peach 'Rochester'
peach
This plant is deciduous so it will lose all its leaves in autumn, then fresh new foliage appears again each spring.
- Position: full sun
- Soil: moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: slow
- Flowering period: April to May
- Hardiness: borderline hardy (may need winter protection)
A Victorian-era cultivar blooming weeks after early-flowering types, allowing it to avoid late spring frosts. The resilience of its cheerful pink buds pays off with abundant mid-August harvests of large, fuzzy-skinned fruits with firm yet juicy flesh with a balanced sweetness needing no enhancement fresh off the tree. 'Rochester' boasts flexibility as well - picked slightly early, its pleasant peach perfume reduces well during cooking. Arguably the ‘hardiest’ peach cultivar for our UK climate.
When planting your peach, prepare a hole up to three times the diameter of its root system. Fork over the base of the pit in readiness, incorporating plenty of organic matter into the backfill and planting hole. Avoiding frozen and waterlogged soil, trees should be planted out as they arrive. If you've ordered a bare root tree, soak the roots in a bucket of water for half an hour prior to planting, or if this is not possible, they can be heeled in temporarily, covering their roots with soil, or potted up. Peaches are best grown against or trained on a sheltered, sunny wall, traditionally under shelter from excessive rainfall, which reduces the chances of peach leaf curl. Apply a balanced fertiliser in early spring to support growth and fruiting and provide regular watering during hot, dry spells. Protect blooms from late frost by covering the plant with a double layer of horticultural fleece, and prune in summer to reduce the risk of disease.