Growing a peach plant isn’t hard but producing fruits from the plants can be a bit complicated. To get fruits from the peach plant, you should also take care of the peach flowers.
So, do you need anything special with the flower to get fruits? Are they self-pollinating? This article will discuss everything about peach flowers and fruit production.
Are peach trees self pollinating?
Most peach trees are self-pollinating or self-fruitful. But some species of peach trees are cross-pollinating. But the peaches we generally plant and eat are self-pollinating species. Peaches can produce fruits without another peach tree of the same kind but planting multiple trees is better.
Growing peaches is more tricky than other fruit plants. You will have to do many small things right to produce the desired fruit.
This article will explain everything about pollinating, the fertilization process and requirements of peach plants, and what you should do to turn the flowers into juicy peaches.
Peach plants are self-pollinating. However, some variants of peach plants need other trees of the same kind for pollinating. But as they are not that common, we will discuss primarily the self pollinating peach trees.
Let’s dive deeper into the topic so that you can get a complete idea about peach tree pollination. What does self-pollinating mean? Self-pollinating is when one flower can pollinate on its own. Self-pollinator plants are called bisexual plants.
A bisexual plant flower has both male parts (anther) and a female part (pistil) in flower. That means they do not need to rely on other plants for pollen. They can make the flowers fertile with their pollen.
Most peach plants are bisexual, and they have both anther and pistil in the same flower. The anther is the male part of the peach plant. It has a round pollen part at the top of it. When the pollen falls in the pistil of the same flower, the flower becomes fertile and produces fruit.
Can pollen of a specific flower make other flowers fertile? Yes, it’s also called self pollinating. But can peach plants cross-pollinate? Yes, peach plants are self pollinating, but they can also make another different tree of the same species flowers fertile.
Sometimes, you may want to stop cross-pollinating. You can plant the peach plants 20 feet away from each other to control the cross-pollinating. But when the peach plants you have belongs to the same species, planting multiple trees together can increase fruit production.
So, how does the pollinating process happens in the peaches? As the name suggests, they can take care of their pollinating process by themself. They are self-fertile.
Every flower has male and female organs, and a slight wind can transfer the pollen to the pistil. However, the process is not as easy as it sounds.
There are other requirements for that (we will discuss in the next section). Bees and other pollinators can ensure the pollination process of peach trees.
Peach flowers have nectar, which attracts honey bees and native bees. They sit on the flower, and some of the pollen falls on the female part of the flower. This is how pollinators can ensure self-pollinating. Bees also have a role in cross-pollinating peach plants.
Cross-pollination is essential to mix up the genetic varieties of future offspring. So, even self-pollinator plants also allow cross-pollination.
Some peach species only have the cross-pollination process. It allows them to make offspring with different genes. We will discuss the practically essential information in the later part of the article. Now let’s find out if those species of peach are self-pollinators.
Red haven peach trees:
Red haven peach trees are self-fertile, but multiple trees will enhance the pollination process.
Contender peach trees:
Contender peach trees are self-pollinating.
Elberta peach trees:
Elberta peach trees are self-pollinating peach species.
Belle of georgia peach trees:
Belle of georgia peach trees are also self-pollinating, but keeping other species may enhance the production and size of the fruits.
Reliance peach trees:
Reliance peach trees are self-fertile, but other nearby species may be helpful for better production.
Frost peach trees:
Frost peach trees are pretty hardy and self-pollinating.
Ranger peach trees:
Ranger peach trees are self-pollinating.
Dwarf peach trees:
Dwarf peach trees also do not need another plant for pollination.
Donut peach trees:
Donut peach trees are also self-pollinating.
Do you need two peach trees to pollinate?
Usually, you do not need two peach plants for the pollination process. Only one plant is enough to complete the pollination. Even a single flower can become fertile on its own.
That is because the peach flowers have both male and female organs. And pollen can reach the female part easily. However, if you plant different peach plants, there may be some variation in fruit production and the fruit appearance.
If you plant two different peach plants near each other, many of the flowers will be pollinated by the other plants. This is how they will exchange the gene, resulting in variation in the fruit’s appearance.
Sometimes you may notice the fruits are bigger or sweeter than usual. That happens because of the nearby peach plant. However, the contrary can happen too. You may get low-quality production if there are bad peach species nearby.
Can peach trees cross-pollinate?
Peach trees cross-pollinate between the same or a different peach plant. But cross-pollinating is not compulsory for them to produce fruits. The presence of multiple nearby trees will increase the production of the peach.
Cross-pollinating helps them to keep the variations in their offspring. But why is that essential? Trees and other organisms want to mix up different genes for the next offspring. A single disease can infect everyone if all trees have similar genes.
Some peach species are cross-pollinating. They always need another tree for pollination. Some dowf peach trees have this type of characteristic.
How to pollinate peach trees?
Generally, you will not have to worry about the peach trees. But if you are planting in the greenhouse or covering the peach tree, you may need to hand pollinate the peach trees.
If the weather is unfavorable for the peach blooming, you can also hand pollinate the peach flowers to make sure all the flowers are pollinated.
But hand pollinating the peach trees is time-consuming and needs a lot of patience. You can get a bee hive if you do not want to do the job by hand. Bees will help your peach plants pollinate. But even bees are not easy to keep, and you can’t get bees immediately.
Check out the steps of hand pollinating the peach flowers.
- Take a cotton bar and look at the flowers closely.
- Look at the anther of the flower. It’s like a stick with a round head full of pollen. Touch the anther with the cotton bar. The pollen should attach to the cotton bar.
- Now, look at the center part of the flower; there is a small green part called the pistil. Touch the cotton bar with the pistil. This will ensure pollen has reached the pistil.
- Repeat the process for every single flower. The flower is not mature enough if the pollen is not easily removable. You will have to wait some more time to start hand pollinating.
Why is the peach tree not producing fruit?
Peach trees need a lot of care for successful fruit production. There are a lot of things you should learn about peach when you are serious about growing peach. Here are the top reasons why peach trees do not produce fruits.
Fertilizer:
A lack of high-quality fertilizer can cause a peach tree with no fruits. Peach trees require high nitrogen fertilizers to grow fruits. But make sure you are not over-fertilizing them. Too much fertilizer can harm the peach plants and result in no fruits.
Peach plants also need 13 different types of minerals. Make sure your plant gets everything it needs to grow fruits and stay healthy.
Temperature:
A sudden drop in the temperature can damage the flower buds, leading to no fruits. Keep track of the weather forecast and take safety steps to save the peach flowers.
Improper pruning:
Pruning is vital for the production of peach. So, before starting pruning your peach plants, learn the pruning process.
No pollinator:
When you are growing inside a greenhouse, there are no active pollinators. On the outside, air work as an abiotic pollinator. But in the greenhouse, you must hand-pollinate the peach plants.
Final Thoughts
Peach trees are self-pollinating, but they can also do cross-pollination. They have male and female parts in the flowers, so they do not need to depend on other flowers for fertilization. Bees and other pollinators help and ensure the successful pollination of peach flowers.