I'm suspicious that the two I planted last spring didn't make it. But I got a newsletter from the company I bought from that says not all trees come out of dormancy at the same time. They suggested scratching off a bit of bark on the trunk to look for living tissue (you'll see a layer of green if the tree is alive).

I don't want to do that, so I'm just going to wait a few more weeks and see what happens. The buds don't look alive to me, though. Bummer!

Sounds like you got your trees from Stark Bros also. We've had great luck with all their stuff. Coldest winter since '78 was pretty tough on peach trees tho. You might want to do the scratch test or cut into a couple branches with pruning shears (should be bright green) so that if they are dead you can get your new trees in the ground. They guarantee their product for a year. Mine are on the way right now.

Yes, from Stark Bros. It didn't occur to me that they'd replace them. I just figured I was out of luck...thanks for the info!

Well I got my trees today, I'm going to do a couple things different. 1st I'm going to pot 2 in half whiskey barrels so I can garage them over the winter. The other 2 plus a Starkcrimson cherry hardy to Z5 I'm going to plant close together so I can tent them and even give them a bit of heat on below zero nights and protect the blossoms from late spring frosts. Another thing I know I did wrong last year was fertilize and water too much, too late into the season. This discourages the trees from going into dormancy and makes them much more susceptible to winter damage. So no fertilizer (Stark Bros treprep) after Aug. 1 and really cut back on the water once the worst of the summer heat is over. If these guys don't make it I'll have to stick to apples and berries for fruit. Good luck with yours!

The peach tree we planted last summer, doesn't look too promising. Thanks for the idea to scratch the bark, maybe I will try it if I get too curious and impatient.

Any signs of leafing out? If it hasn't started yet its likely dead. What variety did you plant?

Mine is dead.