Peach trees are prized for their delicious fruit and beautiful spring blooms. But sometimes peach tree leaves can turn an alarming red color. If you’ve noticed red foliage on your peach trees you may be wondering why this occurs and what it means for tree health. Read on to learn the possible causes of red peach tree leaves and how to care for trees with this symptom.
What Causes Red Leaves on Peach Trees?
There are several potential reasons peach tree leaves may turn red
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Genetics – Some peach varieties are bred to have naturally reddish-purple foliage, like the popular ‘Bonfire’ cultivar. This is not a problem, just a desirable ornamental trait.
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Leaf Curl Fungal Disease – Peach leaf curl, caused by the fungus Taphrina deformans, makes leaves pucker, curl, and turn red. It thrives in cool, wet weather.
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Insect Pests – Sucking insects like aphids, scales, and mites can feed on peach trees, causing red stressed foliage.
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Nutrient Deficiencies – Lack of nitrogen, iron, magnesium, or other nutrients can interrupt chlorophyll production and make leaves redden.
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Environmental Stress – Excess sun, drought, extreme cold or heat, waterlogging, or sudden weather changes can all redden peach leaves.
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Dormancy – Peach trees will start turning red and losing leaves when getting ready for winter dormancy.
Caring for Peach Trees with Red Leaves
If red leaves appear due to pests, disease, or environmental factors, take these care steps:
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Improve drainage and avoid overwatering to reduce fungal disease risk.
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Apply a fungicide spray to control peach leaf curl. Follow label instructions.
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Monitor closely for insect pests like aphids and mites. Apply organic insecticidal soap if found.
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Fertilize in early spring with a balanced organic fertilizer containing nitrogen.
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Water during drought and provide shade in extreme heat to reduce plant stress.
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Prune only during proper dormant season of late winter to avoid improper dormancy.
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Spray dormant oil in late fall/early spring to smother overwintering pests.
Best Red or Purple Leaf Peach Varieties
If you love the look of red peach foliage, try growing these varieties:
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Bonfire – Small 5-foot tree with lasting deep reddish-purple leaves and pink spring blooms. Hardy to zone 5.
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Peppermint – Grows 10-15 feet tall with dark red new leaves that fade to green. White spring flowers.
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Cherokee Red – Produces large, red-skinned peaches. Foliage emerges deep purple-red before turning green.
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Bonanza – Just 3-4 feet tall with abundant crop of peachy-red fruits. Deep purple leaves all season.
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Burgundy – Compact 4-foot tree with double pink flowers and firm, sweet red peaches in summer.
When to Worry About Red Peach Leaves
While red foliage on peach trees may just indicate ornamental genetics, it can also signal problems needing attention. Monitor for other symptoms like distorted leaves, fungal growth, chewed foliage, wilting, or poor growth. If multiple issues occur along with red leaves, take action to diagnose and treat the problem. But isolated red color in an otherwise healthy tree is likely harmless.
With proper site conditions and care, most peach trees can thrive despite temporary red leaf phases. The colorful foliage of red or purple leaf cultivars also adds unique beauty to any landscape. So enjoy observing your peach tree’s seasonal color shifts and intervene only if declines in health accompany the changing hues.
Peach Tree Short Life
This is a disease caused by the ring nematode, bacterial canker organism (Pseudomonas syringae), fluctuating winter temperatures, pruning the wrong time of year, and poor horticultural practices. Trees suddenly collapse shortly after leafing out or prior to leafing out in the spring of the year. Removing a piece of bark from the lower trunk has a characteristic sour sap odor. The root system appears healthy and frequently puts up a flush of sprouts.
Prevention & Treatment: Prune trees only in February and early March. Adjust the soil pH to 6.5 prior to planting and lime regularly to maintain this pH after planting. Select sites that are on heavier soils and are well-drained. There is no nematode control after planting for homeowners. Select peach trees that use the variety ‘Guardian’ for their rootstock. ‘Guardian’ is more tolerant of the ring nematode.
Do not replant old peach tree sites with new peach trees. Where ring nematode is present, plant Stacey wheat as a winter crop and sorghum as a summer crop at least one year in advance, and two years is preferred. Fertilize to maintain at least 18 inches of new terminal growth per year. Remove all dead wood and dying branches as soon as possible.
Note: Control of diseases and insects on large trees is usually not feasible since adequate coverage of the foliage with a pesticide cannot be achieved. Prune peach trees to a height of 8 to 9 feet.
Spray Schematic for Peaches *Red Arrows indicate important fungicide applications *Black arrows indicate optional fungicide applications Note: Insecticides need to be added to each application except during bloom.
