Ruston Red Peach Tree

If you like your peaches big and luscious, then planting a Ruston Red Peach Tree is our advice. Carrying extra-large peaches with delicious golden-yellow flesh, this variety ripens its crop in July, right in the middle of peach season. Great for eating fresh from the tree – nothing could be more wonderful – or for baking, freezing or preserves, this self-fertile variety pollinates its crop all by itself, so no second tree is needed. That’s great if you only have limited space, or a small garden. There is a bonus too, because the flowers of this variety are exceptionally large, over 2 inches across, and bright pink, so you get a splendid floral display in spring when they open all along the bare branches. It’s cold-resistant too, so you can grow it in zones 4 and 5 with ease. It’s a freestone variety too, so preparation is easy, with the flesh lifting right off the stone, and with nothing wasted. The flesh is extra sweet, hiding beneath a skin that ripens with a large blush of deep red – beautiful to look at, and fantastic to eat.

• Deep red blush on yellow skin tells you it is ripe and ready
• Sweet, luscious yellow flesh easily removed from this freestone variety
• Extra-large, bright pink flowers give a fantastic spring display
• Very large peaches ripen in July, exactly when you want them most
• Self-pollinating, so no second variety is needed

Plant your Ruston Red Peach Tree in a sunny spot. In zones 4 and 5 a place sheltered from cold winds is best, and not low-lying, because of the danger of late spring frosts. Especially in zone 4, growing as a fan on a south-facing wall will give extra warmth and sun to ripen the crop well. The soil should be well-drained, rich and moist, with a pH value between 6.0 and 7.0, but garden trees will still grow and fruit in less-than-ideal conditions. To produce the large peaches this tree is capable of, thin fruits when they are no more than one inch across, leaving just one in each cluster. Prune in early spring, starting when young, to develop an open, vase-shaped tree with 4 or 5 main limbs radiating out, and reduce growth from the previous year by about half, to stimulate flower production.