and this

It looks like the lichen that I used to get on my trees when I lived in Cornwall, England.
It used to grow easily there because the air quality was so clean. All the wind and weather comes in from the Atlantic Ocean, so no pollution.
Daisy

Lichen. Pretty common to grow on older peach trees.

Does it hurt the tree?

Do I try and get rid of it or just leave it?

Mike

This post was edited by mes111 on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 11:47

Almost certainly lichen, but I'll hold out a small possibility of white peach scale.

Either way this tree is in decline. Good vigor and pruning will prevent lichen. My guess is they pruned this tree very little, let the sod grow w/in the drip line, planted in heavy soil w/out a raised planting, didn't thin fruit - all of which will produce a wimpy fungus infested trunk.

I'm not trying to be critical, just observations based on more or less unmanaged peach trees in my area.

Olpea:

If I didn't know better I would say that you were with me when I looked at the tree. You are batting 1.000

It was planted ( at least 8 years ago) in clay-heavy soil, right next to and below the grade of the surface of a nearby pond, the only pruning it ever received is by way of any branches that were broken off by the wind, the sod & weeds are growing right up to and covering the root crown and last season's mummies are still hanging on and has not been the victim of ANY care throughout that time.

He is in Florida 10 months of the year and comes to NY just for the summer. He put them in because his grandkids ( who are now grown and away) thought it would be "nice".

I told hims that, in my opinion, it was firewood.

Mike