I found your post interesting and did a little searching. I found that it is also called "McKay"
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Growing+peaches+&+cherries+in+zone+4B-a015881813

This page listed a source at McKay Nursery Company:
http://www.mckaynursery.com/Plant.asp?Sub=91&TypeID=0amp;PlantID=1

Now I want one for myself, but I doubt if they ship.

Wallace Woodstock has the McKay peach and they do ship!

http://www.wallace-woodstock.com/peachtrees.htm

Thank you very much for the interesting and very helpful information. I will order more trees soon.

I actually talked to the guy at Woodstock Nursery. He said that this peach tree the McKay is hardier than reliance ( it also had a steeper price on it)

I am just wondering if you found it hardier than your reliance tree? The guy told me that it has produced peaches in his Zone 4A. I am glad to here that the taste is better than reliance. I almost bought one this year, but I just didnt want to spend the money since I live in marginal peach country.

In marginal hardiness zones like mine I have taken advantage of microclimates. My peach trees are planted on a hillside facing southwest. While surrounding fields have had heavy frosts in mid-May, my flowering peach trees have always produced fruit. Often winter temperatures dip below minus 10 degrees. However, the cold air settles at the bottom of the hill and there is oftern a large temperature spread on cold winter mornings. I find microclimates easiest to observe by studying snow melting patterns. If I am going to go to all the trouble to grow peach trees I should like the taste of the fruit. Fruit from my one Wisconsin Balmer tree has tasted much better than Reliance.

I have both Wisconsin Balmer and McKay producing peaches in my yard right now. The trees a slightly different with the McKay being a few days behind in maturity and having a more yellow skin compared to Wisconsin Balmer. Both trees have fine quality fruit. I am still hoping to generate more Wisconsin Balmer plants from cuttings. Sadly, I have been unable to root any over the years.

Chervi,

Just last week, there was a post about grafting on a peach tree. It's a long post. If you don't want to read all, skip to the end, they discussed in detail how to chip budding. I attached the link to that post below.

By all accounts, grafting peach is a lot harder than grafting apple or pear. You can also google YouTube on peach chip budding.

I don't know if you can do cutting from fruit trees. Cutting seems to work well with softer wood like pomegranates or figs. I doubt if it'd work with peach.

Here is a link that might be useful: Grafting to a mature peach tree

chervil2,

You may be the only one left with an actual Wisconsin Balmer. I was quite sure by the description that it was the McKay. Very interesting! You may need to become a propagator and sell them.

I was going to purchase a McKay but have found that my yard will support zone 6 peaches so I haven't needed the hardiness. I'd love to get budwood and make a tree for my aunt in Iowa, though.

Folks, the Balmer peach is significantly different than the McKay, with the McKay being much more like the Reliance and the Balmer being much more like real good peaches, but not as hardy as the former 2. We have had good luck with green tip grafting peaches onto seedlings, but only if the temperature is above 80F. Now a days we dig up the seedlings and put them in the greenhouse where it is always above 80 and have very good success. We have 10 or so Balmers in various stages of maturity (you need to renew peaches very 8 years or so in the north, which gives you 5 years of production), so we always have new ones starting.

Eric

I've had good luck T budding peaches. 90% success if both scion and rootstock are slipping well.

Now would be a good time to do it but you need a rootstock. I T bud peaches here in May, force them after two weeks, and get good growth that year. In shorter season areas they are often budded now and forced next spring.

fruitnut,

I happen to have a few peach rootstocks, compliments of squirrels stashing my prized peachs a few years back! When you say, "forced next spring", I assume you mean cutting the top of the tree off above the graft?

Inspection of a few of my grafts does not look promising. I know at least 2 dessicated and 1 was broken off. I am quite disappointed but I still want to try.

I ran across a youtube of peach grafting "side grafting" which I thought was interesting. Does anyone else have any peach grafting videos they can recommend?

I also found this one that is really interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYUcBoAsWRk

It looks so easy in the videos:(

Here is a link that might be useful: Straight and Side Graft, Grafting trees in the Bella Viva Orchards

This post was edited by milehighgirl on Thu, Apr 3, 14 at 17:24

MH, great video, thanks! Mrs. G

Anyone who has a Wisconsin Balmer: Have you tried planting the seeds? it's self-pollinating and there is a chance it might breed true, especially if no other peaches are near. I am also mourning the death of a Wisconsin Balmer from Field's. I'd be interested in obtaining some seeds from a true WB (not McKay) and trying it. I wish I had thought of it before our tree died.

I also love the Wisconcin Balmer peach and have about 15 seeds that I will send to anyone who wants to plant one. I planted 6 in my garden about 3 weeks ago that have not come up yet. I have no clue if they will; or if they do, what kind of fruit they will produce. All I ask is for a SASE to send them. If interested, contact me via Email.....njofro@aol.com.

Hi - I have a Wisconsin Balmer Peach in zone 9! i planted it 23 years ago in memory of my Dad who lived in Wisconsin & always said ” if youre going to plant something it may as well be something that gives food.” The fruit is delicious. The tree does not like our triple-diget summers and every year a branch break