9 Best Peach Tree Varieties for Home Gardens
If you love peaches and want to know which peach tree to plant in your garden, read on! Melissa Strauss discusses different characteristics of peach trees and some of the tastiest varieties for your home garden.
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Peaches are wonderful, nutritious fruits with many delicious culinary uses. Their tender, sweet, and tangy flesh makes them great for eating fresh, as well as canning, baking, and even grilling. Peaches are good for digestion and healthy skin and are a rich source of vitamins and minerals.
Incorporating more fresh fruits into your diet is a no-brainer. However, choosing the right peach tree variety for your climate and preferences takes some forethought. We wanted to take some of the guesswork out of the process for you. Let’s discuss factors to consider when selecting a peach tree. Then, we can take a look at 9 of the tastiest peach varieties for your garden!
Chill Hours
The term chill hours refers to the amount of time a tree needs to spend at temperatures below a certain point to produce fruit. For peach trees, this temperature descends from 42°F (6°C). Therefore, a tree that requires 800 chill hours is not going to get enough cold weather in Zone 9.
This will be of greatest importance to those gardening in Zones 8 and 9. In these zones, winter is shorter, and there are fewer cold days. Understanding chill hours can also be helpful for gardeners in cooler climates looking for a highly cold-tolerant variety.
Fortunately, there is a wide range of peach tree varieties, and some have minimal chill hour requirements, while others prefer longer, colder winters. In general, you can expect that a peach tree with a higher requirement will be more cold-hardy, and trees with a lower requirement will grow better in mild climates.
Freestone vs. Clingstone
Another important distinction to make when choosing a tree is whether the fruit is freestone or clingstone. The stone in question here is the pit of the peach. Many cultivators breed for the freestone characteristic because it makes slicing and removing the pit much easier.
A freestone peach is one where the flesh easily comes away from the pit. When you slice into this peach, you are more likely to get nice, clean slices. You will be able to see the imprint of the pit toward the inner side of the flesh. These peaches are usually larger and preferable for baking.
Conversely, a clingstone peach is one where the flesh clings to the pit or ‘stone.’ While these are fine for eating whole, it is less convenient to slice this type of fruit. For my part, I prefer a freestone peach, but this is entirely up to personal preference. The extra benefit of these peaches is their sweetness and use in canning.
Tree Size
Finally, some consideration should be made to the size of the tree and how well it will suit your space. Peach trees range in size from six-foot dwarf trees to towering 25-foot specimens. A larger tree will mean more fruit, but a smaller tree will be much easier come harvest time.
If you have the space and the willingness to get up on a ladder to harvest your peaches, ‘Elberta’ is a wonderful variety. Perhaps you prefer to minimize your work and only need enough peaches for a small family. A dwarf specimen may be just right in this case.
Flesh Color
In terms of the color of a peach’s flesh, there are two shades. Peaches have either yellow or white flesh. Yellow flesh varieties tend to have sweeter, more flavorful flesh and can be flavorful while hard or soft. White peaches have a more subtle flavor and work well in canning and cooking. They are usually much sweeter when fully ripened.
Yellow peaches have a brighter and more vibrant flavor. They are slightly more acidic and have a tang that white peaches typically do not. Both make an excellent snack that is low in calories and high in fiber and nutrients.
Recommended Varieties
Keeping these differences in mind, here are some of our recommended varieties for home gardeners!
‘Elberta’
Botanical Name: Prunus persica ‘Elberta’
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Height: 15’
- Zones: 5-9
- Chill Hours: 850
It’s not uncommon to find ‘Elberta’ peaches at the supermarket. As a large tree and a prolific producer, this tree is a good investment if you want a big harvest. In the spring, this peach tree variety erupts into a mass of fragrant pink blossoms. The peaches that ensue are large and sweet. These freestone peaches ripen in mid-summer.
‘Elberta’ is supposed to grow south to Zone 9, but requires around 850 chill hours. For that reason, I recommend a different variety if you’re south of Zone 8. This tree has very good disease resistance. You can prune it to a more manageable size or allow it to reach its full height for maximum effect in the landscape.
‘Contender’
Botanical Name: Prunus persica ‘Contender’
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Height: 10’-15’
- Zones: 4-9
- Chill Hours: 1000
If you are looking for a tree with excellent cold hardiness, we think ‘Contender’ is an ideal tree. This 1988 hybrid has a reputation for being one of the most, if not the most, cold hardy peach. It is also disease-resistant and self-pollinating.
‘Contender’ is a mid-sized tree that you can manage easily with strategic pruning. The freestone peaches are large with sweet, yellow flesh. They ripen toward the end of summer, later in the year than most. This tree needs a whopping 1,000 chill hours, making it a good choice for colder climates.
‘Early Amber’
Botanical Name: Prunus persica ‘Early Amber’
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Height: 10’-15’
- Zones: 5-9
- Chill Hours: 250
The polar opposite of ‘Contender,’ ‘Early Amber’ is a warm climate tree that only needs about 250-300 chill hours. Easy to get in Zone 8 and most years this is no problem in Zone 9, as well. This is an early fruiting variety. The tree blooms early and the fruit matures quickly.
