Red Haven Peach Tree

The Red Haven Peach tree produces a delicious, high-quality peach with a sweet but tangy juicy yellow flesh. It is a freestone variety, meaning that the flesh comes away from the stone easily and completely, making eating straight from the hand a pleasure. If you have never eaten a tree-ripened peach you have not enjoyed one of the great pleasure of summer. Store peaches have been picked green so that they can be shipped without bruising, and they never ripen in the way they do when left hanging on the tree. A tree-ripened peach is sweet, juicy, full-of-flavor and has a firm yet yielding flesh. Red Haven has a skin which is almost completely free of that annoying peach-fuzz, so when you bite into it the pleasure is complete. Not only will you have baskets of fresh peaches for eating, but there will be plenty for juicing, baking, jam-making and preserving, so that you can enjoy your Red Haven Peaches all year round.

When growing peaches in cooler areas the main danger is spring frost. Once the tree begins to blossom, a late chill can destroy the flowers and the crop that would have followed them. So it is important to plant a variety that blooms late and so avoids this danger. The Red Haven Peach tree is a late bloomer, so the risk of losing your crop to those nasty late frosts is minimal. The second big problem with peach growing is that some varieties need a second, different variety of peach to pollinate them and produce a crop. Red Haven produces a bumper crop all on its own, so with just one tree you can be enjoying the pleasure of summer peaches without having to turn your whole garden into a peach orchard.

The Red Haven Peach tree is one of the most vigorous varieties of peach available. It will quickly develop into a tree 12 to 15 feet tall, with wide-spreading branches that are about 15 feet across. Within 2 or 3 years you will be harvesting your first peaches and from then on the crop will be bigger and bigger every year. The fruit usually ripens in mid-July, just when the summer is really getting going and when a fresh, juicy peach is just what you crave.

This peach tree is hardy from zones 5 to 9, so it can be grown across a wide part of the country – in fact except for the colder parts of the Mid-west it can be grown almost anywhere. Because of its late-blooming habit it escapes the spring frosts that can destroy the crop of other varieties when grown in colder regions.

Although not as showy as the Japanese flowering cherry tree, in spring Red Haven puts out a beautiful show of pink flowers all along its bare branches, so you can grow this tree right in your flower garden and enjoy its beauty as well as its usefulness.

In cooler regions it is best if peaches ripen early in the season, so that a good crop is produced before cooler, cloudy weather returns. So this was the goal of Dr Stanley Johnston of Michigan State University when, in 1940, he developed this variety. It was named after the South Haven research station in Michigan where he worked, and for the beautiful red blush on its skin when ripe.

Unlike some other varieties, Red Haven is a vigorous, fast-growing tree that is resistant to many diseases and will do well with just basic care. Although it does best in rich soils, an adequate crop will usually be produced even in poor soil and with only 6 or 8 hours of direct sun. So even if you do not have that magical ideal garden, this peach is a good choice to make.

To get the best results from your Red Haven Peach tree, choose a sunny, sheltered position. Plant it at least 10 feet from a building, although it is possible to also grow this tree trained against a sunny wall, which can be a great idea in cooler areas. A south-facing slope makes an ideal location for planting, but avoid the low parts of your property, where water tends to keep the soil too wet. Most kinds of soil are acceptable to this vigorous tree, but it will do best in loamy or sandy-loam soils. If you have a heavier soil, dig in plenty of organic material such as garden compost, rotted manure or coarse peat-moss.

Red Haven is a special variety and must be produced from stems taken from correctly identified mother plants. These stems are grafted onto special roots that keep the tree healthy and control its size. Avoid cheaper seedling trees or other forms that are not produced in the correct way, as these will only be a disappointment in your garden.

To plant your tree dig a hole in the prepared ground about three times the width of the pot, but no deeper. Place your tree in the centre of the hole and with a sharp knife cut the root-ball in two or three places about one inch deep from top to bottom. This will encourage the roots to spread outwards. Replace most of the soil, water thoroughly and when the water has drained away replace the rest of the soil. Water your young tree once a week during the first growing season and after that whenever the soil begins to dry out.

Your Red Haven Peach tree will grow 12 to 15 feet tall and it should be pruned to develop a wide, open shape, like a bowl. Keep the centre of the tree free of upright branches, so that the sun penetrates right inside and keeps flowers coming all along the branches, and ripens the developing fruit.

Our Red Haven Peach trees are true to the correct form. We are constantly renewing our stock so our customers get fresh, healthy plants, so supplies of this tree may be limited. To avoid disappointment order now.