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Name: Joanne
Status: other
Grade: other
Location: Outside U.S.
Country: USA
Date: Winter 2011-2012
Question:
Do peach trees loose there leaves in winter in Florida?


Replies:
Taylor

Peach trees are deciduous, so yes, they lose their leaves:

http://www.ehow.com/facts_7021010_information-deciduous-fruit-trees-florida.html

Anthony R. Brach, Ph.D. Harvard University Herbaria c/o Missouri Botanical Garden

This depends on the latitude. South of Immokalee, peach trees could stay evergreen year-round. However, they also will not bear fruit because a “chilling period” is needed to prime the tree for production in the spring. It simply doesn’t get cool enough to pull this physiological trigger.

Otherwise, a tree should drop its leaves in preparation for winter dormancy. If the early winter has been unseasonably warm and the trees have not dropped their leaves by mid-December, then a zinc sulfate solution can be applied to artificially induce defoliation.

Dr. Tim Durham Instructor, Office of Curriculum and Instruction University Colloquium Department of Biological Sciences Florida Gulf Coast University


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