The Texas Hill Country -- the hilly and picturesque landscape just west of Austin and San Antonio, between the Balcones Fault and the Edwards Plateau -- is renowned for its sunsets, wildflower meadows and scenic drives.

But what really makes the Hill Country special are the peaches grown there.

What You Need To Know

  • Texas produces around 9 million pounds of peaches each season

  • Peaches need a certain amount of chill hours

  • Cold winters tend to push better blooms and fruit sets

Texas is a comparatively small player in the peach industry. Producing nine million pounds of peaches in a recent season, Texas was dwarfed by California's 1.2 billion pounds, South Carolina's 136 million pounds and even Georgia's 86 million pounds that same year. 

But the Hill Country is unique. Producers say that their elevation and soils, enriched with mineral deposits from ancient seas, make for the most flavorful peaches in the world.

Texas peach growers have built a profitable market on that flavor. While some sell to regional farmers' markets, many just let customers come to them.

During the late spring and summer months, stands selling peaches, pies, cobblers and preserves line the roadways from Fredericksburg and east along U.S. 290 to Stonewall and Johnson City.

Weather conditions for the perfect peaches

But for Hill Country peaches to reach their best size and flavor, the trees have to have specific weather conditions through the growing season.

Standard peach trees have winter chill requirements of 450 to 1,200 hours below 45 degrees between Nov. 1 and the end of February.

The proper minimum of chill hours is necessary for flowers and subsequent fruit to form on the tree. They tell the tree when to break dormancy and change from vegetative growth to reproductive.

Cold winters tend to push better blooms and fruit sets, but the best chill hours occur between 32 degrees and 45 degrees.

If a plant doesn't get enough chill hours, it might not bloom on time -- or at all --  producing little or no fruit.

But after one of the warmest Decembers on record and a continued La Niña pattern over North America, the upcoming peach crop may be in doubt.

Most buds didn't get the blasts of cold needed to break out of dormancy, and that means peach growers can only offer fewer and lower quality fruit. We can only hope for a good season.

Mark your calendar

The Stonewall Peach JAMboree and Rodeo on June 16, 17 and 18, celebrates Stonewall as the "Peach Capital of Texas," with activities like a peach-eating contest and the coronation of the peach queen.

A rodeo and dance are on Friday and Saturday night of the event.