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Happy, Healthy Plants Guaranteed
Expertly Grown In The UK
Carefully Hand Delivered
Happy, Healthy Plants Guaranteed
Expertly Grown In The UK
Carefully Hand Delivered

'Rochester' Peach Tree

A reliable, golden-fleshed peach

Grown by John

South Downs National Park

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'Rochester' Peach Tree Fruit Trees
Rochester' Peach Tree Fruit Trees

£36

In stock

Perfectly happy plants, or your money back

Specialist overnight plant delivery

The highlights

  • Compact and attractive tree with beautiful pink spring blossom
  • Produces large, juicy yellow fleshed peaches
  • Harvest from mid August
  • Bred for success in the UK climate

Description

  • Rochester is a large, golden, juicy yellow-fleshed peach on a compact tree with fantastic spring blossom. It's one of the most reliable for growing outdoors in the UK climate
  • Late flowering means that the blossom is not as susceptible to frost as other varieties, giving you better results
  • Harvest from mid August
  • late/mid/early
  • Plant in full sun, ideally in a border next to a south or west facing wall, but Rochester also does well as a freestanding tree in warmer parts of the country
  • Self fertile - you'll get a good crop from just one tree
  • RHS Plants for Pollinators - this tree has been recognised for its value to bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects
  • Our trees are professionally pruned before dispatching. This formative pruning can involve cutting the main leader, if the expert tree growers decide this will produce a better shaped tree. This can stop the tree becoming "leggy", and promote stronger, bushier growth.MORE

Read more

What To Expect

Supplied as:

Bare Root Tree
Tree in 9L Pot

Height on arrival:

120-150cm incl. roots
120-150cm incl. pot

Eventual height:

3.6m

Eventual spread:

3.6m
Spreads approx 3.6m unless pruned
3.6m
Spreads approx 3.6m unless pruned

Tasting notes:

Juicy, rich and mellow
Juicy, rich and mellow

Time to first crop:

2 Years
You may see your first peaches after 2 years but you should not expect to see substantial crops for another 2-3 years after that
2 Years
You may see your first Peaches after 2 years but you should not expect to see substantial crops for another 2-3 years after that

Flower colour:

Pink
Clusters of pink blossom in spring
Pink
Clusters of pink blossom in spring

Habit:

Upright, bushy
An upright tree with a bushy habit
Upright, bushy
An upright tree with a bushy habit

Hardiness:

Hardy
May require some protection from very late frosts as this can damage the flowers. This won't cause lasting damage to the tree but will reduce the yield of fruit that year.
Hardy
May require some protection from very late frosts as this can damage the flowers. This won't cause lasting damage to the tree but will reduce the yield of fruit that year.

Self fertile:

Self fertile
Will produce a crop from a single plant
Self fertile
Will produce a crop from a single plant

Uses:

Eating fresh, cooking, preserving
Eating fresh, cooking, preserving

Rootstock:

Montclare
Peach varieties are usually grown by grafting them to rootstocks. This has benefits for pest resistance, genetics and the efficiency of propagation. Importantly, it also limits the height of a tree to a more manageable, specific height. Montclare Peach trees tend to only reach 4m tall, perfect for smaller spaces or those afraid of stepladders. They can also be trained to a smaller size by pruning or restricting the roots, by keeping in a smaller pot

Spacing:

3m
Plant 3m apart to allow for spreading

How To Grow

Good pest and disease resistance

Shows good resistance to the main pest and diseases for peaches. Has a good resistance to peach leaf curl, although not full resistance so you should still keep an eye out for it and take the pruning steps below. You may see some damage from aphids and caterpillars, which can both be washed away with soapy water. Reduce the risk of bacterial canker by pruning to improve airflow and removed rotting organic matter nearby.

Water in well when planting - read on for ongoing care

Water in thoroughly when planting. For bare root trees, you won't need to water regularly going forward, oly water in dry spells when needed. You should be able tell because the leaves will start to wilt and droop. If a container grown tree, it will need more watering until its roots are established. It should be watered every other day or so for the first few months. Then reduce to twice a week until autumn. In the second year it should have a established enough root system to support itself, just water when required as explained above for bare roots. When watering a tree it is important to give a good soaking. It is better to water heavy and less frequently than little and often as this encourages the roots to grow down into the ground.

Full sun

Best planted in a sheltered spot where the tree will enjoy direct sun for more than 6 hours each day during the spring/summer.

Any well drained, fertile soil

Will tolerate less than perfect conditions but prefers well drained, loamy soils. If your soil is heavy or sandy, mix in some perlite or fine horticultural grit when planting, to improve drainage.

No feeding required

Peach trees get all the nutrients they need from the soil - if yours is poor quality, mix in some compost when planting.

Planting Calendar

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  • Best time to plant
  • Harvest
  • Flower

South Downs National Park

Meet John

110 years' expertise free with every tree

John’s family have been growing trees in the South Downs National Park for over a century, and it shows. Dug up and sent straight to your garden at between 18-36 months old, their quality rootstocks, expert pruning and natural pest control mean that these traditionally field-grown trees are the hardiest you can get.

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Good to know

Our plants are grown 
in the UK

Specialist UK growers we know and trust grow your plants the traditional way, with organic fertiliser and biological pest control. They pick only the healthiest plants for you, professionally pruning them so that they’ll grow strong and well shaped.

Our plants are delivered overnight

Your plants are sent to you fresh from the field in our plastic free box that’s specially designed to hold them tight, then securely delivered by specialist plant couriers - straight from the grower to your garden within 
24 hours.

We’re here to help
at every step

We want your plants to have a long and healthy life. Expect easy-to-follow grow guides and videos devised by our team 
of experts.

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We’re confident that you’ll be delighted 
with your new plants. Need help? Alice and her team are here to guarantee you’re 
perfectly happy.

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When will I get my plants?

The delivery timescale for each plant is on the web page (near the 'add to basket's button). You'll receive a dispatch email with an exact delivery date once your plants are on their way, so you can get the garden ready.

How will my plants be packed and delivered?

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Where do you deliver?

We deliver to anywhere in Mainland UK for our standard delivery cost. We are able to deliver most plants to Highlands and non UK mainland however this will be at an additional cost. This will be calculated at the checkout. Please note, deliveries to these locations will take longer. Unfortunately, we are not able to deliver to Northern Ireland at present.

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