White Opal Peach Tree

White Opal Peach (Prunus persica 'White Opal') is a low chill peach, which means it sets fruit in gardens that never get a hard cold winter. Left to grow it makes a tree about 4m tall and 3m wide, though most gardeners hold it near 3m so the fruit stays within reach. The flesh is white, sweet and low in acid, and it ripens through mid summer.

Why you'll love it

• Fruit without a long cold winter. Low chill breeding lets it crop reliably in warm temperate and Mediterranean gardens.
• Blossom before the fruit. Pink flowers cover the bare branches in late winter, and the bees find them straight away.
• Sized for a suburban block. Around 4m at full height, and easily held at 3m with one prune a year.
• One tree is enough. Peaches set fruit on their own pollen, so a second tree is not needed.

Where it works best

Feature planting. Blossom in late winter and fruit in summer make it a genuine focal point in a front garden, not just a production tree tucked out of sight.

Small and productive gardens. Allow 3m of clear space. Kept open in a vase shape it fits a narrow yard and still carries a worthwhile crop.

Pots and containers. A 500mm or larger pot will hold a peach for years, though it needs daily water through summer.

Growing White Opal Peach in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, with at least six hours of direct light, and shelter from strong wind at flowering. It is frost hardy and suits warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens. Humid tropical and wet subtropical gardens are a poor match, because warm damp weather encourages brown rot and leaf curl.

Soil. Free draining and slightly acidic to neutral. Peaches hate wet feet, so on clay build a mound at least 300mm high. Mulch to 75mm, kept clear of the graft union.

Water and feed. Water deeply once or twice a week while the fruit is swelling, because uneven watering splits skins. Feed with a complete fertiliser in early spring and again after harvest.

Pruning. Peaches fruit on last season's wood, so prune straight after harvest rather than in winter. Keep an open vase of four or five main limbs, remove anything crossing, and thin young fruit to roughly 100mm apart for size.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in a 400mm pot as a grafted young tree with the framework branches started. That is the size a home orchard wants, because a young peach establishes faster than an advanced one and catches up within a couple of seasons.

The tree is deciduous, so a winter delivery arrives as bare branches, which is normal. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and advanced and large stock is freighted at cost. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Planting and caring for backyard fruit trees
• Browse the full fruit tree range
• More edible plants for the garden
• Compare deciduous trees for winter light

Common questions

How much winter chill does it need?

Only a modest amount, which is the point of a low chill variety. It crops in warm temperate gardens where a traditional peach never sets properly.

Is any part of it a risk to pets?

Yes. The leaves and the stones inside the fruit are toxic to cats and dogs, so pick up dropped fruit and prunings. The ripe flesh itself is not the problem.

When will I get the first peaches?

Usually a light crop in the first or second summer after planting, building to a proper harvest by the third. Thinning the young fruit gives fewer but much larger peaches.