It should be OK to work now. If you remove the bark now be sure to seal the back. I keep a spray can of Bullseye shellac on my work bench all the time and seal all newly exposed backs, no matter how old the stave is.
I cut a 2" peach sucker last winter. I left it whole for about a month then cut out a rough bow shape and bound it to a form in reflex. Not long ago I removed it from the form. I've just started back building bows after a drought period and have this "peach" of a stave in my go to pile with a few others.
Keep us posted on your progress.