Delaware State Flower – The Peach Blossom

Botanical Name

Prunus Persica

Year Adopted

1895

Peak Bloom

May to June

History

The Peach Blossom was adopted as the floral emblem of Delaware in 1985 but was officially named the state flower until 1953.

Fun Fact

Delaware was the original “Peach State,” because of its orchards; they contained more than 800,000 peach trees, yielding a crop worth thousands at the time!

In 1875, Peach Blossoms could be seen across the gorgeous shoreline of Delaware’s coast. Unfortunately, the peach farmers faced many problems throughout the latter part of the 19th century. The peach disease called “the yellows” forced the untimely collapse of the booming agricultural industry and, in the early 1900s, many peach farmers faced bankruptcy. Today there are very few Peach Blossoms in Delaware, even though the U.S. still emerges as the leading peach grower in the world.

Peach Blossoms bloom as a solitary or paired flower. The Blossom itself is 2.5 to 3 centimeters in diameter and has no more than five petals. They are light pink to light purple in color. The Peach Blossom appears, of course, before the Peach leaves. Quite delicate, the pink Peach Blossoms may be large and showy, but other times are quite small. Peach Blossom trees grow 15-25 feet high and the slender leaves have toothed edges. The regular Peach Blossom tree bears fruit at 3 to 4 years old and reaches its peak after about 12 years.

Growing Information

Soil

Well-drained

Sun

Partial Shade/Full Shade

Zones

4 - 9