peach 'Rochester'
peach
A Victorian-era cultivar blooming weeks after early-flowering types, allowing it to avoid late spring frosts. The resilience of its cheerful...
bare root | Mont Clare rootstock |1.2m
£34.99
available to order from autumn 2024
1
Plant description
A Victorian-era cultivar blooming weeks after early-flowering types, allowing it to avoid late spring frosts. The resilience of its cheerful pink buds pays off with abundant mid-August harvests of large, fuzzy-skinned fruits with firm yet juicy flesh with a balanced sweetness needing no enhancement fresh off the tree. 'Rochester' boasts flexibility as well - picked slightly early, its pleasant peach perfume reduces well during cooking. Arguably the ‘hardiest’ peach cultivar for our UK climate.
Eventual height & spread
Flowering period
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Plant features
Position
Full sun
Rate of growth
Average
Soil
Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil
Hardiness
Borderline hardy (will need protection in winter in colder areas)
How to care for peach Rochester:
When planting your peach, prepare a hole up to three times the diameter of its root system. Fork over the base of the pit in readiness, incorporating plenty of organic matter into the backfill and planting hole. Avoiding frozen and waterlogged soil, trees should be planted out as they arrive. If you've ordered a bare root tree, soak the roots in a bucket of water for half an hour prior to planting, or if this is not possible, they can be heeled in temporarily, covering their roots with soil, or potted up. Peaches are best grown against or trained on a sheltered, sunny wall, traditionally under shelter from excessive rainfall, which reduces the chances of peach leaf curl. Apply a balanced fertiliser in early spring to support growth and fruiting and provide regular watering during hot, dry spells. Protect blooms from late frost by covering the plant with a double layer of horticultural fleece, and prune in summer to reduce the risk of disease.
Please note:
This plant is deciduous so it will lose all its leaves in autumn, then fresh new foliage appears again each spring.
