While you may not notice symptoms of peach leaf curl until the spring, you should manage it in the fall and winter.

Peach leaf curl is a fungal disease that primarily affects peach and nectarine trees. Fungal spores overwinter on twigs and flower buds and germinate in the spring causing distorted, reddened leaves. Unfortunately, this disease cannot be effectively managed once the symptoms appear in the spring, so experts recommend pesticide treatments before bud break (when new flower buds begin to open).

Timing of the first treatment in the dormant season should be made after leaves have dropped in the fall and winter. This is often in late November or early December. Treat affected trees with a fungicide...