When to plant peaches in Shanghai

Why these dates

Plant dormant. Peach blooms very early - often the first thing in the orchard to flower - so in most temperate gardens the crop depends entirely on whether that bloom escapes a frost. Under glass or against a warm wall the flowers usually need hand-pollinating, because nothing much is flying that early.

The tree survives hard winters; the flowers do not survive a spring frost. Low-chill cultivars exist for subtropical climates, but the standard varieties need a proper cold period and will flower erratically without it.

Peaches are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. What matters in Shanghai is the shape of the year: this crop is dormant through the winter and is planted while it sleeps, any time between leaf fall in autumn and the restart of growth in spring, so long as the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. That is why the window below spans the cold months rather than sitting in the middle of the growing season.

Hardiness is not the obstacle here. Shanghai is zone 9a, comfortably inside the range this crop is rated for, so an established plant should come through an average winter without protection.

Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 3, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.

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