Everything I've Learned About Controlling Height of Peach Trees

In this video, I’m sharing everything I’ve learned over the years about controlling the height and size of mature peach trees. If your peach tree has gotten too tall to prune, harvest, or manage easily, this step-by-step guide is for you.

We’re out in the orchard working with 12- and 13-year-old Red Haven peach trees, demonstrating pruning techniques, branch selection, and tool recommendations to maintain trees at a manageable 7 to 8 feet. Whether you're a backyard gardener with a couple of trees or managing a small orchard, you'll learn how to:
✅ Keep peach trees productive without letting them grow out of control
✅ Identify and remove old, unproductive growth
✅ Encourage regenerative branching and better fruit production
✅ Prune for better sunlight penetration, airflow, and disease prevention
✅ Decide when to use a ladder vs. ground-based pruning
✅ Avoid common mistakes that lead to tall, unmanageable trees

You'll see real-time examples of pruning decisions, tool use (reciprocating saw, loppers, orchard ladder, etc.), and how I build open center “bowls” for fruit production from the fresh new growth.

🎥 This video is especially useful for: Small-scale farmers, Homesteaders, Backyard orchardists, Urban gardeners, Anyone growing stone fruit trees (peaches, nectarines, plums)

0:09 Introduction
0:39 Tools Needed for Pruning
1:55 More About Orchard Ladders
3:38 Our Strategy for Size on the Farm
4:35 When to Start Managing Height
5:25 Example of Automated Pruning
6:20 How to Regenerate with New Shoots
7:09 Examples of New Growth
8:06 Open Center vs. Proper Spacing
8:37 More Examples of New Growth
9:12 This Particular Tree
9:56 First Scaffold Pruning Decisions
13:23 Choosing Drastic Structure Changes
14:35 Cutting Too Close to New Growth
15:51 More First Scaffold Decisions
16:24 Fine Tuning Pruning
18:19 Why Heading Off is Important
19:21 More Fine Tuning Cuts
23:10 Two Trees Colliding
24:11 Starting Second Scaffold Decisions
28:28 Spacing, Spacing, Spacing
29:13 More Second Scaffold Decisions
31:55 How Far Apart are Peach Trees Planted?
32:26 More Second Scaffold Pruning
32:40 How Peach Trees Regenerate
33:27 The Need for Sunlight
33:42 Fine Tune Pruning
35:11 Thanks for Watching

#peachtree #pruning #backyardfarming #gardening #fruittrees