Peach Tree has TOO MUCH fruit - branches breaking- Will they all make it?

Our button peach tree ( a Persian variety- white) this year has produced an unbelievable number of fruits- without exaggeration, this small to medium size tree (less than five years old) has hundreds of fruit - some very close to each other. Two branches have already broken from the weight of the fruit and I have used poles to shore up others. Even If I manage to prevent other branches from breaking (the fruits are still very small - will probably double or triple in size and weight as they ripen), can a tree support this many fruit, and can they all mature? Do I need to do anything special?

Peach Tree has TOO MUCH fruit - branches breaking- Will they all make it?
You should thin out the fruit. On most fruit trees that produce large fruit like apples, peaches, plums, pears, and others, thinning out the fruit will direct more energy to the remaining fruit on the tree and it will be bigger and be of better quality because it is now getting all of the nutrients instead of sharing them with too much fruit. Thinning will also help prevent what you are currently going through with the bent over branches that will only get worst as the fruit matures. Just pick off at least 1/3 of the fruit so that each peach can mature without another one touching it. If you leave it as is you risk some branches being damaged from the weight and though most of the fruit may mature, the will be small and of lesser quality. Enjoy your peaches!!! :)
Reply:The fruit should be trimmed off to where the peaches are about eight inches apart on the same branch to prevent this from happening as well as speeding up the rippening of the remaining frut.
Reply:You should have sprayed the tree earlier in the year to have limited the number of buds that produced fruit. Also it would make each individual peach larger. And it would have helped to keep insects from ruining many of the fruit. Many insects lay eggs on the flower buds then they end up in the fruit as the fruit grows.





The only thing you can do now is pull or trim off the excess fruit. Otherwise your branches will continue to break, possibly ruining your peach tree.





They won't all make it, so start thinning the tree down. I'd say reduce the number to about a third the number that are on it now. Remember these peaches are going to get bigger yet.
Reply:There is to much faliure to have sucess.
Reply:i'm not a fruit tree expert, but i do have common sense. i think u need to do what you're doing with the support poles otherwise, such a young, small tree will do what it's been doing and break branches. you may want to find some recipes or ideas on what you can do with the unripened fruits, so u don't waste them if they don't make it to their ripest state.


dang global warming!
Reply:It is a good idea to thin out fruit,especially the not-so-big ones,and any diseased ones. This gives fruit chance to expand. If you don't thin them out,then they will remain small. Not enough food to grow them all. The tree can only sustain so many. Also you invite disease if they are so close together.In my neck of the woods(new zealand) we support these peach trees with bird netting. This not only supports branches and fruit, but stops those pesky birds getting the fruit. Don't do much more except water. Not too much water, otherwise you'll invite fruit rot.After tree has yielded fruit,use some fertiliser. Garden center will advise you. Good Luck!