Natural dwarf peach tree, grown as a standard. Produces full size, freestone orange-red fruit with sweet yellow flesh. A winner for a small garden, pottager or patio pot. Spray programme recommended. Self fertile.
The Bonanza Patio Peach is a very special variety of peach that is naturally very small and compact, yet it produces full-sized peaches. This isn’t some trick of grafting or pruning, it’s a miniature form of the regular peach that only grows 4 to 6 feet tall and wide, or even less when grown in a pot. It is also self-fertile, so you don’t even need a second plant to grow a full harvest. This tree has a short trunk, topped by a cluster of short, thick branches. In spring you will be amazed to see all the beautiful pale-pink peach blossoms growing along those stems, on the bare branches. These release a charming fragrance too, and if it was just for the blossoms and perfume, this tree would be worth growing. As the petals fall the leaves come out. These are full-sized peach leaves, between 3 and 5 inches long, deep green and slightly glossy, and they are unusually narrow and slender, giving this tree a unique look. In fall they turn attractive shades of orange and yellow, adding yet another dimension to the charm of this little tree.
Part the leaves carefully and there, hidden among them, you will find the baby peaches developing. Many types of peach require a second tree of a different type for pollination, to set the fruit. Not this one. All by itself it will set a bumper crop. At first you will see that the fruits are small and green. Once they are the size of a quarter, it is best to go along the branches and remove some, so that you have one fruit every few inches along each branch. This sounds odd – why throw away good fruit? – but if you don’t thin them you will have a big crop of very tiny peaches that are mostly stone. The fruit develops quickly, and by mid-July they will be full-sized and ripening. They turn from green to golden yellow, with a big blush of pink on the outside. The skin is only slightly hairy, with a soft peach fuzz. Once you feel the flesh yielding a little to the pressure of a finger, the fruit is ripe. The yellow flesh is sweet and delicious, and this is a slip-stone variety, so it is very easy to eat, with no waste. The fruits are up to 3 inches in diameter, and very juicy, sweet and delicious.
The Bonanza Patio Peach can be grown in the garden, or in a container. It makes an attractive plant in a sunny shrub border – the flowers are beautiful, the leaves form a dense green bush, and of course there is the big bonus of the delicious fruit. Most people will want to grow it in a pot, so choose a container 18 inches across, and make sure it has drainage holes. Fill it with regular potting soil, preferably one for outdoor planters, and plant your tree at the same depth it is in the pot it arrives in. Water regularly, always letting the water run out of the drainage holes. Don’t stand it in a saucer with water in it, and water again only once the soil in the top inch of the pot is dry. Fertilizer regularly with liquid tomato fertilizer, for the best growth and fruiting. Pruning is not necessary, but it is a good idea to remove any dead twigs in spring, and to cut the top few inches off any long shoots that form. Keep the pot in full sun. You may need to do some control for pests and diseases, and of course you can choose to use organic or chemical methods.