How to Grow Luscious Donut Peaches in Your Own Backyard

With their unique flattened shape, sweet juicy flavor, and nearly fuzzless skin, fresh homegrown donut peaches are a special summer treat. While regular peaches are certainly delicious, the donut peach variety offers some advantages for backyard growing. Here’s a complete guide to successfully cultivating donut peaches so you can enjoy this unique fruit fresh from your own trees.

Donut Peach Overview

Donut peaches go by several names, including Saturn peaches, pan tao peaches, Chinese flat peaches, and saucer peaches. As the names suggest, they have a distinct flattened, donut-like shape with a pit situated right in the middle

Compared to regular round peaches donut peaches offer a few key benefits

• Extra sweet, low acid flavor – They have less tartness and are considered the best tasting peaches by many.

• Freestone pit – The pit pulls cleanly away from the flesh, making them easy to eat.

• Thin fuzzless skin – No peeling required since the skin is smooth.

• Juicy texture – The flesh is soft, velvety, and extremely juicy.

• Compact size – Fits in the palm of your hand, perfect for snacking.

• Heavy yielding – Produces abundant fruit, up to twice as much per tree compared to normal peach varieties.

With some basic care, donut peach trees are easy to grow right in a backyard orchard and will reward you with bushels of delicious fruit every summer.

Selecting Donut Peach Tree Varieties

There are a few popular patented cultivars of donut peaches to choose from:

• Saturn – Very sweet, low acid yellow-fleshed fruit. Partially self-fruitful but does better with a pollinator.

• Sweetcap – Large donut peaches with bright red skin over yellow flesh. Heavy bearing tree. Needs a pollinator.

• UFO – Reliable producer of sweet, aromatic peaches. Self-fruitful.

• Saucer – Classic heirloom Chinese flat peach dating back centuries. Freestone with sweet white flesh. Needs pollinator.

For the best fruit production, select at least two compatible donut peach tree varieties to ensure good pollination. Trees that are listed as self-fruitful will set fruit without a pollinator but still benefit from having one.

Dwarf tree sizes are also available for small space growing. Standard trees get 15-20 feet tall while dwarfs stay under 8-10 feet, perfect for containers.

Climate and Growing Conditions

Donut peach trees need:

• Full sun – At least 6 hours of direct sun daily. Morning sun is ideal.

• Well-drained soil – Loamy soil that drains easily. Avoid soggy, clay-heavy soil.

• Moderate water – About 1-2 inches per week during growing season. Avoid drought stress.

• Sheltered location – Protect trees from strong winds which can damage branches.

Grow donut peach trees in USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9. They can tolerate cooler winters but need warm, humid summers to properly ripen fruit.

Container growing can extend the range. Bring dwarf trees indoors or move to a sheltered spot during winter in colder climates.

Planting Donut Peach Trees

Early spring is the best time to plant bare-root or container donut peach trees. Follow these tips:

• Dig a wide hole as deep as the root ball and 2-3 times wider. Amend the soil removed from the hole with compost.

• Set the root ball so the first branches will be 2-3 inches above soil level. The graft union should also be visible above the soil.

• Backfill the hole and water thoroughly to settle the roots. Don’t let the soil dry out.

• Stake the tree for the first year until the roots establish.

• Mulch around the tree with 2-4 inches of organic material like bark or wood chips to conserve moisture and suppress weeds. Don’t pile mulch against the trunk.

• Fertilize at planting with a balanced 10-10-10 fruit tree fertilizer following label rates.

Allow enough space between trees for air circulation and light penetration. A 10-15 foot spacing is a good rule of thumb for most donut peach varieties.

Pruning and Training Donut Peach Trees

Proper pruning and training of the branches promotes good fruiting wood and strong tree structure:

• Prune each spring before buds open to shape and thin out old branches. Remove any dead or diseased wood.

• Use open center pruning to allow sunlight penetration. Keep a vase-like shape.

• Limit pruning once fruit sets to avoid loss of developing peaches.

• Train branches to a spreading shape using spreaders if needed to avoid overcrowding in the middle.

• For espalier or other shaped trees, train branches along supports to achieve the desired form.

Thinning crowded branches ensures good air movement and allows light to reach the fruit. Don’t let the center of the tree become too dense.

Fertilizing and Watering Needs

• Fertilize donut peach trees in early spring with a balanced fertilizer, using about 1/2 pound per year of tree age. Follow package directions.

• Water regularly during the growing season to provide consistent moisture for fruit development. Give trees about 1-2 inches of water per week.

• Irrigate deeply to encourage deep root growth. Avoid frequent shallow watering. Deep water 2-3 times per week rather than daily.

• Mulch to retain soil moisture and reduce water needs. Replenish organic mulch yearly.

• Check soil moisture weekly. Water again whenever the top few inches become dry. Drought causes small, poor quality fruit.

Adjust watering based on rainfall and your local climate. Consistent water without saturation is ideal for the best donut peach harvests.

Pollination Needs for Fruit Set

Most donut peach trees benefit from having a compatible variety nearby to ensure proper pollination and fruit set:

• Interplant varieties that bloom at the same time for overlap. Avoid two early or late bloomers.

• Peach tree flowers are self-sterile and need pollen from another tree. Cross-pollination results in larger fruit.

• Plant trees between 15-20 feet apart for efficient pollination. Stagger in rows.

• Natural wind and insect pollination between varieties is usually sufficient if trees are close.

• Some donut peach cultivars are self-fruitful but production is still better with a pollinator.

Having multiple donut peach tree varieties improves both the quantity and quality of the fruit. Even self-pollinating trees will benefit.

Thinning the Fruit for Size and Quality

Thinning helps properly size the remaining fruit:

• In early summer, thin excessive fruit to 4-6 inches between peaches once the initial June drop occurs.

• Gently twist and remove small underdeveloped fruit with short stems. Leave the biggest ones.

• Take off any defective, damaged, or diseased peaches as well. Discard fallen fruit.

• Thinning ensures the remaining peaches have enough resources to grow large and sweet.

The donut peach already sets a heavy crop, so thinning is important for getting large, high quality fruit. Trees that aren’t thinned often get small, less flavorful peaches.

Harvesting Perfectly Ripe Donut Peaches

• Pick donut peaches when background skin color changes from green to yellow but before softening.

• Gently lift and twist fruit so the stem separates cleanly from the branch.

• Handle peaches carefully to avoid bruising. Use two hands to lift off the tree.

• Place picked fruit gently into containers. Don’t pile up.

• Ripen further on the counter out of direct sun, then refrigerate ripe fruit.

• Expect 50-100 or more peaches per mature standard tree. Harvests last 2-3 weeks once they begin.

Enjoy donut peaches fresh or preserve the bountiful harvests by canning, freezing, or drying into sweet rings. Tree-ripened donut peaches have a incredible flavor that can’t be matched by store-bought. With proper care, your backyard trees will provide abundant summertime fruit for years to come.