Red Haven Peach Trees

• Variety: Red Haven, a freestone peach
• Latin name: Prunus persica 'Redhaven'
• Fruit: Yellow-fleshed, red-skinned and firm. Freestone, so the stone comes away clean. Ripe in August
• Self-fertile: Yes. One tree is enough. Flowering group 3. It flowers early, so protect the blossom from frost and hand-pollinate with a soft brush on still, mild days
• Sold as: Pot-grown bush in a 7 litre pot, grafted onto St Julien A rootstock
• Mature size: Up to 4.5 to 5m if left alone. Yearly pruning keeps it to 3 to 4m
• Best soil and site: Full sun, sheltered, away from frost pockets. Deep, fertile, moist but well-drained soil, never waterlogged. A south or south-west facing wall for a fan
• Pruning: As growth starts in spring and after harvest, never in winter. It fruits on one-year wood, so each year you replace some of the wood that has fruited
• Hardiness: Hardy to about -10°C. The early blossom, not the tree, is the fragile part: fleece it on frosty nights
• Disease: Some resistance to peach leaf curl
• Guarantee: Guaranteed for 12 months when delivered leafless between November and March
• Delivered: Pot-grown, all year when in stock. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Red Haven is a self-fertile, freestone peach with yellow flesh and red skin, ripe in August. This 7 litre bush grows to 3 to 4m with yearly pruning, and wants a sheltered southern garden or a warm wall.

Red Haven Peach Trees: The Freestone Peach Others Are Measured Against

Red Haven came from the Michigan State Experiment Station at South Haven. Stanley Johnston bred it from Halehaven and Kalhaven and introduced it in 1940. For decades it was the most widely planted freestone peach in the world, and it remains the yardstick other peaches are dated against.

The fruit is red-skinned, mostly red, with firm yellow flesh that the RHS calls intensely flavoured. It is a freestone, so the stone comes away clean once the peach is fully ripe. It ripens in August, and in July in a hot southern summer. Because it is self-fertile, one tree is all you need.

Growing Red Haven Peach Trees: Bush in the South, Wall Further North

You are buying the bush. A bush is ideal for a warm, sheltered, southern garden. As you go further north, or on a cold site, plant it close to a south or south-west facing wall so it benefits from heat reflected and radiated by the wall.

A peach flowers before almost anything else in the garden, when frosts still come and few insects are about. Fleece the blossom on cold nights, and on a still mild day at midday go over the open flowers with a soft artist's brush. Red Haven also shows some resistance to peach leaf curl.

Planting Companions

Plant spring bulbs at the foot of a wall peach. Tête-à-Tête daffodils flower and die back before the tree needs the water, and our spring flowering bulbs offer more choice. Keep bulbs away from any clear winter cover. Hidcote lavender nearby brings pollinating insects in a cold early spring, which is when a peach needs them. For another self-fertile stone fruit, the Aprimira Miracot wants similar sun and shelter. Keep a peach well away from a walnut, whose roots and leaves release juglone.

Why Buy Your Fruit Trees from Us?

Ashridge Nurseries has sold trees since 1949 and was named Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025. Red Haven is grown for us by specialist growers and arrives pot-grown on St Julien A, one of our fruit trees. Delivered leafless between November and March, it is guaranteed for 12 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you grow a Red Haven peach tree in the UK?

Yes, and gardeners have for centuries: every walled kitchen garden had its peach house. Outdoors, a south or south-west facing wall is the surest place, with the tree trained flat as a fan. As a free-standing bush it needs a sheltered garden in the south. Red Haven was bred in Michigan for hard winters and firm fruit, which is why it is the one to try.

Should I grow a Red Haven peach as a bush or a fan?

You are buying the bush. In a sheltered southern garden plant it as one. Anywhere colder, or on a cold site, plant it against a wall and train it flat.

Do I need two peach trees?

No. Red Haven is self-fertile, like every peach, so one tree crops alone.

Why does my peach blossom but set no fruit?

It flowers before the bees are about. On a still, mild day at midday, go over the open flowers with a soft artist's brush. Frost on the open blossom is the other culprit, so fleece it on cold nights while it flowers.

What is peach leaf curl and can I avoid it?

It is a fungus that puckers and reddens the young leaves, spread by rain on the buds from late winter. Keep the buds dry: a wall, and a sheet of clear cover from January until May, open at the ends so air moves. Red Haven shows some resistance, which helps; it is not a cure.

When do you prune a Red Haven peach tree?

Never in winter, because silver leaf gets in through winter cuts, as with plums and cherries. Prune as growth starts in spring and after harvest. A peach fruits on last summer's shoots, so each year you take out a share of the wood that has fruited and tie in new shoots to replace it.

Can I grow a Red Haven peach in a pot?

Only for a few years, and in a big pot. Red Haven is not a dwarf, so it wants the ground or a wall before long. The advantage of a pot is that you can move it under cover from January to May, which keeps the buds dry.