77°F
weather icon Mostly Clear

Peach trees puzzling for area

Question: I live in the Mesquite area (1,800 feet elevation) and was looking to plant three different varieties of peach that would not ripen all at the same time. Would also appreciate some advice on when to plant them and where I might obtain them should you recommend bare roots.

It is hard to predict which peach trees will be available for you to purchase to help you plan. I can make recommendations, but these trees may or may not be available. If you are an experienced gardener, then bare root is the best way to go. If you are not, then I would recommend planting from containers.

Off the top of my head, I would probably pick a yellow peach, a white peach for sure. Something like May Pride, Babcock and Indian Free. If you look at my downloadable recommended variety list, it will tell you which are early, mid and late peaches: tinyurl.com/morrisrecpeaches.

You can also look at varieties posted on Dave Wilson Nursery, which is the best site for general information on growing fruit trees: davewilson.com/br40/br40_trees/peaches.html

Bob Morris is a professor emeritus in horticulture with the University of Nevada and can be reached at extremehort@aol.com. Visit his blog at xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com.

THE LATEST
Some petunia varieties can stand up to our summer heat

There are lots of different kinds of petunias. For instance, the Madness Summer Series can take the heat, but petunias typically are not known for that.

Watch out for hornworms lurking in your garden

Anyone who has been gardening for a while has a horror story or two about hornworms, which infest many vegetables in the tomato family.

What can be done about high boron levels in soil?

Boron is one of the salts commonly found in desert soils. It can be present naturally or it can accumulate over the years in such places as horse corrals.

Do honeybees prefer pink flowers over white ones?

All of the so-called temperate fruit trees flower in the spring. The white-flowered types such as almonds, plums and pluots, apples and pears usually flower a bit later.

Is redbud tree a good choice for pool area?

My landscaper is recommending a redbud tree in the planter attached to my pool. I asked him if that’s a good tree to plant so close to the pool.

Can scent tell me what kind of plant this is?

You should smell a big difference between bay laurel and cherry laurel, which come from different plant families despite their similar names.