Redhaven Peach

Prunus persica 'Redhaven'

fruit

Redhaven is the gold-standard yellow-fleshed freestone peach, developed at Michigan State University in 1940 and still the benchmark for fresh and frozen quality. The medium-large fruit has firm sweet flesh with balanced acidity and a clean stone-free release when fully ripe, which is why it is the most-planted peach variety in the world.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Chives — Repels aphids and may suppress peach leaf curl pressure around the drip line
• Comfrey — Chop-and-drop mulch returns potassium and calcium to the root zone
• Garlic — Sulfur compounds discourage borers and rodents when planted at the trunk
• Yarrow — Attracts predatory wasps and hoverflies that hunt aphids and oriental fruit moth

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Peach leaf curl →

  Apply copper or chlorothalonil fungicide once in late autumn after leaf drop, and again in spring before bud swell; complete coverage of twigs and branches is essential

• Brown rot →

  Prune for airflow, remove all mummies in dormant season, and pick fruit before it softens on the branch

• Peach tree borers →

  Keep the trunk base clear of mulch, paint with white latex to reflect heat, and inspect for gummy oozing in summer

• Plum curculio →

  Apply kaolin clay at petal fall, beat the trunk over a tarp at dawn, and pick up early drops weekly

🌾 Harvest & storage

Redhaven ripens in early to mid August. Pick when the background color under the red blush turns yellow-cream and the fruit yields slightly to gentle thumb pressure near the stem. The pit lifts free of the flesh once the peach is dead-ripe; if pits cling, leave the fruit on the tree another day or two. Refrigerate only after eating quality is reached; cold storage of unripe peaches causes mealy texture.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

About 39 calories per 100 g with 1.5 g fiber, 6.6 mg vitamin C, 190 mg potassium, and 326 IU vitamin A. The orange-yellow flesh is rich in beta-carotene and the antioxidant zeaxanthin, both of which support eye health.

⚠️ Toxicity & safety

Eat the flesh, not the pit. The kernel inside the pit contains amygdalin, a cyanide-releasing compound - discard the pits and never eat or crush the seeds inside.