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Outdoor Peaches in Scotland

Last post 28-11-2008 7:22 PM by bogweevil. 3 replies.

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  • 27/11/2008 07:34 PM
    • Rob202
    • 27 Nov 2008
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    On the subject of climate change, it was mentioned on this site that it may become possible to grow peaches out-of doors in Scotland some day. I've been doing so for quite a few years. I live in Glasgow and have a dwarf peach tree growing against the wall of my house and although the tree is very small, I get an abundance of peaches. I don't give it any protection at all, although I do pollinate the flowers with cotton wool in the spring because of the lack of insects so early in the year. The problem isn't so much growing them - it is getting them to ripen so far north in a poor summer! In a good summer however, they do ripen much better.

    Rob202

     
  • 27/11/2008 08:37 PM
    In reply to
    • realfood
    • Glasgow
    • 17 Aug 2008
    • 21
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    Very interesting! Do you know which variety it is and which rootstock it is growing on?
  • 27/11/2008 10:15 PM
    In reply to
    • Digger
    • Northern UK
    • 18 Jul 2005
    • 4,743
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    That's good to know, it will be interesting to see a picture of your tree

    digger Devil
  • 28/11/2008 07:22 PM
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    Top 10 Contributor
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    Peaches, and indeed almonds, nectarines and apricots, are very hardy and grow well in places such as Ontario and Sweden, but these places have warmer summers than Scotland and lack the defining cloud, drizzle and mist and low light levels that seem to prevale whenever I go north of the border.

    Because fruit trees need plenty of cold in winter to flower well it might very well be that  Scotland will become more suitable for traditional fruits than England where winters might be too mild to give trees the chilling they require.

    Interestingly Scottish blackcurrant breeders (world leaders in blackcurrant breeding) have spent years developing late flowering blackcurrants to avoid spring frosts.  Late flowering currant have high chilling requirement so that they have to experience lots of winter cold to flower well.  With climate change it appears that they may, in future, get insufficient winter cold to flower properly, so now low chill requirement cultivars are being bred.

     

    Boggy

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Beware the bat-eared bogweevil