Here are some interesting facts about peach trees you may not have known:
- Peach trees are originally from China where over half of the world’s peaches are still produced today.
- California grows the most peaches of any state in the U.S., followed by South Carolina and Georgia. (We think the best peaches are grown in Spring Hill, TN!)
- Peach trees are pruned heavily in late winter when as much as 40% of the tree is removed.
- If Spring weather is favorable, peach trees will set far more fruit than they can successfully bear. To compensate for this, the fruit is thinned. As many as 80-90% of the fruit may have to be removed so that the remaining fruit will be able to grow to the appropriate size without placing too much stress on the tree.
- Peaches are very delicate when picked ripe. For this reason, peaches that are shipped from orchards far from the consumer have to be picked before they are fully ripe while they are still hard so that they can withstand being loaded into boxes and rattled in the back of a truck for hundreds of miles. This presents a problem to the consumer since, while the hard peaches will soften, they will not get any sweeter after they are picked. This means that the peaches you buy that were shipped in aren’t as sweet as the peaches that were allowed to ripen on the tree.
- Have you ever heard the saying “one bad apple spoils the whole bunch”? This statement is true because as some fruits ripen they produce a gas called ethylene. The presence of ethylene gas can also promote the ripening of some fruits. So, the apple that is “going bad” is also causing the apples around it to ripen and ultimately spoil. Peaches, like apples, produce ethylene gas and are sensitive to it. So, when you get your Gwin Orchard peaches home, take them out of the bag we put them in when you bought them so that they don’t ripen too quickly.