What To Know About 'Chilling Hours' When Moving Indoor Peach Trees Outside

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Growing a peach tree indoors is a labor of love. It requires choosing the right variety that will maintain a small enough size and be able to self-pollinate. You'll need to find a spot in the house where it will get six to eight hours of direct sunlight, but ideally more. Then you will discover that even indoor peach trees need some outside time during the year.

Peach trees require what's known as chilling hours during winter. This is a certain amount of time exposed to low temperatures — between 32 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit — and is essential if you want the tree to produce fruit. The number of chilling hours depends on the category of peach, so it's something you'll need to consider when choosing which variety to grow.

Your peach tree could need anything from 100 hours to 1,100 hours of chilling time. So it's not a decision to be made lightly, even if you're growing a peach tree from a leftover pit. You'll also need to compare this to the average temperatures in your area. The information is readily available from online tools or local weather stations, but bear in mind that it's a prediction rather than a guarantee.

Chill hours aren't just essential for producing fruit on your indoor tree, but also for the ongoing health of the plant. Depending on where you live, this can be a bit of a balancing act. You need to plan your tree's outdoor exposure to ensure the trees receive sufficient chill hours without exposing them to temperatures cold enough to damage them.

The surprising fact about these chilling hours, and one that will make your life easier, is that they don't need to be racked up in succession, just any time between November and March. This means you can put them outside for a few hours at a time, then bring them in again if there's a danger of it getting too cold. Any hours below 32 degrees Fahrenheit don't count towards the tally.

The issue for some plant owners will be a lack of any outdoor space — which could be why you're growing the tree inside to begin with. If you don't have a yard, balcony or patio, you're going to need to get creative. An unheated garage or a cool space in your house might work, but you'll need something to both monitor and record the temperature, like the Govee Smart Thermometer.