[tosca100]

We have a peach tree in our garden. It was chopped down by the previous owners (as were lots of fruit trees) and has since been chopped every year. The stump is quite big and the neighbours say it was a good tree. There are now a couple of strong branches and we have decided to let them grow and see what happens, we have nothing to lose.

I know they are not widely grown in the UK, and care has to be taken over them to get any fruit, but here if you need to pamper you don't grow, so generally the only problem will be a late frost. The tree has quite a few distorted leaves on the tips of some twigs, and at first I thought peach leaf curl. But on googling the symptoms don't fit, apart from the distortion. There are no discoloured blotches, no fungus, the leaves are still shiny even if distorted, there is no drop even now in September.

So the only thing I can think of is insect damage or frost damage to emerging leaves (which I would have thought would scorch). I am not going to spray, I just want to find out if it is worth persevering with.

Thanks for reading.

[New shoot]

Aphid infestation on new leaves can cause the distortion you are describing Tosca.  Frost, as you say, usually scorches.  Peach leaf curl is quite distinctive, so worth giving it a chance and see what happens next spring.

A big tree like that should come back even after being butchered by the previous owners.  Can I just ask you put an envy warning on any posts next year with pictures of your tree dripping with ripe peaches.  We will need to steel ourselves before looking you know    

[tosca100]

Aphid infestation on new leaves can cause the distortion you are describing Tosca.  Frost, as you say, usually scorches.  Peach leaf curl is quite distinctive, so worth giving it a chance and see what happens next spring.

A big tree like that should come back even after being butchered by the previous owners.  Can I just ask you put an envy warning on any posts next year with pictures of your tree dripping with ripe peaches.  We will need to steel ourselves before looking you know    

Thanks New Shoot. My thinking is not too obscure then. We have a small peach tree from which we had five little peaches, but the apricots were as big as the peaches, juice drippy and gorgeous! It seems there was no late frost this year so soft and tree fruit did really well. I am really enjoying having trees which have a use.

[Trillium]

Good find, Tosca. I got late frost on my peach trees last year and didn't get any peaches at all 

If you do hear of late frosts expected, throw old sheets over the tops of the trees overnight and you should still get good cropping. Peach trees are heavy feeders to produce crops and appreciate a nice thick old mucking every spring. As for pests, I find they don't do much damage really. And leaves don't shed until it starts to get very cold out. We've had some pretty nippy nights here recently and my silly trees still think they're in Hawaii