what to do with volunteer peach trees

[MissMeshow]

I have a handful of peach seedlings that started growing in my garden. I was reading that they are probably not worth much because the are most likely from trees that were grafted. Should I get rid of them or keep them? If I keep them, they cannot stay where they are. They will have to move to pots. Also if I keep them, I don't know how to take care of them. Do I pinch the tops so they will branch?

[tomc]

Grafting doesn't change a peach stone. Most grafted trees serve to reduce the overall size of the tree.

All prunus tend to breed true. Pot up your tree babies and offer them on free-cycle if you don't have room for them.

[valley]

Yes, if your cut the top back it will encourage branching, You can wait a while if they are very small. I do the same thing with apple, peach and apricot. You can also use them to experiment with grafting.

Richard

[Gary350]

Put the small trees in pots and let them grow larger. If you decide not to plant them yourself you can give them away or sell them at the local farmers market.

[ReptileAddiction]

They will most likely be a completely different tree because the original tree was probably a hybrid. I would keep it but you might get something edible but there is a good chance it will not even be edible.

Also, trees are grafted for disease resistance, increased vigor, pest resistance, trees that fruit much sooner, and a plethora of other reasons. Most trees are not grafted for size control, that is only dwarf or semi dwarf.

[Smallgardener]

I read that fruit trees have a 50% chance of producing fruit like the original. The fruits might be big or smaller or almost none at all. I gave one of my volunteer peach trees to my father in law and it is now 6 feet tall and produces some fruit when it does not freeze the blooms off.
Isn't it funny how you can plant peach pits and they never come up but let them hit the ground naturally and they sprout all over.