Contents
The White Swan peach is often grown in regions with warm and temperate climates. The fruits of this variety are quite unusual in color, which to some extent contributes to its popularity. For those who want to plant this peach in their area – a description, characteristics of the variety and agricultural technology for its cultivation.
Origin of peach variety White Swan
This variety of domestic origin, obtained back in Soviet times in the Crimea, in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden. Belongs to the mid-late varieties.
Description of peach White Swan
This plant is thermophilic, therefore it is recommended to grow it in the southern regions and, possibly, in some regions of the Middle Strip. The description of the peach variety White Swan or White Lebedeva (another name) is as follows:
- medium-sized tree;
- the crown is sprawling, spherical in shape;
- fruits are large (150–200 g), almost uniform in size, round or broadly oval, with a slightly convex apex;
- the skin is light, non-classical peach color, sometimes with a blush, pubescent in the region of the stalk;
- the pulp is creamy white, soft fibrous, the cut fruit does not darken in the air;
- medium-sized stone, well separated from the pulp.
The taste of peaches is harmonious, pleasant, sweet, with honey notes, without the presence of acid (when fully ripe), rated by professional tasters at 4,5 points. The aroma is characteristic of the culture, pronounced. What White Swan peaches look like can be seen in the photo.
Characteristics of White Swan peach
It will be useful to learn about the characteristics of this variety for those gardeners who are interested in it and want to grow it on their site.
Drought resistance, frost resistance
The White Swan peach, which can be seen in the photo, is drought-resistant, so it can be grown in areas with a dry and hot climate. Differs in sufficient cold resistance (withstands frosts down to -30 ˚C), but still unsuitable for planting in regions where there are very cold winters.
Does the variety need pollinators?
The peach variety White Swan is self-fertile, so it does not need pollinators. The tree can be grown without replanting other varieties of peaches to it.
When Peaches Ripe White Swan
The fruits of this medium-late variety ripen in August, approximately in the 1st or 2nd decade. Then comes the harvest time. The white peach harvest is shown in the photo.
Yield and fruiting
The first fruits from plants of this variety can be harvested in the second or third year after planting, and from the fourth or fifth they are gaining full strength. The yield of this variety under good climatic conditions is above average – from one tree (over 6 years old) you can collect 50-60 kg of fruits of excellent quality. The frequency of fruiting is not observed: the peach produces a crop of fruits every year. The taste of ripe fruits is wonderful: sweet, rich, there is a lot of juice in the pulp.
Scope of fruits
Crimean peaches White Swan can be used for eating fresh and for processing: prepare various homemade preparations from them: jam, jam, juice with pulp, peach compotes or fruit platter. Fruits plucked from trees are not stored for a very long time, but can be transported over short distances; peaches of this variety cannot be transported over long distances.
Disease and pest resistance
The peach of this variety is quite resistant to various diseases, including powdery mildew and clasterosporia, but still, for various reasons, it can be affected by some fungal diseases.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The benefits of this peach are:
- excellent characteristics of its fruits, unusual skin color, tasty and fragrant pulp;
- self-fertility;
- rapid entry into fruiting;
- the ability to produce fruits every year;
- resistance to heat and cold, some diseases.
Disadvantages are susceptibility to fungal diseases and that ripe fruits are poorly transported and stored for only a short time.
Peach planting rules
To grow a good peach fruit tree that will bear fruit for many years, you need to plant it correctly. It is important to take into account many nuances, such as the location, timing, and the landing process itself.
Recommended dates
A peach of this variety is planted in the spring, after the arrival of steady heat, but before the buds open on the seedlings. In autumn, planting is also carried out at least a month before the cold weather, so that young trees have time to take root.
Choosing the right place
The place on the site for the White Swan variety peach tree should be light and open, that is, sunny, but partial shade is also acceptable. It should be located on a flat area or on a hill, but not in a lowland (to groundwater should be at least 1,5 m). This is due to the fact that in constantly moist soil, peach roots can be affected by rot, which will lead to the death of the plant. Areas where stone fruits used to grow are not suitable: plums, apricots. The most suitable soil for this crop is loam or sandy loam. The acidity of the soil is neutral or alkaline.
Selection and preparation of planting material
Suitable for transplanting 1 or 2-year-old seedlings. They must be completely healthy, with well-developed roots and shoots.
Before planting in a permanent place, the trees are prepared: the roots are kept for a day in a solution of any root formation stimulator.
Landing algorithm
Before planting a peach seedling in a permanent place, the dried ends of the roots and branches are cut off by 1/3 of it. Then:
- Dig landing holes 0,7 m in diameter and the same depth. The distance from one tree to another must be at least three meters.
- At the bottom of the pits pour 1 bucket of humus and 0,5 kg of ash. Everything is mixed with soil and watered.
- A seedling is placed vertically in the center of the pits, covered with soil up to the neck and the soil is slightly tamped.
- The trunk circle is mulched with any plant material.
How to plant a White Swan peach is shown in the photo.
Peach Aftercare
In the first season after planting, the Swan peach is watered abundantly (at least 5 buckets of water) several times during the summer, especially in the heat. An adult tree is watered only if there is a strong or prolonged heat.
Fertilize the plant every year: 2-3 times in spring and summer and 1 time in autumn, starting from the second year of planting. The composition of fertilizers should be dominated by potassium and phosphorus, nitrogen should be limited. In summer, the peach is watered with slurry at a concentration of 1 to 10 or with a solution of bird droppings at a concentration of 1 to 20. Before they are introduced, the tree is watered with clean water so that the infusions do not burn its roots.
In the fall, under each peach, make:
- superphosphate (granules) – 200 g;
- potassium chloride – 150 g.
Mineral fertilizers can be replaced with organic ones and 7–10 kg of humus and 0,5–1 kg of ash can be applied under each tree.
Cut the peach in the spring before bud break or in the fall before the onset of cold weather. In the spring, all the branches that have dried out during the winter are cut out, and the remaining healthy ones are shortened by ¼ part. In autumn, the growth of the current year, growing inside the crown, is removed.
For the winter, the near-stem circle near the tree is dug up and sprinkled with a layer of peat, foliage, straw, and the trunk is wrapped with burlap to protect against rodents, and on top with a piece of roofing material. In the spring they are removed from the tree.
Diseases and pests, methods of control and prevention
The white peach can be affected by a disease such as leaf curl: most often it appears in a damp and long spring. If you do not take action and do not cure the plant, then it may die.
And also peach can be harmed by fruit rot, moniliosis, scab, mushroom burn. These are infectious diseases, the spread of which can be prevented by spring and autumn preventive treatments of trees with Bordeaux liquid, as well as by smearing the cuts with garden pitch.
Pests that can settle on peach trees during different periods of the growing season are flower beetles, aphids, codling moths and fruit moths. Measures to combat them – treatment of plants with pesticides.
Conclusion
Peach White Swan is recommended to be grown in the southern regions of Our Country and in the Middle lane. This plant with fruits of original color and harmonious sweet taste can decorate the site of any amateur gardener.
Reviews
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