Last week, I wrote about Alabama’s state flower, the camellia. When I started the article, I had intended to mention all of Alabama’s recognized state symbols that had a connection to gardening. Well, the camellia had such an interesting story, it deserved more justice than just a few sentences and became the sole focus.

Not wanting to abandon the idea, I revisited the list and had to look no further than our state tree fruit, the peach, for inspiration. State symbol categories vary from state to state, and Alabama is the only state with a state “tree fruit.” Like many other states, we have an official fruit, the blackberry, but we also designated the peach further as a tree fruit.

The peach received this designation in 2006, much to the chagrin of Georgia. Since they are the third-largest producer of peaches in the U.S. and the self-proclaimed “Peach State,” this prompted the past president of the Georgia Peach Council to become incredulous about another state daring to lay claim to their fruit.

In response, the sponsor of the bill, Alabama Rep. James Martin, stated, “If you’ve ever tasted Alabama peaches, you’d throw rocks at Georgia,” to which the Georgia agricultural commissioner retorted, “I didn’t know Alabama had any peaches at all.” So much drama over a peach!

California produces more peaches than all the other states combined and paid no mind to Alabama’s choice of tree fruit. However, the South Carolina Peach Council took the opportunity to throw some shade at Georgia and issued a press release stating, “South Carolina welcomes Alabama to the Peach Bandwagon,” being that their state is, in fact, the second-largest producer of peaches.

Regardless of which state feels that they can lay claim to the peach, the tree has its roots in China. Thought to have come through trade routes from the Mideast through Persia, peach seeds traveled through Europe and North Africa before landing in America in the 1500s. Historians believe they were first introduced by French explorers to colonial territories along the gulf coast near Mobile in 1562 and shortly after in 1565 by Spanish explorers when establishing St. Augustine, Florida.

The popularity of the peach tree grew, most likely due to their fast-growing nature and relatively quick fruit production after just two or three years from planting. Thomas Jefferson, a passionate gardener, was enthralled by the peach. He planted a living hedge around his home in Monticello, consisting of 900-plus peach trees. His love of the fruit and his appreciation of their beauty when flowering led him to grow 38 varieties, including a sterile ornamental double-flowering cultivar grown solely for its blooms.

Approximately 25 varieties of peaches grow successfully in Alabama, with Limestone County being the largest producer in the northern part of the state. Peach trees do best in sunny locations with well-drained soil. Most trees are self-pollinators, so only one tree is required in order for it to bear fruit.

Peach trees require a certain amount of cold weather, called “chilling hours,” to ensure flower production. Varieties that require at least 850 chilling hours grow best in North Alabama. Here are the varieties, along with their fruit size, flesh color, harvest time and chilling hours:

• Belle of Georgia: large, white, late season, 850;

• Elberta: large, yellow, mid-season, 850;

• Halehaven: medium-large, yellow flesh, mid-season, 850;

• J.H. Hale (requires pollination): very large, yellow, mid- to late season, 850;

• Newhaven: medium, yellow, early season, 950;

• Redglobe: very large, yellow, mid-season, 850;

• Redhaven: medium, yellow, early to mid-season, 950; and

• Springold: small to medium, yellow, early, 850.

All of the peaches listed are freestone peaches, except Springold, which is a clingstone. As the name implies, the flesh pulls easily away from the pit in a freestone peach, whereas a clingstone peach has a pit that clings to the flesh.

This is a recipe that I pulled from the pages of Food & Wine magazine a few years ago. I think it celebrates our delicious Alabama peaches perfectly. Until next week, happy gardening.

Peach Hand Pies

Filling

• 3 small peaches

• ¼ cup sugar

• ¼ cup light brown sugar

• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• ½ vanilla bean split and seeds scraped, or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Dough

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed

• ½ cup ice water

• 1 egg, beaten

• Turbinado sugar for dusting

Directions

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Fill a side bowl with ice water. Using a sharp knife, mark an “X” on the bottom of each peach. Boil peaches until the skins start to peel away, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to ice water bath and let cool completely. Peel and remove pit; cut peaches into small cubes. There should be about 2 cups of peaches.

In a medium-sized pot, combine peaches with remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened and syrupy, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature; cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

While peaches cool, whisk together flour and salt; add cubed butter and work together with the flour until it has a course texture. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, just until a dough forms. On a lightly floured surface, gently knead and form into ball, flatten slightly, then wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Cut dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thick. Cut 4-inch rounds from the dough. Repeat with other half of dough. Each half should produce 8 rounds. Layer them between parchment paper on a cookie sheet; refrigerate for a half-hour.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working one at a time, brush edges of rounds with beaten egg. Place 2 teaspoons of the filling into the center of the round and fold in half, pressing to seal the edges. Place filled dough on baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between hand pies. Brush tops with remaining egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Make 2 small slits in the top of each pie.

Bake until golden brown for 18 minutes. Halfway through cook time, rotate baking sheets, moving the bottom sheet to the top rack and the top to the bottom. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly.

— Irland, a member of the Limestone County Master Gardeners, can be reached at kippirland@hotmail.com. Visit https://mg.aces.edu/limestone for more information on the Limestone County Master Gardeners.