Hi, everyone!
My question is concerning a Red Haven peach tree that I bought my Dad for Father's Day a few weeks back. The tree is fairly good size, about 6.5 - 7 ft, and does have some immature fruit on it. I am just not sure about whether I should put it in the ground now or wait until the tree is dormant...? It's currently in a 15 gallon nursery container. Also, I noticed that it has a few suckers sprouting out from the trunk. Not sure if I should pruned these now or hold off?

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

- Meghan

I would wait until fall to plant it, Meghan. July and August will be hard enough on that little tree, without adding transplant shock to the mix. You don't have to wait until all the leaves drop, but at least wait until the nights are cool and days are shorter.

You should always prune off suckers if they are coming from below the graft - that will be a bulge in the trunk fairly low down. They will just take energy from the tree. Also . .

You're going to hate this but . .

You really should take off the immature fruit as well. The tree will then put energy into growing healthy roots and new leaves rather than into making fruit. You will get a good crop sooner in future years if you do this.

Thank you, both! I was leaning towards waiting, but I wanted to make sure I was making the right decision. As for removing the fruit, it makes a lot of sense that it's what is best for the tree. Kind of like when you remove flowers/fruit from a cutting to allow the plant to focus its resources into root development... right?