It may be that they are Manchurian apricots.

Edit: I thought you said "apricots", sorry. If it's true, and the fruit is good, then you should ask for seeds and grafting scion. Also be sure to post any pics you get.

Here is a link that might be useful: PIE CHERRIES & MANCHURIAN APRICOTS

This post was edited by milehighgirl on Fri, May 30, 14 at 11:33

I wouldnt doubt if they were. I asked my buddy to take a picture for me. Pretty easy to tell the difference between a peach and apricot generally speaking.

Even then, I have a seedling apricot so another would be nice.

There are a few successes here in 5b with peaches, but not many. Exact location matters. If that wall you mention is tall, heavy and south/southwest facing it might help, and so on. A variety that flowers late in the season has a better chance of getting through spring frosts; wind that dessicates is bad, heavy snow that insulates might be good. So I'm saying that the devil is in the details.

I'd really love to have one here, but I've already killed off enough apricots to give me pause ... :-)

I wish I could find the reference again, but I recall a note a few years ago that somone in Winnipeg (zone 3) was successfully growing peaches by espaliering them along the ground, then keeping them well covered with snow during the winter.

Don,

Are you sure it was peaches? There is a way of growing figs called the Japanese step-over method. I imagine it would work with peaches in a similar fashion.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stepover figs

The wall I mention is the wall of the house... 40 feet on both sides. I can protect it if its espaliered but then I have to worry about early flowering.

Its an inside corner of the house so its fairly protected. We do get some nasty winds though.

Don - I have heard of something similar with grapes and as milehigh said, figs. Figs grow like 6 feet a year and can produce on new growth though. Peaches produce on yr old wood if im not mistaken.

If true then there should be peaches on it.

I would guess it is up against the south side of the home where it gets protection from the cold.

http://www.starkbros.com/products/fruit-trees/peach-trees/reliance-peach

http://www.flaminfury.com/www.flaminfury.com/Flamin_Fury_Peach_Varieties_2_2_1_2.html

If it turns out to be a productive peach tree ask him about whether it is for fresh eating or canning and if he does anything special to protect it in the winter (paint trunk white, wrap trunk, cover bare tree, prune back severe)? If you get a peach tree or two to grow but it is unproductive you might try grafting a scion of his onto a branch for future use on topped failures (if they survive just no fruit). I really would be surprised but if true this variety deserves to be preserved and propagated.

I have a part of my house that has a corner nook also but I've hardly found anything that will grow there, even though it faces directly south. There isn't enough sun to grow most things, and I believe peaches wouldn't ripen well there. I've tried several things, but the only thing that has worked is rhubarb. I have thought of growing something there that will grow taller than the roof line to get adequate sun, but then it would be an easy target for birds and squirrels and too difficult for me to harvest.

This post was edited by milehighgirl on Sun, Jun 1, 14 at 16:19

The south side of a house can be at least a full zone warmer. I use my house to protect various plants that wouldn't survive in the open. If the roof overhangs a bit, it's even better.

The roof is too high to overhang too much, but if needed I could make an overhang pretty easy. Might need some sortve of windbreak from the east side though...

The inside-corner of the outside of my house is positioned in such a way as to only get full sun for 2 hours a day, max. It may be that your corner gets sun for quite a bit longer.

Yeah.... In the summer its from sunrise to about five or six. In the winter most of the bottom 7 feet gets almost no sun at all, which I could use to my advantage.