{"id":834,"date":"2019-08-28T00:05:32","date_gmt":"2019-08-28T00:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/?p=834"},"modified":"2019-09-17T23:31:38","modified_gmt":"2019-09-17T23:31:38","slug":"apricot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/28\/apricot\/","title":{"rendered":"Apricot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Prunus armeniaca<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The apricot originated in\nChina or Manchuria, but is now grown in warm temperate areas around the world.\nA fully ripened apricot doesn\u2019t ship well, so for the best flavor you have to\ngrow them yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About\nApricot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ease of growing: Moderate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hours of winter chill 350-900<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Size Standard \u2013 20-30ft tall\nx 20-30 ft wide<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Semi-dwarf \u2013 12 \u2013 15ft tall<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dwarf \u2013 4 \u2013 8ft tall <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zone 5 \u2013 9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blooming period: Early spring\nFeb-March <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fruiting period: July-Aug <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life expectancy: 75 years\n(shorter in many areas)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bearing age: 3-4 years<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Days to harvest: 100-120<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yield: Standard – 3 to 4\nbushels<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Dwarf – 1 to 2 bushels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nutrients<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fruit is rich in sugar,\nvitamins A and C, riboflavin (B2) and niacin (B3) as well as the minerals\ncalcium, phosphorus and iron. It also contains lycopene. The seed is rich in\nprotein and fat, but most types also contain cyanide,\nwhich is poisonous. The exception to this are the sweet pit apricots,\nwhich are actually grown for their edible seeds as much as their fruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The apricot is somewhat more\ndemanding in its requirements than most common tree fruit (though these are\nsimilar to Cherry) and so is less commonly grown. The perfect climate for\napricots has:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moderately cold winters (it\nis hardy down to zero F) which provide enough chill to break dormancy, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mild springs without late\nfrosts (the flowers appear early- before peach and are easily damaged by\nfrost).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warm (it suffers if it gets\ntoo hot), dry summers to ripen its fruit to perfection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Low humidity. In areas with\nhigh humidity it is often afflicted by pests and diseases, so it is mostly\ncultivated commercially in the warmer, drier western areas. However it can be\ngrown in other areas if you choose the right microclimate and the right\nvariety. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Site<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apricots like the same\ngrowing conditions as their relatives the peaches. They flower very early in\nthe year and so the blossom is vulnerable to damage by frost (which of course\nmeans no crop that year). In cold climates they should always go in the warmest\npart of the garden (never in a frost pocket), such as high up on a slope or\nhill, where cold air doesn\u2019t settle. They are sometimes put on a cool north or\neast facing slope (or north side of a building) so the trees will stay dormant\nlonger and flowering will be delayed. Some of the newer varieties naturally\nblossom later and are good for colder areas. The trees should always be\nsheltered from strong and cold winds as these can interfere with the activities\nof pollinating insects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apricots produce better in\nfull sun, but in hot climates they will tolerate some shade, though they. In\nareas with cool summers they are sometimes grown as an espalier against a south\nor west facing wall (where they will get additional warmth). They need good air\ncirculation to minimize disease problems however. In areas with very cold\nwinters dwarf varieties can be grown in containers and brought into a\ngreenhouse for the winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soil<\/p>\n\n\n\n

pH 6.5 – 8.0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apricots can do well in\nmost soil types, so long as they are well drained, but the ideal soil is light,\ndeep, moisture retentive and fairly fertile. They don\u2019t mid fairly alkaline\nsoil, but don\u2019t like sandy, saline or heavy clay (it tends to get too wet in\nwinter) soils. If your soil isn\u2019t well drained you should consider planting on\na hillside, or on a mound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soil\npreparation: If the soil isn\u2019t very\nfertile you should prepare the whole growing area (not just the planting hole)\nby single digging (or even double digging if the soil is heavy or very poor).\nThis enables you to incorporate organic matter deeply into the soil (4\u201d of\ncompost or aged manure) along with various amendments. This works much better\nthan simply amending the planting hole, as it encourages the trees roots to\nspread out in all directions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spacing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A standard apricot doesn\u2019t\nget to be very big, usually not much more than 25-30 feet in height, and dwarf\ntrees may only be 6 feet tall. It is quite a vigorous tree though and is often\nas wide as it is tall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standard trees are usually\nspaced 25-30 ft apart, semi-dwarfs go 12-15ft apart and dwarfs may be as little\nas 8-10 ft apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Care\nof plants before planting: When you get\nyour plants home it is best to get them into the ground as soon as possible. If\nthis isn\u2019t possible then you should heel them in, which means placing them in a\ntrench and covering the roots with soil. If you buy plants mail order you\nshould unwrap them as soon as they arrive and soak the roots in water\novernight, before planting (or heeling in).