Looks like an ornamental double flowering peach. It may produce an occasional fruit, but they are of low quality. Trees are subject to all the ills of commercial fruiting peaches, and the trees are not usually long lived. Yours looks kinda old.

Thanks. I think you may be right. There are pits on the tree and on the ground that look like peach pits. Is there something that we could spray to help the health of the tree?

Spraying is a good preventative measure, but it looks to have a lot of dead wood on it. Probably a lost cause. Unless it is sentimental to you in some way, I would remove and replace it.

'A lost cause?' The OP considers this a beautiful tree. Try to curb your destructive tendencies, Logan.

Stacymarra, I would live a full year with the tree and see how you like it in all its aspects. If you see any specific problems come back with close ups and someone will be able to offer suggestions on care. At the moment there is no indication that there is anything particularly wrong and what you definitely don't want to do is to start spraying for something which either doesn't exist or hasn't been identified.

I can't see any dead wood at all actually. Every single twig seems to have swelling buds.

an in focus of the flowers would really help to confirm ID ... you dont have to stand behind a screen.. it wont 'get' you. lol ...

always include your location ....

you NEVER spray anything.. until you have IDd a problem ... nor will it be hungry .. nor need college or much of anything ... it is not a child.. its a tree ...

fruit tree production usually has associated 3 or 4 sprayings per year ... after you are aware of what problems it might have..

there is a fruit forum.. should be fail you here ...

ken

If it is an ornamental peach then a spraying regime suitable for fruit trees is not necessary, even if specific pests are identified. Fruit quality is neither here nor there. It is festooned with bird feeders so presumably you are keen to attract wildlife. It would seem illogical to spray to kill off the natural food sources of those very same birds. If, however, it gets leaf curl you might consider it unacceptably unsightly and want to treat it.

Peach trees are subject to multiple different problems, with cultivars selected for decorative use often needing to be sprayed just to keep the tree functioning - the same as with orchard cultivars. In my area for instance Peach Leaf Curl alone can quickly spoil them.

If specimen shown was in full health, was like kinds I have seen it would be positively wreathed in flowers at bloom time - in the manner of various Japanese flowering cherries for instance. Also it has been mal-pruned, with pretty much all of the side branches in the lower half having been cut off. While the upper part has been allowed to become congested. This denuding of the centers or lower portions of trees and shrubs, to leave side branches only out near the ends or up high has been called "stripping". Or in extreme cases "lion tailing".

theirs is the only opinion which really matters

= no scope for learning from those more experienced or informed. If we all already spontaneously know the best course of action in every situation then why do we ever ask for advice from others?

If tree was to be pruned correctly OP might like it even better. Maybe a lot better. At the moment they presumably do not have the frame of reference of somebody who knows more about the subject, may have no idea how the tree could look.

Thanks for all the input, I'm brand new to the forum and judging from the depth of discussion, ill prepared to be here. I was looking for help with identification of a tree we inherited. Quick question, what/who is the OP?

OP is original poster. I do hope you haven't been discouraged by our discussions and will come back if you have any more questions. We do tend to have quite a lot of back and forth here. Lots of us have been on these forums for a long time and we tend to have quite a bit of polite argie bargie. Embo is a real expert and tree perfectionist. I am a messier and more leave it be gardener. But I know from his contributions elsewhere that we are very much on the same page in other areas.

Thanks for the picture. It doesn't look quite so dead. Also, I think the removal of the lower side branches was a good idea, because it makes the tree easier to walk under, and it enhances the tree's "gnarly character" as floral points out. I have pruned my flowering dogwood and methley plum to achieve a somewhat similar look. Also, you may want to remove that bird feeder from that branch so the tree doesn't encapsulate it after several years. From a quick google image search, I suppose it could be prunus persica 'melred' but others here more experienced with this tree will probably offer more insight into a definite ID.

glad to know I'm not the only one scaring new posters away...

(JK)

srsly though, I'd be much more inclined to accept the advice of a forum where there is some spirited discussion...

for other people, I guess not!

Lol Dave. That's just one of the wonderful things about gw. I enjoy participating, and there is usually something to learn from those "spirited discussions". I think they are valuable because you can see that the person has an opinion, which is usually backed by vast knowledge and/or experience.

"the person has an opinion, which is usually backed by vast knowledge and/or experience."

LOL!! Not always :-) I can think of a few that offer opinions that have absolutely no basis in reality. Granted, they tend to be a minority but still, not all opinions are based on knowledge and experience. In fact, the common definition of 'opinion' includes a caveat that excludes that condition: "a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge."

Since the flowers are single it may be an orchard cultivar rather than a decorative one - good thing the requested close view was eventually provided. Although, again, the pruning and spraying of each is the same. Also there are peach cultivars with decorative flowers that produce useful fruits as well. It does not necessarily follow that if a peach has more showy flowers the fruits will be comparatively mediocre.

Pretty tree. Love the bird stuff. Keep hanging around. If you keep reading, you will learn who has info that you like and who always wants to "cut it down". I would observe it for a year. Once the leaves come out and it sets fruit (if any), you can tell more about the tree. The fall color of the foliage will also help. I would take pictures of it in the different seasons.

Also, if you activate messaging, you can talk with specific posters. Your e-mail address will not be revealed, since everything goes through Houzz. If messaging is activated you will see message on the right hand side of the posters home page. Hover over the name and it will turn green, left click and it will take you to the posters home page.