Table 1. Fungicides Labeled for Peach Disease Control.
| Pesticide Active Ingredient | Examples of Brand Names & Products |
| Captan | Arysta Captan 50% Wettable Powder Bonide Captan 50% WP Drexel Captan 50W Hi Yield Captan 50W Fungicide Southern Ag Captan Fungicide |
| Chlorothalonil1 | Bonide Fung-onil Concentrate Ferti-lome Broad Spectrum Landscape & Garden Fungicide Concentrate Hi-Yield Vegetable, Flower, Fruit & Ornamental Fungicide Concentrate Monterey Fruit Tree, Vegetable & Ornamental Fungicide Ortho MAX Garden Disease Control Concentrate Southern Ag Liquid Ornamental & Vegetable Fungicide Concentrate Tiger Brand Daconil Concentrate |
| Copper Fungicides | Bonide Copper Fungicide (copper sulfate) Monterey Liqui-Cop Fungicidal Garden Spray Conc. (a copper ammonium complex) Southern Ag Liquid Copper Fungicide (a copper ammonium complex) |
| Myclobutanil | Ferti-lome F Stop Lawn & Garden Fungicide Monterey Fungi-Max Spectracide Immunox Multi-Purpose Fungicide Concentrate |
| Propiconazole2 | Bonide Infuse Systemic Disease Control |
| Sulfur4 | Bonide Sulfur Plant Fungicide Ferti-lome Dusting Sulfur (also wettable for spray) Hi-Yield Wettable Dusting Sulfur (also wettable for spray) Southern Ag Wettable or Dusting Sulfur |
| Boscalid & Pyraclostrobin5 | Bonide Fruit Tree & Plant Guard Concentrate (also contains Lambda Cyhalothrin – an insecticide) |
| 1Do not apply chlorothalonil within one week before or after a horticultural oil spray application. The maximum number of applications of chlorothalonil is 3. Chlorothalonil is only for use during the late dormant period or for after harvest 2Make no more than 4 applications of propiconazole; apply at 21-day intervals. 3RTS = Ready to Spray (hose-end applicator) 4Never apply a horticultural oil spray within 2 weeks of a sulfur spray, and do not apply sulfur when the temperature is above 90 °F or to drought-stressed plants.| 5Bonide Fruit & Tree Plant Guard contains an insecticide and must not be applied during bloom. This product may be applied up to 5 times per growing season and has a 14-day PHI, which means do not apply this spray within 14 days of harvest.With all pesticides, read and follow all label instructions and precautions. | |
Pesticides are updated annually. Last updates were done on 5/21 by Joey Williamson.
If this document didn’t answer your questions, please contact HGIC at [email protected] or 1-888-656-9988.
Nancy Doubrava, Former HGIC Horticulture Information Specialist, Clemson UniversityR.W. Miller, Jr., PhD, Emeritus Faculty, Plant Pathology, Clemson UniversityJames H. Blake, EdD, Extension Associate/Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University
Guido Schnabel, PhD, Professor of Plant Pathology, Dept. of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Clemson UniversityJoey Williamson, PhD, HGIC Horticulture Extension Agent, Clemson University
This information is supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement of brand names or registered trademarks by the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service is implied, nor is any discrimination intended by the exclusion of products or manufacturers not named. All recommendations are for South Carolina conditions and may not apply to other areas. Use pesticides only according to the directions on the label. All recommendations for pesticide use are for South Carolina only and were legal at the time of publication, but the status of registration and use patterns are subject to change by action of state and federal regulatory agencies. Follow all directions, precautions and restrictions that are listed.
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Phytophthora Root & Crown Rot
Root and crown rots are very important diseases that affect stone fruits. Trees often die within weeks or months of the first symptoms, but in other cases, the decline is gradual, occurring over several growing seasons. The disease is caused by fungi in the genus Phytophthora, and is most severe in areas of poor drainage.
Infected trees have stunted shoot growth and leaves become sparse, small, and yellow. Fruit will be small and sunburned. Shoot and scaffold limb dieback occurs as the disease progresses. Crown rot symptoms appear as black decayed areas on the root crown and or trunk base near the soil line. Cankers that exude a gummy resin are often present. Root rot symptoms include few feeder roots being present, with the remaining roots often decayed.
Prevention & Treatment: There is no chemical control available for crown and root rot in the home garden. The most important control strategy is careful water management. Try to plant your trees shallow, maybe even shallow, on a 6” to 10” raised bed. Do not overwater trees. Select well-drained sites for planting, and improve drainage of the existing location.
Initially, trees infected with the oak root rot fungus (Armillaria species) appear slow in growth rate, have shorter terminals and take on an off-color green. As the root rot gets closer to the root crown, the whole tree or significant portions of the tree can collapse anytime during the year. There are no root sprouts present. Removing the bark beneath the soil surface reveals a white mantle of mycelium between the bark and the wood. The wood remains firm and intact.
Prevention & Treatment: There is no treatment or prevention once the tree is in the ground. Do not plant where oak trees have been removed. Do not replant with a peach tree or a susceptible species. Again, planting the tree shallow on a raised bed will help extend tree life.
How We Get Rid of Peach Leaf Curl
FAQ
Why does my peach tree have red leaves?
The red color on your peach tree shoots could be a natural response to stress, like cold weather or environmental changes. It’s often due to anthocyanin buildup, a pigment plants produce under stress. If the tree is otherwise healthy, this might just be part of its normal growth.
What peach tree has purple leaves?
Prunus persica ‘Bonfire’
The Bonfire Peach Tree has large, spear-shaped red-purple leaves that hold their brilliance throughout the summer, but wait, there is more.
Will leaf curl go away on its own?
After leaf curl caused by transplant shock, plants often recover on their own within a couple of weeks. Provide plenty of water as your tomatoes settle in.Apr 4, 2025
Why is my tree growing red leaves?
There are two main theories as to why plants produce these reddish pigments in young leaves: 1) because they have a sunscreen photoprotective function, which shields the leaves against excess visible light and 2) that they are a sort of signal to insects not to waste their time eating them!