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planting<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apricots are most often\nplanted as 1-2 year old bare root trees. Where I live these are available from\nmid January to early March for immediate planting. In colder climates they are\nusually available in early spring. Mail order trees are available for an even\nlonger period because they are kept in cold storage until shipped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When: Bare root trees are usually planted in early spring\nin cold climates and from late fall to early spring in mild-winter areas.\nPlants in containers can be planted at any time of year, but are more expensive\nand don\u2019t usually do as well (sometimes they are simply left over bare root\nstock that has been potted up).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How:\nDig a hole for the tree 2\u20113 times as wide\nas the root ball and the same depth, to give the roots plenty of space. A tree\nshould be set in the ground at the same depth it was growing in the nursery (this\nis most easily measured by laying a stick across the hole to get the right\nheight). In poorly drained soils you may have to plant on a mound, to keep the\ncollar of the tree from possibly rotting in wet soil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start planting by throwing a\ncouple of shovels of soil (and possibly organic matter) in a mound in the\nbottom of the hole. You then hold the plant over the mound and spread out the\nroots evenly over it. Put some soil in the hole to anchor the tree in place and\nfirm it down. You might want to add some rock phosphate to the soil as you re\u2011fill\nthe hole. Fill up the hole with the rest of the soil, making sure the tree\nstays vertical. When you have finished there should be a slight mound, so as\nthe soil settles it becomes flat (rather than sinking to form a depression\nwhere water might collect). You then water generously, not only to give water\nto the plant, but also to help establish contact between roots and soil. The\nfinal step is to spread out a mulch, to conserve water and keep down weed\ncompetition. It is also a good idea to put a permanent label on the tree with\nthe variety and rootstock (also write this down in a garden journal).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The newly planted tree may\nthen have its branches trimmed back by a third to encourage new growth (but\nonly if this hasn\u2019t already been done in the nursery, don\u2019t do it twice!) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staking: Newly planted trees were once routinely staked, but\nit is now thought that trees develop a strong trunk more rapidly if not staked.\nStaking may be necessary on very windy sites though (although you should avoid\nthese if possible).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintenance: Apricot is fairly straightforward to grow if you\ngive it the right conditions. The biggest problems are damage to the flowers\nfrom late frost and various diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watering:\nApricots originated in an area with\nlittle summer rainfall and so are fairly drought tolerant However the size of\nharvest will increase if you give them an occasional deep watering (ideally\nthis should penetrate down 3 ft). This is most critical when the fruit are\nsizing up (and are \u00bd\u201d \u2013 3\/4\u201d in diameter). Lack of water can cause fruit to\ndrop or split and seeds to crack. Flower buds start to differentiate in late\nsummer so it is important they get enough water (and nutrients) at this time.\nDon’t over-water though as this can cause root rot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course all newly planted\ntrees need regular watering until they are established (at least for one\nsummer). Trees planted against walls are particularly vulnerable to dry soil\nand should be kept sufficiently watered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mulch: Use a mulch of compost or aged manure to keep the\nground around the roots moist and to add nutrients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fertilizing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apricots have a vigorous and\nwide spreading root network that can search for nutrients very efficiently.\nThey need a good supply of nitrogen, as well as phosphorus and potassium. This\nshould be supplied in spring so it is immediately available and doesn\u2019t get\nwashed out by winter rains. Later applications may encourage vigorous late\ngrowth which may be vulnerable to frost damage. They also like zinc, calcium,\nboron and copper. You might also add lime occasionally to supply calcium and\nkeep the pH up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pollination: The insect pollinated flowers have both male and\nfemale parts and most apricot varieties are self-fertile. Some varieties need\ncross-pollination though and for heaviest crops they all benefit from it. As I\nmentioned previously they flower early in the year (late winter to early\nspring) and are vulnerable to late frost. In extreme situations it is possible\nto protect the blossom of dwarf trees by covering the tree with sheets (these\nshouldn\u2019t touch the flowers). This early flowering may also mean that\npollinating insects aren\u2019t very active, which can be a problem if the flowers\ndon\u2019t get properly pollinated. Pampered espaliered trees are sometimes hand\npollinated, using a small paintbrush to take pollen from one flower and apply\nto another. This isn\u2019t very practical on a full sized standard tree though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thinning:\nIf all goes well the trees can set a lot\nof fruit and if you want to get large fruit you will have to thin. If you\nneglect thinning you will get a lot of very small fruit (which may be okay\ntoo). Start thinning while the fruit is still small (1\/2\u201d-1\u201d), though