limbs, etc.?
Old peach trees become bark-bound and need to be cut back to just above
the crotch for the forcing out of new branches, this being facilitated,
of course, by application of manure, good cultivation of the soil, use
of water during the dry season, etc. The peach is, under most
conditions, not a long-lived tree, and if your trees are 35 years of
age, it is probable that best results could be obtained by grubbing them
out and replanting with young trees on new soil if possible. The
profitable life of the Eastern peach tree is put down at five or six
years. In California the profitable life of the peach sometimes reaches
twenty or more years, if growing under exceptionally good conditions;
but 35 years would seem to be at least on the borders of decrepitude.
Growing at the tips shows that you have not pruned annually to induce
the growth of new wood lower down.
Renewing Peach Orchard.
Which is the best way to renew an old peach orchard? The trees are about
18 years old, Muirs and Fosters, and are yielding good crops, but some
of the trees show decline. Is it best to replace the old ones with new
trees or to plant a new orchard in between the old trees and cut out old
ones when new trees are three or four years old?
If the trees have sound bodies and are not badly injured by sunburn
borers, do none of the things you mention, but would cut back for a new
head.
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