I have always wanted to be able to walk out into my backyard and pick sweet juicy peaches right from the tree. While it should be an easy problem to solve, it really isn't because we simply don't have enough room to grow a couple of peach trees in our yard. So, I have convinced a friend and a neighbor that he should really have a couple of peach trees. I offered to buy the trees and do most of the maintenance. So, in a few years I will be able to walk into my friends yard and pick some fresh peaches. It's not my backyard but the trees won't be far away.

Since we live in Zone 5, the variety choices we have to pick from are abundant. We have decided that since most of our production will be used for fresh eating and maybe cooking up some peach jelly, it didn't make a lot of difference regarding planting a clingstone peach tree (pit is hard to remove from the flesh) or a freestone peach tree (pit is easy to remove from the flesh). There are so many cultivars available that have some built in disease resistance from brown rot, leaf curl, leaf spot, canker disease or even borers.

The first thing a person should consider is location.  Since I have a spot selected (in my friends yard) where the trees will be planted, I decided to address the other considerations first. The spot I have in mind (hopefully he will agree) is well drained and receives full sun with protection from our sometimes strong winds.  Since my choices of peach trees are self-fertile, I will not need to worry about a pollinator. My choices are Polly White and the Elberta peach tree.