Country Sweet Peach

Prunus persica 'Country Sweet'

Nature Hills Nursery

Hardy in zones 5-8, needing 800 to 900 chill hours and thriving in areas with hot summers and cool winters
Produces large, uniformly dark scarlet-red peaches with firm, fine-grained yellow flesh and an exceptionally sweet, low-acid flavor in mid-summer
Self-fertile semi-clingstone fruit matures around mid-July, roughly five days ahead of the popular Redhaven variety
Grows to 12 to 15 feet tall and wide with a spreading, rounded canopy that fills the backyard orchard beautifully

$83⁹²

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Plant Size

#3 Container | 3-4 ft

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Planting & Care

Where to Plant

Sunlight: Country Sweet Peach requires a minimum of eight hours of direct sun daily. Less light means weaker wood, sparse flowering, and fruit that never fully develops its signature sweet flavor or rich red color.

Soil: Plant in fertile, well-drained loam or sandy loam with a pH between 6.0 and 6.5. Avoid heavy clay or sites with standing water, as peach roots are highly sensitive to wet feet. If your soil is on the clay side, plant on a slight mound or raised bed and work in a generous amount of compost before planting. Space trees at least 15 to 20 feet from other trees and structures to allow for the full spreading canopy.

Watering Requirements

Water newly planted trees deeply once or twice a week during the first growing season, soaking the root zone to at least 18 inches. Once established, Country Sweet Peach does reasonably well in periods of dry weather but benefits from deep watering every seven to ten days during fruit development in late spring and early summer. Inconsistent moisture during fruit sizing leads to smaller fruit and can trigger premature drop, so maintain steady soil moisture from bloom through harvest.

Pruning Tips

Prune in late winter to early spring just as the buds begin to swell and before full bloom. Peaches fruit on one-year-old wood, so the goal is to encourage fresh lateral growth every season while maintaining an open vase shape with four to five main scaffold branches. Remove crossing, crowded, or downward-facing branches to let light and air penetrate the canopy, which improves fruit color and reduces disease pressure. After pruning, thin young fruit to one peach every four to six inches of branch once they reach marble size; this single step dramatically improves fruit size and sweetness.

Fertilizer Needs

Apply a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer in early spring just before buds break, following package rates for the tree's age and size. A second, lighter application of a low-nitrogen fertilizer in early summer supports fruit development without pushing excessive leafy growth that can shade the fruit. Avoid fertilizing after midsummer, as late-season nitrogen encourages tender new growth that is highly vulnerable to winter injury.

Delivery and Shipping

Preorder Shipping Schedule

We ship your plants when it's safe to transport them to your zone. Dates are estimated and subject to weather delays.

Zone 3-4	Week of March 30th
Zone 5	Week of March 16th
Zone 6	Week of March 2nd
Zone 7-12	Week of February 23rd

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A True Summer Peach Worth the Wait

Country Sweet Peach (Prunus persica 'Country Sweet') is the kind of fruit that makes you understand why people plant orchards. The fruit is large, round, and almost entirely cloaked in deep dark scarlet-red skin with barely a hint of the yellow base color underneath. Bite in, and you get firm, fine-grained yellow flesh with a notably sweet, low-acid flavor that stands out even in a lineup of good peaches. It earns the name Country Sweet honestly.

This is a mid-early season variety, ripening around mid-July in most growing regions, putting it roughly five days ahead of the widely grown Redhaven. For home growers who want to extend their harvest window or who simply want ripe peaches as early as possible, that timing is a genuine advantage.

A Bold Tree for the Backyard Orchard

The tree itself has a spreading, moderately vigorous habit and grows to about 12 to 15 feet tall and wide when allowed to develop naturally. With proper annual pruning to maintain an open vase shape, it stays manageable for most home lots while still producing a full, productive canopy. In early spring, typically March, the tree erupts in large, showy pink blossoms well before the leaves emerge, providing one of the finest floral displays of any fruit tree you can grow. The dark green, lance-shaped foliage takes over through summer and often develops warm golden-yellow fall color before drop.

Country Sweet is self-fertile, meaning you do not need a second tree for pollination. However, planting a compatible peach variety nearby can improve fruit set in years when cold or rainy weather interferes with bee activity during bloom.

Chill Hours and Climate Fit

Country Sweet requires 800 to 900 chill hours, making it a strong fit for most of the temperate United States in zones 5 through 8. It thrives in the classic peach belt that stretches from the mid-Atlantic through the Midwest and into parts of the Plains, where winters are cold enough to meet its chilling requirement and summers are warm enough to develop full sugar content in the fruit. It is not suited to the Gulf Coast, the Pacific Northwest, or the Desert Southwest, where either insufficient chill hours or disease pressure and extreme heat work against success.

Getting the Most From Your Harvest

Fruit thinning is one of the highest-return tasks you can perform on any peach tree. Once fruit reaches marble size, remove all but one peach per four to six inches of branch. This concentrates the tree's energy into fewer, larger, sweeter fruits and protects branches from the weight of an overcrop. Country Sweet peaches are ready to pick when the background skin color shifts from green toward golden yellow and the fruit gives slightly under gentle pressure near the stem. The fragrance at that point is unmistakable.

Because this variety has semi-clingstone fruit, the flesh clings lightly to the pit, making it excellent for fresh eating and preserves, though freestone varieties are generally easier to slice for canning. Country Sweet is best enjoyed fresh at peak ripeness, grilled with a drizzle of honey, folded into a summer cobbler, or simply eaten over the sink before you make it back to the kitchen.

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Growing Zones 5-8

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Country Sweet Peach self-pollinating?

Yes, Country Sweet is self-fertile and will produce fruit without a second tree. That said, planting a second compatible peach variety nearby can improve fruit set in seasons when cold or wet weather reduces bee activity during bloom, often resulting in a heavier crop.

When does Country Sweet Peach fruit ripen?

Fruit typically ripens in mid-July in most zones 5 through 8 growing regions, roughly five days ahead of the well-known Redhaven peach. Exact timing shifts by a week or more depending on your local climate, elevation, and how warm the spring has been.

Is Country Sweet freestone or clingstone?

Country Sweet is a semi-clingstone, meaning the flesh clings lightly to the pit rather than releasing completely clean. This makes it ideal for fresh eating and preserves. If you plan to can large quantities of sliced peaches, a freestone variety may be more convenient, but the flavor of Country Sweet makes the extra effort worthwhile.

How big does a Country Sweet Peach tree get?

Left unpruned, the tree can reach 12 to 15 feet tall and wide with a spreading, rounded canopy. With regular annual pruning to an open vase shape, most gardeners keep it in the 10 to 12 foot range, which makes harvesting and maintenance much more manageable without sacrificing yield.

What pests and diseases should I watch for?

Peach leaf curl is the most common fungal disease and can be largely prevented with a single application of copper fungicide or chlorothalonil in late winter before buds swell. Brown rot, bacterial leaf spot, and peachtree borers are also concerns. Maintaining good airflow through annual pruning, cleaning up fallen fruit, and keeping a consistent spray schedule dramatically reduces problems and keeps trees productive for many years.

Country Sweet Peach