Good Morning Cadymay!

Even the Genetic Dwarfs are usually grafted over to keep the variation out of other properties (color, blooms, etc... in this case) that make them valuable. Another example is the Garden Delicious Apple is a genetic dwarf, but grafted onto M111 (or whatever other) rootstock to handle the soil. I have seen a few (but not many) ornamentals grafted for this reason. Makes it easier to have a row of them that are uniform. Good luck with your transformation!

The natural dwarf Bonanza peach is seldom grafted - it is a true genetic dwarf. Most other peach varieties are grafted to reduce size but not always - peaches tend to be pretty compact, small growing trees anyway in comparison to many other fruits.

btw, the Golden Delicious apple is not a genetic dwarf - it was discovered as a chance seedling between two full size cuiitvars on a farm in West Virginia around the turn of the 20th century. Full size, ungrafted trees will grow 20-25'. It is grafted to various rootstocks to increase cold hardiness, adapt to different soil conditions and to reduce size to semi-dwarf or dwarf.

gardengal48 is correct; Golden Delicious is not a genetic dwarf. Garden Delicious is, however.

A picture of the leaves may also help to identify; if you are looking for anything other than "rootstock!"

I have a dwarf 'Bonfire' peach and it seems to be grafted. It is staring to swell buds a bit. But my other peach tree in the back yard is already in full flower and leaves are starting to grow.

Yes, you want to cut it off - root stock suckers sap energy from the top growth and will eventually overtake it. As to wondering abut the rootstock variety, is there a pressing reason you need to know?

Also, not that anyone cares but the 'Jack' Flowering Pear Tree is also a genetic dwarf.

Ok, Gardengal, you are right, I really should question myself before I question others...I was just trying to find some use for something about one of these dwarf peaches (like maybe the rootstock) because deep down I know they are probably going to have to go, as they are taking up valuable and short supply sun space that could be used for something productive. They are indeed pretty in the spring. They are loaded with very small, tasteless hard peaches. Last year I tried thinning the immature fruit to see if the remaining ones would grow any bigger, but they still stayed small, and 95% of them mummified before ripening. In my locale (middle tn, humid, shady, morning fog above the river, clay soil) peaches are a losing battle with pests and disease, though, and I am not willing to do even a low spray schedule for a fruit that is not even one of my favorites.

Tlbean2004, thanks for posting the pear photo, gave me a chuckle.

I removed the fruit from mine last year aswell. It is not for eating but for aesthetics. Since it was planted in 2015, i wanted to tree to focus on getting established and not making fruit. I will remove them this year also. The tree grew very well last year and there and a noticeable increase in the girth.

I have a similar situation. I bought an ornamental peach tree from a local retailer purely for landscaping purposes.

It was either the first or second year, after setting it out, that I realized it was struggling and eventually the main trunk died back.

However, the tree sprouted 4 main new growths from the

the roots. Since then, it has grown quite rapidly & is now bearing edible fruit from an otherwise original non-edible dwarf.

The plus side is, they have a wonderful peach flavor, but I have no idea what they are. I even thought that they could possibly be nectarines because of the firm flesh, but they have a light fuzz on the outter skin.

Like the other users mentioned in their posts, those type trees typically produce small, hard, non edible blossoms, & it did the first 2 years. After the main trunk died, the whole ball game changed!

I love peaches so I’m not complaining, but there is absolutely no telling what variety was used in order to get to the dwarf ornamental tree that I purchased. Whatever the variety, they remain firm, hold a more yellow color with an ever so slight partial turning to peach red on one side, & then begin their turning loose to fall to the ground. This is typically an indicator that the fruit is ripe an ready to eat.

They may be a mixture of peach, plum, nectarine, etc. grafts, idk, but they sure taste good, & hey, they haven’t made me sick or killed me yet, LOL !