Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

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Monday - December 19, 2011

From: Owensville, IN
Region: Midwest
Topic: Non-Natives, Propagation, Trees
Title: Why is non-native peach tree not going dormant in Owensville IN
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I have a peach tree I grew from a peach pit. It is about 2 years old. I planted the tree in my yard this summer. It is now about 3' tall. My problem is it is not going dormant. We have had several freezes and the tree has not lost leaves and looks healthy. My question why has it not gone dormant and will it survive if it does not. I live in southern Indiana. Thanks for your help.

ANSWER:

Begin by reading this article from Ohio State University Extension on the surprises you will get when you plant a peach seed, and why. Next, we want to tell you that we have information in our Native Plant Database only on plants native to North America. The Prunus persica, peach is native to China. Because of the grafting of peach trees mentioned in the OSU article and because the tree is not native to North America, we really can't even guess why it is not going dormant. By now, it may have. There are probably so many different strains of the genus Prunus in your tree that it is totally confused. This sounds like something that is going to have to take its course, but for your sake we hope it survives. It would be interesting to see what kind of fruit you get if, indeed, you do.

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Monday - December 19, 2011

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