IX 

 DWARF PEACHES 



THE peach as a dwarf tree is almost unknown in 

 America. It is not very often grown as a dwarf 

 even in Europe, except when it is trained on walls or 

 grown in houses. The species, however, is easily 

 dwarfed and makes a good tree in various forms when 

 well propagated. The methods by which dwarf 

 peaches are propagated are fully described in the 

 chapter devoted to that subject. 



Peach trees growing on plum stocks and formed 

 in vases or bushes make excellent garden trees. Nat- 

 urally they should be headed low, best within three 

 to six inches of the ground. They then make fine, 

 regular, well balanced tops which are easily kept 

 opened out in the desired vase form. Such trees 

 usually come into bearing one or two years earlier 

 than those propagated and trained in the usual way. 

 In a country like New England where peach growing 

 is largely a system of gambling against cold weather, 

 and where the business largely resolves itself into a 

 race for getting a crop before the trees freeze back, 

 the smaller stature and the earlier bearing of the 

 dwarf t tree are obvious advantages. It has not yet 

 been shown that this may be turned to account on 

 a commercial scale, but there seem to be possibilities 

 in it. In case the peach grower undertakes the method 

 of laying down his peach trees and covering them 



