By Nariz
Spain 
Peachey - but confused!
We have three 2-yr-old peach trees given to us by our Spanish neighbour which have little peaches growing. We have read several conflicting ideas about pruning so would like to know - where does the new growth for next years' peaches come from; the main stem, or from branches already in leaf? And - should we prune out any branches now that are not bearing peaches? All comments gratefully received. ;o)
4 Jun, 2010
Answers
Thanks, Fractal. That's much clearer than the confusing 'blurb' I've come across so far. :o)
5 Jun, 2010
Only prune stone fruit (cherries, peaches apricots and plums) in late summer. You can prune out weak or crossing stems and you can also prune to encourage flowers.
I have to say that two year old plants are probably less likely to fruit especially if they are now making good growth which would be preferable. As they become larger, they will produce flower buds more regularly on their stems and also on short side shoots that will also bear flowers and fruit.
The buds that produce new shoots tend to be the tip bud and the ones just below it. Below these, the slightly fatter buds (sometimes clustered) produce the flowers.
4 Jun, 2010