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[nottke1 <nottke1@earthlink.net>]

Anton & Alan,
Do peach trees need fertilization?
I fertilized my peach trees lightly in the Fall of years 2 & 3 but have not 
fertilized them since they produced their first fruit 12 years ago. They grow 
vigorously, bloom profusely, and I usually thin off 2 or 3 buckets of culls 
per tree.  I mulch with oak and hickory leaves each Fall, which I wouldn't 
consider to be "fertilizer".  My trees are on a sandy-clay ridgetop 15 miles 
west of Winston-Salem.
Jim
====================
Anton wrote;
>It's interesting that you mention Fall fertilization.  The fellow I did my 
>Master's with, Dr. Gary Couvillon at UGA, did quite a lot of research on the 
>effects of Fall fertilization on hardiness and peach tree health.  His 
>research supported exactly what you said, that fertilizing in the Fall 
>(within limits, of course) not only did not decrease hardiness, it could 
>even increase winter hardiness, presumably by increasing solutes in the 
>buds.  Based on his teachings, I've routinely Fall fertilized for the last 
>30 years, with no ill effects.
>
>Anton
>North Carolina