Prunus davidiana seed

LATIN NAME: PRUNUS DAVIDIANA

COMMON NAME: David”s Peach

In the rocky valleys and the hillsides of the north, David”s peach grows as a small, deciduous tree with the slender, pointed leaves and the solitary, soft-pink, cup-shaped flowers that open on the bare branches very early in the spring, the round, downy, yellow-green fruits with their hard stones ripening in the summer. In time it steadily becomes a rounded, spreading crown, reaching 5-10 metres. Site it in full sun, in deep, fertile ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

David”s peach holds a place in the studies of the wild peaches of the north, its early pink cups and its downy fruits keeping it in view in the work on the cold-hardy fruit trees of the region and the rootstocks of the cultivated peach. The research looks at the way the pink cups open before the leaves, the downy fruits ripen with their hard stones, and the seed biology of the hard, stony kernels.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the cold garden and the hillside planting, David”s peach lights the bare branches with the soft-pink cups very early in the spring and stands the bitterest winters of the peach tribe. The hardy tree has long served as the tough rootstock of the orchards, and the tree makes the fine early-flowering specimen, the wild fruit tree and the tree of the cold, dry garden. It is a tree for the open, sunny, deep and free-draining place.

To grow the David”s Peach from seed, crack the stones, take out the kernels, and give them a cold, moist spell.

Crack the stones, take out the kernels, and give them a cold, moist spell, and keep the young peaches in the open, sunny spot. The pink cups open before the leaves.

LATIN NAME: Prunus davidiana

COMMON NAME: Davids Peach, Chinese Wild Peach, Shan Tao

Davids peach is a wild and hardy peach of the Chinese mountains, and it carries the spring blossom of the high valleys. It puts on growth and becomes a broad, spreading crown, up to five metres tall. It is a tough and frost-hardy tree of the mountains, growing in forests and thickets, on the slopes of mountain valleys and in waste fields, from 800 to 3,200 metres, and it is of great value in breeding, since its hardiness and its resistance have made it an important parent of the cultivated peach.

Davids peach belongs to the rose family, Rosaceae, and it is native to China, where it grows in forests and thickets, on slopes in mountain valleys and in waste fields. It is resistant to frost, and it is closely related to the cultivated peach, to which it has contributed its hardiness.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

Davids peach has a genuine and important place in both botanical and agricultural research. As a wild relative of the cultivated peach, it is of great value in plant breeding, and researchers have studied it for its frost hardiness and its resistance, examining its potential to contribute these qualities to the cultivated peach, which makes it an important subject in the genetic improvement of stone fruits. The tree has also been studied in plant genetics, since wild relatives of our crops are a precious resource for the study of crop origins and for the genes they carry, and researchers have examined its relationships with the cultivated peach and the other wild peaches of China. The species has also been studied in ecology, since it is a native of the mountain valleys of China, and in horticulture for its value as a hardy ornamental. For a tree of such value to the peach, Davids peach has a rich and growing record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

Ecologically, Davids peach is a generous tree of the Chinese mountains. Its spring blossom feeds bees and other early pollinators, its small fruits feed birds and small mammals, and its leafy crown gives shelter, while it grows on the mountain slopes of China, a wild and hardy presence in the high valleys.

Its economic value is real and considerable. It is a precious wild relative of the cultivated peach, valued in breeding for its frost hardiness and its resistance, and it is a hardy ornamental, grown for its early spring blossom, while the cultivated peach, to which it is so closely related, is one of the worlds great fruits. For a grower, Davids peach is a valuable and interesting tree, and for a gardener it brings the first blush of pink blossom in early spring. The seeds need a good spell of cold — keep them in the fridge in damp compost for a couple of months, then sow them in a pot of moist, free-draining compost, and theyll sprout steadily in spring, growing on into hardy little trees.