peach 'Melred'

Grow in a moist, but well-drained soil in full sun. Protect flowers from frosts with horticultural fleece. Best grown fan-trained, although in the south of England can be grown as a free-standing bush. See How to grow : Peaches for further cultivation details

Train fan-trained and prune established fans in spring and summer. In milder areas and in warm, sheltered situations, grow as free-standing tree and prune after harvest. Pruning is the same as that for pruning acid cherries

Peach cultivars are propagated by grafting onto a rootstock for fruit. Can also be propagated by seed, although the resulting fruit is likely to be inferior to that of the parent plant

May be susceptible to glasshouse red spider mite, aphids, and scale may be problematic, especially on wall-trained specimens or those grown in a glasshouse. Squirrels may damage fruit

May be susceptible to peach leaf curl, bacterial canker, silver leaf, brown rot and replant diseases may cause problems. Late frosts can damage the blossom