Wild Texas Peach Seeds

 From Seed Wild Peach

One of the great mysteries of life is how some of the best tasting fruits and most healthful are often ignored or forgotten so quickly over time. Such is the case with the peach. We have huge peach orchards in the United States yet try to fit into that market with a tiny white peach with lots of fur is impossible. Yet one bite into this and soon you find yourself not so enamored with the other glorious varieties of peaches. To top it off, the introduction of the peach really got its start from the Navaho long before there was even orchards in the United States. The Spaniards brought peaches with them and some naturalized and were later bred and transported by the Native Americans. Today there are still some wild peaches in Texas and probably Mexico where the pits were discarded long ago. I was fortunate to get a few of those from another arboretum owner who knew of a few, the late John Fairey. I only had one plant but today after harvesting the first crop in about 25 years. The tree had been forgotten and soon I had to remove the branches of a nearby pawpaw and Korean nut pine to let light in to get it up in the canopy. That worked!  

Peaches like this don't exist much anymore. The value of them really is no disease, no insects and heavy fruiting with minus 25 F in this area. It is true to seed and may be another form of peach related to the northern forms of peaches in China. The tree itself has hard wood and so far has exhibited a more moderate growth habit unlike most peach seedlings which are super vigorous. But to be honest..where did this peach come from and is just a normal old school white peach with coarse flesh and a small smooth pit? I don't know. A Instagram user mentioned to me they look a lot like winter peaches in Austria and are called vineyard peaches. Some believe these white peaches are the peaches distributed by the Romans long ago. Even the pits are different and look much like an almond. 

To germinate the pits: Buff down the sutre on the side of the pits to aid in first year germination. Give cold and moist dormancy for 60-90 days at 34F to 38F. Seeds will sprout easily in the refrigerator so be careful not to use too much moisture and be prepared to take them out before letting them get too far. Just when the start to peak out is ideal.