lacking in branches peach tree query

[Livy3782]

my peach tree is only in leaf at the very top - its over 6ft tall but shaped more like a whip. Do i chop it in half to promote lower branches to grow or leave it? I'm in the UK so it's slightly susceptible to peach leaf curl and still in a pot. I'm happy to plant it out of we think it'll survive? Its spent all winter outside but in a sheltered spot. We had -10'c last winter on occasion. The picture shows the growth only at the top (the growth around the bottom are potted blueberry bushes)

[BUFFS]

If it was mine I would chop it back quite hard and put it in a shady place and mist the trunk each time you go past, I did this to an apple in a very similar state and it is now a short stocky plant but it took a few years to build the branch structure before letting it fruit, and it was FB who put me right on the branch training, it's paying off now with a sturdy tree covered in fruit...

[Jay-ell]

Are there any latent buds lower down? You could try notching the buds to induce them into growth. Search on YouTube to see how it's done.

[starloc]

Plant it in the ground or chop the root ends and pot it in a bigger pot, chop the live branch a bit at the end and take all the dead growth off it, spray with a mix of 5ml of oregano oil in water to kill any infections on it, after a few weeks give it some nitrogen fertilizer make sure wind can blow around it to dry it after rain , no plants aginst the bottom of it to create a damp atmosphere and it should grow
Every time a peach tree shoot gets to 1 foot long pinch about 2 inches off the tip while it is soft , just keep doing this and it will form a good shape with loads of branches and fruit buds.

You need to stop the dieback from the leaf curl.

In the Autumn you need to spray with copper and lime mix and again before the buds swell, I spray with oregano oil mix as well
If a peach tree is infected in the autumn it will have leaf curl, unless you spray with oregano, oregano is almost he only thing that can get help an infection once in a leaf or bud, the spray before leaf drop and before it grows buds in spring ( spray in December ) will stop the leaf curl.

Our peach trees in the UK are outside all winter and get leaf curl as i dont spray as i am in Bulgaria now, when i spray and they dont.
Temperature wise , dont worry -25C doesnt hurt a peach tree even but if outdoors you must spray for leaf curl.

Spraying with coconut milk diluted in water or..... very dilute ( pinch in a litre of water ) of a chemical bought online called cytokinin will make it grow branches from lower buds without chopping anything

But... it is important to take the tip off every ti me it grows to harden the branches to resist infection and grow fruit buds otherwise you get long branches with fruit on the end and branches then snap

[devonuk]

I had the same problem with a nectarine last year, but it had a couple of branches low down, then a 3 foot gap, then branches at the top, so I cut it off at the bottom of the gap. I'm afraid what has happened is the existing lower branches are still ok but I didn't get what I was hoping for which was new branches breaking from the main trunk.