Hello Erin,

Peach Leaf Curl

Peach leaf curl, caused by Taphrina deformans, infects the tree early in spring before the leaves fully emerge. By the time you notice the curled, discolored leaves, the infection is well in place, and no post‑infection treatment will “cure” the leaves. What you can do now is focus on reducing tree stress by maintaining proper irrigation, ensuring balanced nutrition, and avoiding excessive nitrogen application during the warmer months. These cultural measures help the tree allocate energy to growing a new, healthy flush of leaves once the infected ones drop off.

Management: Spores become lodged under bud scales in autumn, overwinter, and then initiate primary infection in the spring. This disease is easily controlled with a single well-timed fungicide application, either in autumn when 90% of the leaves have fallen or in spring, just before bud swell.

For long‑term management, the key is prevention. Most university extension services (such as those from UC IPM and UMass) recommend applying a fungicide—often copper or alternatives like chlorothalonil—in the dormant period (either in the fall after at least 90% leaf drop or in the early spring before bud swell) so that new buds and developing leaves are protected from infection. More information at this link: (MSU recommendation)

Peach leaf curl