Lovell Seedling Peach

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bare-root trees
Prunus persica
15-25' A chance seedling selected in California in 1882 as a quality canning and drying peach.

Yellow-fleshed freestone fruit is also decent for fresh eating. Now commonly grown as a rootstock for graftings, as it grows relatively true to type from seed, retaining the desirable characteristics of the parent. Renowned for vigorous growth and low suckering, Lovell seedlings make hardy disease-resistant rootstocks that are also compatible with plums, nectarines and apricots. Plant these full-sized seedling trees for processing-grade fruit, or topwork (graft) other varieties onto them.

Grows best in well-drained soil. This is not a grafted variety. Z4. Maine Grown. (3–6' bare-root trees)
ships in spring

7388 Lovell Seedling

A: 1 ea
$22.00
sold out
Shipping

Items from our perennial plants warehouse ordered on or before March 7 will ship around March 31 through late April, starting with warmer areas and finishing in colder areas. Orders placed after March 7 will ship around late April through early-to-mid May, in the order in which they were received.

Additional Information

Peaches Prunus persica

Northern New England peach growing can be very successful. The trees often bear so heavily that the fruit needs thinning and the branches need support. Some winters can be hard on certain peach trees, and they may die. Other trees live for many years. Replant and try again. They are worth the trouble, and since they bear young, you won’t have to wait too long!

Peaches are usually unaffected by pests or diseases in northern areas, the occasional exception being peach leaf curl. PLC is not a fatal problem but does need to be controlled if you get hit with it. Look for crinkled or puckered foliage in spring. Remove affected leaves and compost them. Spray the tree with lime, sulfur or copper early the following spring while it is still dormant (before any buds open!) Onion, garlic or horsetail spray while leafed-out may also be effective. It’s common for peaches to have black gummy wounds. This is usually harmless and happens from any environmental stress, even when a bird or a bug looks sideways at the tree.

Mature trees will be 10–15' tall.

Growing Peaches

  • Soil: Prefers well-drained fertile soil.
  • Sun: Full.
  • Pollination: Self-pollinating. You only need one tree.
  • Spacing: Plant 20' apart.
  • Planting: See our planning and planting and pests and diseases pages for more information about soil prep, planting and pest control.
  • Pruning: Prune in spring after the buds begin to swell and show pink. Remove dead and inward-growing branches. Make a few bold cuts to bring main branches closer to the trunk. After cutting back any main branches, thin last year’s shoots and cut them back to about 12–18". When you’re done, the tree shape should look something like an open hand reaching for a peach, with the tree not much taller than 10' or so.

    The goal is to keep trees small and open. Peach trees grow vigorously each year and fruit on the previous year’s wood. Leggy branches will break from the weight of fruit.