How to grow peaches and pears

The sweet crispiness of pears and the juiciness of peaches is enough reason to grow your own. These tips will get you started.

Peaches are a worthwhile tree for the backyard orchardist because they need little maintenance and should start to crop well after only a few years' growth. Peach trees prefer a climate with cool winters and warm dry conditions in other seasons. Apart from late-flowerers, most varieties will not tolerate late frosts, which cause damage to the flower buds.

Later-fruiting varieties are generally planted in cool areas to avoid frost damage to the flower buds; these include 'Fragar' (white clingstone ), 'Early Becky' (freestone with white flesh), 'Starking Delicious' (semi-freestone with yellow flesh), 'Redhaven' (semi-freestone with yellow flesh), and 'Blackburn', 'Malehaven' and 'J. M. Hale' (freestones with yellow flesh). 'J. M. Hale' is the only variety that is not self-fertile; it needs to be cross-pollinated from another variety such as 'Blackburn Elberta' or 'Malehaven'.

The fruit from a peach tree is produced on the lateral growth from the previous season; each lateral produces during that season only. The young trees should be trained into an open shape by removing excess inward-growing stems in autumn and then shortening the lateral growths in summer. When the fruit has formed it should be thinned out so that no more than 15 fruits appear per metre (one yard) of stem — this ensures larger fruits.

Leaf curl, rust, brown rot and fruit fly are just some of the problems affecting peaches, although with great care they can be grown organically. Spray to prevent leaf curl towards the end of winter using a Bordeaux mix; spraying must be done before buds burst into flower. Wet weather when the fruit is forming can result in brown rot.

Pears are deciduous trees with basically the same climatic requirements as apples. In large gardens they make an attractive hedge, while in small gardens they can be effectively espaliered against a sunny wall. Some varieties are self-fertile; others require a pollinator to set fruit.

Where winters are long and cold and summers are mild, pear trees take at least five years to begin bearing a good fruit crop, but once established they will continue to fruit well. The fruits are better if picked while still firm, and then allowed to ripen indoors. Pruning is the same as for apples. Pear scab and codling moth can be a problem for pear trees; wet soil should be avoided and clean methods of cultivation followed.