Growing Peaches & Plums with Your Child
Why Peaches & Plums Belong in Your Child's School Garden
North and Central Florida’s mild winters and long growing seasons make it possible to enjoy peaches, plums, and nectarines when you choose the right low-chill varieties for your area.
Patience First
Growing fruit trees teaches children patience. These delicious plums and peaches that I planted in April of 2022 first produced in 2025. Three years can feel like a long time to wait...especially for a child...but the lesson learned is that good things take time, and that patience, persistence, and a little nurturing can lead to the sweetest rewards.
Fruit Tree Fluency
Growing fruit trees leads to real world learning, where your child will be introduced to unfamiliar terms like chill hours, dormancy, pruning, grafts, and rootstock. Growing fruit trees with your child is science in action!
Step-Up for Students Success
Step Up for Students allows parents to purchase "fruit trees/shrub" in 7 gallon or smaller containers for your child's educational garden! Learn more about reimbursing fruit tree here.
Make is educational! Let's Plan! A Student's Guide to Growing Fruit Trees is available to Step Up for Student's families on MyScholarShop and at Daily Skill Building.
The Secrets to Success
Check Your Chill
If a tree doesn’t get enough chill hours, it may bloom unevenly or produce little fruit. But when it gets the right amount, it “wakes up” ready to grow blossoms—and blossoms become fruit.
Two or More for Good Health
Planting two peach or plum trees increases fruit production due to cross-pollination. Cross-pollination occurs when pollen from one tree fertilizes the flowers of another through the action of bees, wind, and insects.
Planting two peach or plum trees enhances overall tree health. Diversity in tree varieties can improve resilience against pests and diseases. The genetic variation reduces the likelihood of a single pest decimating your entire peach crop.
Choose the Right Variety
Floridabelle – Juicy, golden yellow flesh with strong aroma and flavor
Florida Prince – Early ripening, sweet with a tart edge
Tropic Beauty – Rich flavor and compact size, great for small yards
Tropic Snow – White-fleshed, aromatic, creamy-sweet profile
Florida King – Vigorous grower, excellent producer, balanced flavor
Florida Crest – Great texture, sweet with a mild tang
UF One – University of Florida release, flavorful and dependable
Tropic Sweet – Super sweet, great for fresh eating
Scarlet Beauty – Deep red skin, sweet and tangy flesh
Gulf Beauty – Very low chill, early fruiting and productive
Lee Yellow – Golden skin, unique tropical-style flavor
Lee Red – Bright red plum, juicy and rich in taste
Tip: Google your variety to find out the number of chill hours it requires. Contrast that to the number of chill hours your area gets in a typical winter to see if it's a suitable variety for your garden.
Choose the Right Spot: Full sun is a must! These trees need 6–8+ hours of direct sunlight. Well-draining soil is critical—if your yard holds water, consider a raised bed or mound.
Planting Tips:
Dig a hole twice as wide as the rootball.
Keep the graft union above soil level.
Water deeply at planting, and mulch around the base (but not touching the trunk).
Watering: Keep the soil evenly moist, especially the first year.
Pruning: Prune to keep fruit trees short (5-7 ft tall) and improve airflow.
Summer pruning: prune after each harvest to control the size of the tree. Watch this video to learn proper pruning techniques.
Winter pruning: prune dead & diseased branches, suckers, and water sprouts in winter.
Fertilizing: Provide organic compost, mulch, and a balanced fruit tree fertilizer in spring and summer. Do not fertilize in winter, when the tree is dormant. Only fertilize when the tree is growing and 'hungry'.
Sources to Learn More About Peaches & Plums for Your Garden:
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