Are Reliance Peach Trees Self-Pollinating?
Nearly all peach trees, including Reliance, are self-pollinating. You can enhance fruit production by using a second tree of another cultivar to pollinate, but it is not necessary. Commercial growers often plant entire orchards of just one variety. The Reliance peach tree is ideal for areas where there is room for only one tree. Does this Spark an idea?
-
Self-Pollinating
-
The term "self-pollinating" can have two meanings. It sometimes means that a single tree can pollinate itself. This is the case with the Reliance peach tree. In other instances, it means that the cultivar needs trees of the same cultivar planted nearby to pollinate.
Cross-Pollinating
-
Reliance peaches, like other peach trees, often benefit from cross-pollination. To cross-pollinate, you need a second variety of peach tree that blossoms at the same time as the Reliance. Generally, fruit production is increased when cross-pollination is used.
-
Considerations
-
The self-pollinating Reliance peach tree is often subject to winter injury and frost issues, depending upon the part of the country in which it is planted. Severe temperatures in the winter can damage buds that formed the previous year. Frost can damage new buds or blossoms, causing them to drop and reducing the resulting crop.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit sot/Digital Vision/Getty Images