As the title says. I was looking for a Floridaprince (requires 150 chill hours, so good for central Florida)tree for the last year and a half and my local home depot got a handful in last week. I bought the nicest looking one and put it in the earth yesterday. But when I was washing off some of the nursery dirt, I saw a tree tag in it for a Florida King (requires 500 chill hours, only good in the panhandle).
Now my anxious brain is in overdrive and I'm not sure what to do. It's coming out of dormancy very late in the season (it was leafless when I first bought it), the flowers it produces are few and don't fully bloom (picture #5 is as much as we get, but they will set fruit), and the only real way to tell if I got swindled is if the plant slowly dies over the next few years due to lack of chill.
It could also just be a young prince that came from further up north and a random tag just blew into it's soil, but I don't have any way of knowing that for certain. Apparently it isn't uncommon for Home Depot to mix up kings and princes in Florida. Help?
by Capybara_Squabbles
29 Comments
Never buy trees from Home Depot again, there are some great local nurseries all throughout Florida that take much better care of their trees, you won’t get mix ups(or rarely ever), and overall healthier, better trees that are local to begin with, not shipped in to state.
I think if I were you, I’d let it stay, it’s only $40, might be a fun experiment to see how it grows, and who knows, you could be right, the tag could be wrong.
Sue them for everything they have!
I don’t think the chill hours stop them from growing, it just won’t flower and fruit if it doesn’t get enough cold weather, yours seems fine since it flowered already
Return it and buy what you really want from a specialist vendor.
Mislabeling is not uncommon at all in big box stores.
If the tree tag was attached, 100% I would be worried.
If it was just in the soil, I’m guessing a tag got into the potting mix as they were potting up.
They will take it back if you just want to be sure.
$40 bucks is a good deal for a peach tree. I think you are coming out ahead. Also peaches are yummy.
Can you carefully dig it out, repot and return it?
Keep the $40 mystery tree, put it somewhere else in your yard, and go to a real nursery to get what you want without uncertainty.
My kids have given me shit for the last 20 years for a “dwarf” plumbago that reached the peak of my 2 car garage roof and has taken over the neighbors very neglected yard. usually when they lose a tag at home depot they just use generic terms like “apple tree” but not always. They miss-lable stuff all the time
Send it and see what happens!
Stuff gets mislabeled all the time, starts at the nursery supplying the plant, then the dock for loading and unloading. Lots of places for tags to fall off, get mislabeled. When in doubt, go with the label on the pot. Depends on who runs the homedepot in question, but they are generally required to have the name, the pot size by volume and upc or qrc specific to the nursery of origin.
If money and space aren’t an issue, let this one ride and then go to a local nursery and get the tree you really want. According to Dave Wilson nursey (they are like the kings of low chill fruit trees here in the southwest), the Floridaking needs 450 hours or less of chill time. You might be okay, but I know where I’m at (zone 10a, Southern CA) that 450-500 hours is in a zone that makes me nervous.
That tree also needs a quick pruning.
Home.depot isn’t the one labeling the trees, they are labeled before they get there. Big box stores like Lowe’s and home Depot get their plants from giant nurseries. Sometimes it’s even known plants with different names so customers think it’s something new they don’t have. ( Sort of like renaming make up and nail polish colors)
You can return it if you want, and it doesn’t have to be dead to get your money back.
First wrong decision: Buying a tree from home depot
Looks like a peach tree due to bud and leaves. They do well in florida. Give it a year and you should have pink flowers and about 100 peaches if you fertilize it with some cow poop
I’m also suffering from a lack of chill. That said, I’d just wait it out and see what fruit sets this year
That tree will suffer in central FL. I would return it. Throw it back into a container and tell them they screwed up.
My experience with high chill peaches in low chill areas says you will always get a late, crappy bloom, and probably poor vegetative growth as well. It’s just not worth it, Even if you can’t get a replacement, I would bud graft something new on top.
Edit: also you need to cut that green tape, it’s cutting into the peach. Your will also need to prune it into a open vase shape with 4-5 scaffolds. Look up UF extension or USDA resources on peach pruning. Haha, peaches are such a PITA. Good luck friend.
Big box stores are good for certain things, but in the end nurseries or specialists nurseries are the way to go even though they are typically more expensive
OP, if you want to make an adventure out of this, email/call the Everde sales rep. You can find their number on Everde’s website – since you’re in C. Florida, I’m guessing it’s Alvin. Maybe he’s feeling generous and can bring you something from their nursery. I know I certainly would if you brought this to my attention.
It won’t die due to low chill, it just won’t produce fruit. If you feel like digging it back up you can take it back to HD for an exchange or refund. Other option would be to get some scion wood from low chill cultivars and graft it. You could grow multiple different peaches on the same tree if you wanted to, and having multiples will actually benefit pollination and increase fruit production.
The leaves look like peach tree leaves.
Plant it in someone else’s yard in the night this way everyone is confused
That is an ornamental peach willow tree. It’s a gorgeous tree, especially in the spring that grows to a medium height very quickly. Can’t over water it. It will produce fruit, but don’t eat it. It’s also poisonous to dogs.
Everything is “potentially” mislabeled. NO humans are infallible.
you want to buy trees from a native nursery that will sell you native trees that are acclimated to your zone.
Normally local universites have local native extensions that hold sales, or even have native botanical gardens.
also that’s more like a large plant, not a tree. In order for a tree to have a higher survivability rate you want at least a 5 gallon, preferably 15+ gallon, or even better a 1″ , 2″ caliper.
You also want to plant in winter, not spring when trees are fully dormant and not putting out growth.
I can confirm that’s a peach tree. I wouldn’t let fruit set that young. Other than that I’m worthless here.
Every single plant I bought at Home Depot underperformed or died. So much money and love wasted for nothing.
No matter how you look at it, your plant is mislabeled. My guess is the tag that’s in the soil is the original one from when the plant was started. But no matter what, you can’t be sure of what you got. There’s a 50% chance it’s the wrong plant and the other 50% is it’s a bad plant that most probably won’t grow properly and won’t bear fruit or will die rapidly like what repeatedly happened to me.
I’m over with trying to save plants from sh¡tty producers that will only be a disappointment no matter how hard I try. Plus it’s not like if HD’s prices are so much lower to make it worth taking the chance. Someone has to stand up to their scam and abuse or they’ll keep on screwing people forever.
I’d bring it back. And go to a real nursery like other people said. Those are the guys who are worth supporting and they need it.
Won’t it just not produce flowers and just be basically an ornamental tree without chill times? I didn’t think it would die. 🙁
“A Natural Farm” in Howey in the Hills (lake county) has organic Florida Prince peaches in stock for $45.