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Plant diseases

Peach leaf curl

Taphrina deformans · Fungus

Also called leaf curl (widely).

Illustration

Thick, puckered red leaves on peaches and nectarines in spring. By the time you see it, it's too late to treat this year: the fix is protecting the buds in late winter, before they open.

How to spot it

• New spring leaves thickened, puckered and curled, turning red or purple.
• Later, a greyish-white powdery bloom on the leaf surface.
• Early leaf fall, followed by a second flush of healthy leaves.
• Thickened, stunted shoots; occasionally wrinkled, reddish patches on the fruit.

Easily confused with

Where it's a problem

• Worldwide: Wherever peaches and nectarines grow; worst where springs are cool and wet.
• United Kingdom: No fungicides are available to gardeners.

What to do

1. Plant resistant varieties: the best option for home gardeners.
2. On small or fan-trained trees, keep rain off from leaf fall until the new leaves are out, with an open-ended plastic cover.
3. Help an affected tree recover by thinning the fruit and watering in dry spells.
4. Pick off infected leaves before the white bloom appears (sources differ on how much this helps).

If you use a fungicide, choose one labelled for peach leaf curl and follow the label and local rules. Where sprays are used, they go on while the tree is dormant, before the buds open. Once symptoms show, spraying won't work, and copper can build up in the soil.

Follow your local council's guidance for disposing of diseased plant material.

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Sources

• RHS: Peach leaf curl
• University of California IPM: Peach leaf curl
• Pacific Northwest Plant Disease Handbook: Peach leaf curl
• Utah State University Extension: Leaf curl

Facts checked Sunday 27 September 2026. General guidance only: follow your local council, agency and product label.