Yes you will be able to control the height of the tree.

Once you set the framework/shape of he tree by pruning when it is young, summer pruning will control the size.

Remember, generally speaking, winter(dormant) pruning leads to vigorous growth while summer pruning will reduce vigor and lead to more fruit wood formation.

There is a huge amount of info out there. Search "summer pruning fruit trees", "summer pruning peach trees" you will have enough info to take up the entire winter to plan your moves.

Mike

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Mike

This post was edited by mes111 on Mon, Aug 26, 13 at 10:15

M has given you good info. Also, keep in mind that peaches bear fruit on last year's wood. Because of that...consider "thinning" cuts rather than "heading" cuts on your pruning.

Thank you for your responses. In truth, I'd rather keep the tree even small than described above. I suppose I didn't want to sound ridiculous in the initial post. Do you believe with a tree of this variety I can keep it, let's say within step ladder height for a normal human being (of which I am, height-wise at least)? 8 to 9 feet high or is that pushing it?

I did notice there were a ton of posts on peach tree pruning. I'll take a look through them as everyone suggests.

Thanks again everyone for your help.

Absolutely... you can keep it at 8-9 feet.

There is a "summer pruning" video on Dave Wilson's Nursery. The link is attached. It should eliminate any "fear" you might have.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: summer pruning