Do You Need Two Dwarf Peach Trees to Bear Fruit?

Dwarf peach trees produce fresh fruit every year.

Dwarf peach trees offer gardeners with limited space a chance to enjoy fresh peaches. If your dwarf peach tree produces flowers, it will pollinate and likely bear fruit, even in the first year of growth.

Pollination

All peach trees, including dwarf varieties, self-pollinate. So, dwarf peach tree varieties do not require another nearby tree with which to pollinate and set fruit.

First Crop

Dwarf peach trees often produce fruit earlier than regular peach tree varieties. That's because dwarf peach trees produce masses of flowers the year they are planted. The flowers pollinate themselves, then set fruit. The trees produce mature fruit a few months later.

Yields

The yields from dwarf peach trees, thanks to their ability to produce and self-pollinate blossoms during their first year, rivals standard varieties when it comes to the amount of fruit produced. The resulting fruit yield for first year dwarf tree peaches equals the yield of standard peach trees at least 5 or 6 years in age, according to "The Commercial Potential of Dwarf Fruit Trees," a study by the University of California, published in the September 1979 issue of "California Agriculture."

References

• "California Agriculture"; The Commercial Potential of Dwarf Fruit Trees; Paul Hansche, et al.; September 1979
• Mother Earth News: Growing Dwarf Fruit and Nut Trees; Robert Kourik; March 1986

Resources

• Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension: Herman Auer Answers Your Questions on Peaches and Plums