When Do Peach Trees Get Leaves in Pennsylvania?

Spring Phenology

• Peach trees bear their pink flowers in early spring in Pennsylvania, just before the leaf buds open to reveal the tender new foliage. Once flowering begins to wane, the warmer temperatures coax branches to unfurl young leaves about one to two weeks afterward. In southeastern Pennsylvania, peach trees bloom anytime from the second to fourth week in April, perhaps around April 1 in years with extremely warm springs. In central and western Pennsylvania, flowering occurs anytime from mid-April to the first week in May.

Leafing Out

• The upper, sun-exposed branches of a peach tree in flower often develops tiny leaves while the rest of the tree only shows flowers and tightly closed leaf buds. In southeastern Pennsylvania, leafing out typically happens anytime from April 10 to May 1. In central and western parts of the state, leafing out is delayed until roughly the third week in April to the second week in May. Higher-elevation locations with cooler temperatures experience later flowering and leafing out time frames.

Concerns

• Peach trees that do not leaf out by the end of May in any part of Pennsylvania likely suffered die back from winter cold or died from drought or disease stress over the winter dormancy. In parts of Pennsylvania that are in USDA zones 4b and 5, temperatures at or below minus 15 F cause branches to sustain damage. Newly planted peach trees -- those planted the previous summer or fall -- should have been irrigated until the ground freezes to ensure the developing roots do not dry out over winter. In early spring, once no frost is in the soil, newly planted peach trees need watering to ensure roots are moist and can sustain the production of any flowers and the new leaves that follow.

Cold Effects

• If a peach tree displays flowers or tiny leaves and a hard freeze occurs, the cold can rupture plant tissues and desiccate them, destroying petals and leaves. If the cold-damaged peach tree sustains cracked branches from the freezing of sap, the tree may not grow new leaves for several weeks. The shock and stress from a late freeze can kill the peach tree if it doesn't have ample food reserves in the roots and trunk to fuel leaf regrowth. If the late winter or early spring is warm, a subsequent bout with temperatures down to 0 to minus 5 F can kill flower and leaf buds.