Peach tree and fruit superstitions can be found all over the world. The tree originated in China, and was brought to Europe and North America by our ancestors. The fruit of the peach tree is considered female, and is connected with immortality and eternal youth.
1. Pecked by a Bird
In Georgia, it was believed that a peach was poisonous if it had been already pecked by a bird.
2. Water Dowsing
A peach switch was sometimes used to dowse for water when seeking a well.
3. Sleet in December
A good sleet in December means there will be a great peach crop come summer.
4. Peach Seed
If you swallow a peach seed, a peach tree will grow in your stomach. Superstition said the same thing about watermelon seeds.
5. Find Treasure
A green stick cut from the peach tree is held in the hand and used to find buried treasure. The stick will bend towards treasure as you walk with it, according to the superstition of North Carolina.
6. Planting Peach Trees
When planting a peach tree, always plant a pair of old shoes at its roots. In the Ozarks, it was believed that this custom kept the tree healthy.
7. Nails
In Arkansas, farmers would drive a nail into a barren peach tree to make it produce fruit again.
8. Bountiful Crop
In Missouri, farmers believed that if the peach trees gave a bountiful crop, other crops, such as corn and wheat, would fail.
9. Evil Spirits
In China, peach tree branches were used to drive away evil spirits.
10. Wart Removal
It was believed that if you rubbed a wart with the leaf from a peach tree and then buried the leaf, your wart would rot away with the leaf.
