Got this sickly looking peach tree in the end of May. After about a month I started seeing red/black spots on the leaves and it looked like something what eating them. Did some research and started spraying it with neem oil. The spots stopped happening on newer hight leaves, as well as the bite marks. Now all the leaves are falling off and it looks like this. Is it dead? Does it have any hope? What can I do to put it on life support and make it through the winter?
It may just be losing it’s leaves early because of stress. It’s not necessarily a death sentence though. There’s not much you can do though winter, just let it be dormant. In early spring / late winter, just before bud break, I’d recommend spraying at least once with a fungicide dormant oil such as copper sulfate. This will combat leaf curl, which would weaken the tree further. Follow the application instructions and peach leaf curl is pretty easy to mitigate or prevent entirely.
Also give it some fertilizer in spring so it can put on lots of new growth.
That’s incredibly relieving. Thank you for the info. I thought I had gotten to it too late. I’m also worried about needing to cover it for the winter as well, don’t know if it will get cold enough to harm it here.
What zone do you live in? Or in other words what are your coldest lows in a typical season? Dormant peach trees can easily withstand temperatures a bit below 0F, and some can go even lower. If your temps don’t get colder than that, then it’s evolved to deal with the winter just fine out in the open.
USDA says I live in zone 7b, which says 5-10 F, but I have lived here my whole life and I can count on one hand the amount of times it’s gotten under 20F. Thank you again.
I don’t see an obvious cause but here’s some general young tree care advice:
Ensure the root flare (a swollen area at the base of the trunk where the first large roots fuse together) is not covered by soil. Do not assume that the soil level in the pot was the correct level for it to be. Cheap nurseries that mass-produce trees often pot them too deep which leads to permanent health problems unless corrected.
Remove the grass around the base of the tree and replace with several inches of wood chips, but avoid covering the root flare. The chips should cover the soil around the tree but not touch the tree itself.
Check soil moisture regularly, and slowly but deeply irrigate during dry weather to keep consistent below-ground moisture. Allow the soil surface to dry somewhat before watering again. Proper soil moisture should be soft and moist but not sticky or dripping. Never allow the soil in the root zone (below the surface) to get completely dry. In future years the tree will be tolerant of dry conditions but not during year 1.
Avoid the use of lawn equipment, especially string trimmers, near the tree. Young tree bark is very delicate and can be easily damaged which can cause major issues if serious damage is done. Hand weeding close to the trunk is best. If the mowing in this area is outside of your control, consider protecting the trunk with a trunk guard. In a pinch, a plastic bottle with the bottom removed and cut down the side can suffice.
Thank you for the tips. We removed the grass in a 2 foot radius, but evidently our grass is super invasive and has grown back. We put watering bags down, but haven’t kept up with the soil moisture, so we will be on top of that now.
