How to Force a Peach Blossom Tree to Bloom

Plant your flowering or fruiting peach tree in a sunny area in soil with good drainage. Amend the soil with organic materials such as leaf litter, manure, grass clippings and organic compost. Make your planting area 5 to 6 feet in diameter and dig the organic materials into the soil about 12 inches deep. Plant your peach tree in the spring, making sure to keep the grafted area on the trunk at least 1 inch above the soil level.

Prune your young peach tree’s main leader branch to create an open center during its first year in the ground. Cut your small tree to 26 to 30 inches tall and continue to trim off the central leader every year to encourage lateral, or scaffold, branches to become strong and well balanced.

Fertilize your peach tree with 1/2 pound of 10-10-10 plant food one to two weeks after you plant it. Repeat after 40 days. If you use a granular fertilizer, scatter it evenly about 12 inches from the trunk. Increase the amount of fertilizer you give your tree as it grows larger.

Force blooming by fertilizing your peach tree with a lower nitrogen, or bloom booster, plant food in early spring starting when it is about 4 years old. Time your fertilizer application to coincide with the tree’s early spring production of its first leaves. Do not expect it to bloom at a younger age.