Medium-sized, firm, freestone peaches have yellow flesh and a sweet, tangy flavor profile. The outside of the fruits are deep yellow with a red blush to the bottom. These peaches should ripen in June, making them one of the earliest peaches of the season. The tree is mid-sized as well and fits well into most landscapes.
‘Arctic Supreme’
Botanical Name: Prunus persica ‘Arctic Supreme’
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Height: 12’-15’
- Zones: 5-9
- Chill Hours: 600-700
‘Arctic Supreme’s’ white-fleshed fruits are award-winning for their balance of sweet and tart flavors. This variety is often sold on grafted rootstock and grows to between 12 and 15 feet tall. The type of rootstock will dictate the ultimate height of the tree. Always prune peach trees while they are dormant.
Although it has white flesh, this variety is surprisingly flavorful and bright. They are great for eating fresh off the tree. The flesh is firm and stands up well to canning or making preserves, too. The fruit matures in mid-to-late summer and is semi-freestone. The flesh will come away from the pit more easily when it is fully ripe.
‘Belle of Georgia’
Botanical Name: Prunus persica ‘Belle of Georgia’
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Height: 18’-25’
- Zones: 5-8
- Chill Hours: 800
‘Belle of Georgia’ is an heirloom tree that dates back to the 1870s. It needs a significant length of cold weather. This tree blooms flamboyantly in the spring with branches heavy-ladened with pinkish-red blossoms. The flowers are striking to look at and smell wonderful.
This is a fast-growing tree that bears fruit in about three years. The fruit is large and firm. These peaches are freestone and very sweet, making them versatile. They are great for eating fresh and make a wonderful dessert peach.
‘Redhaven’
Botanical Name: Prunus persica ‘Redhaven’
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Height: 12’-15’
- Zones: 5-8
- Chill Hours: 800
‘Redhaven’ is another peach indicated to be successful in colder Zones 8 and north. In spring, ‘Redhaven’ produces tons of fragrant, pink blossoms and is highly decorative. This tree is a big producer of high-quality fruit.
The peaches are medium-sized and have little texture to their skin. Where many varieties are quite fuzzy, ‘Redhaven’ is nearly smooth. The sweet, yellow-fleshed fruit ripens in July. It has a great texture and is truly an all-purpose peach. The tree has an expansive spread and is attractive in the garden.
‘El Dorado’
Botanical Name: Prunus persica ‘El Dorado’
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Height: 6’
- Zones: 6-9
- Chill Hours: 500
‘El Dorado’ falls into the category of miniature dwarf. This tree only reaches about six feet tall, making it easily manageable. Don’t underestimate this peach tree because of its small stature, though. Dynamite flavor can come in small packages. What ‘El Dorado’ lacks in size, it makes up for in delicious fruit.
This tree grows best in mild climates. Its small size makes this a great container plant, so you can grow it farther north and brought in for the winter.
The fruit ripens early in the season. The creamy, yellow flesh is rich in flavor. This freestone peach tree makes an excellent addition to small gardens.
‘Tropic Beauty’
Botanical Name: Prunus persica ‘Tropic Beauty’
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Height: 20’-25’
- Zones: 9-10
- Chill Hours: 150-250
If you live in a warm climate and thought that you were out of luck for growing a peach tree, I’ve got great news! As its name implies, ‘Tropic Beauty’ peach is a heat-loving variety that needs a mere 150-250 chill hours. It is hardy in Zones 9-10 only, making it one of few that will thrive in Zone 10 at all.
‘Tropic Beauty’ produces a bounty of pretty pink blossoms in the spring. The fruit is medium-sized with sweet yellow flesh that melts in your mouth. The fruits are semi-freestone and ripen very early, in mid-May. This tree is great for southern Florida and Texas gardeners.
‘Red Globe’
Botanical Name: Prunus persica ‘Red Globe’
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Height: 15’
- Zones: 5-8
- Chill Hours: 800
The phrase pretty as a peach was most certainly coined for the ‘Red Globe’ peach. These peaches are large with a wonderful rounded shape and deep red blush over pale yellow.
They are freestone peaches with extra sweet and juicy yellow flesh with just a touch of tartness. ‘Red Globe’ is often considered one of the prettiest and best-tasting peaches around.
‘Red Globe’ is a mid to larger-sized tree, growing to about 15 feet tall. These tasty peaches are great for eating fresh, canning, baking, and any other use you can think of. This is a perfect peach!
Final Thoughts
There are many different varieties of peaches, each with its own set of wonderful traits and characteristics. The size and orientation of your garden, along with your climate, are important factors when choosing a peach tree.
You should choose one that will thrive in your climate and produce the right amount of fruit for your situation. Whether you choose a sweet and tangy yellow or a delicate and floral white-fleshed variety, there is a peach for nearly every garden.