wait\nuntil after natural fruit drop. Gardeners with too much time on their hands\nsometimes thin gradually, going in several times, though this seems like making\nwork for yourself. Start thinning by removing small, damaged or otherwise\ninferior fruit, removing those that are in the wrong place and thinning\nclusters to one fruit each. The ultimate aim is to have a single fruit every\n2-4\u201d. Always leave the biggest and best fruit of course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pruning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When:\nApricots are often pruned in winter or\nearly spring while they are dormant, but in areas with potential disease\nproblems it\u2019s better to prune in late spring (after fruit is set) or early\nsummer. Wounds heal faster at this time, which can help to avoid diseases such\nas Bacterial canker, Silver leaf or Die-back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How:\nApricots are pruned in the same way as\npeaches but aren\u2019t quite as vigorous. Copy that here.\nThe best flowers and fruit are produced on the spurs of 2-3 year old wood and\nyou prune to encourage the development of new fruit bearing shoots. Apricots\naren\u2019t usually pruned very vigorously as it increases vegetative growth and reduces\nfruit bearing. Generally you prune to provide good air and light penetration\nand to remove dead, diseased and crossed branches, watersprouts and any suckers\nthat emerge from the roots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Training: In hospitable apricots are often grown with an open center\n(vase shape), but in colder areas a central leader is probably better. Prune as\nlittle as possible in the first couple of years so the tree can produce fruit\nbearing spurs <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special shapes \u2013 These are\nmostly used if you have limited space or want to plant against a wall for extra\nheat, though they are sometimes also used for ornamental purposes (they do look\nbeautiful.) Espaliers, fans, dwarf pyramids and cordons are all interesting and\ncan work well if you have the time and inclination to look after them. In my\nview they require extra work for less fruit and so I would avoid them unless\nthere was no other way to grow apricots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Propagation: Apricots are easily raised from seed and the trees\nwill usually produce good fruit (in about 5 years). Save seeds from the fruit\nyou eat and either stratify them (for 2-3 months) or simply plant outdoors in\nfall (these must be protected from rodents or they may disappear). I have grown\nproducing trees from seed and they were pretty good. Interestingly the seedlings\nI grew were quite thorny when young (no doubt to protect them from predators)\nbut grew out of it as they got bigger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently it is also\npossible (with some difficulty) to root cuttings of half-ripe wood with a heel,\nin late summer, or use softwood cuttings in late spring. Branches can also be\nlayered in spring (if you can get one to the ground).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Containers: Dwarf apricots do quite well in a container, though\nthey won\u2019t be hugely productive (the genetic dwarf varieties work well for\nthis). In very cold climates apricots are sometimes grown in containers so they\ncan be taken indoors for the winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pests:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A number of pests can attack\napricots, but a mature tree is able to tolerate most minor insect damage\nwithout harm. A spray of dormant oil in early spring is used to combat many\npests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spider mites<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scale insects<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aphids<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Codling moth<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peachtree and Dogwood borers\n\u2013 The larvae of these insects tunnel into the cambium and can kill branches and\nyoung trees. They may also weaken older trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plum curculio (east of Rocky\nMountains).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Squirrels will go for\nsweet-pit apricots (Harcot and Precious).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Birds peck at the almost ripe\nfruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wasps may start to eat the\nfruit as it approaches ripeness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nematodes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disease:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In areas with high humidity\nApricot is often afflicted by disease, either serious or otherwise. Remove\nfallen fruit and any diseased leaves from underneath the trees to minimize\nre-infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dieback (Blossom Wilt)\nEutypa?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silver leaf<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown rot: This attacks fruit\nand enters through wounds in skin and can be a major problem in humid climates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bacterial spot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bacterial gummosis<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blossom blight<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coryneum blight<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water spot (fungus)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bacterial canker: Usually affects trees that have been pruned in winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Problems: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fluctuating\nwinter temperatures: Some apricots don\u2019t\nneed a lot of winter chill and a spell of warm weather can start to wake up the\nflower buds. If this happens a return to cold weather may damage or kill them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harvest:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When:\nThe fruit ripen in 100-120 days, which\nmakes it the first of the common tree fruits to ripen (usually\/ early July in\nmy garden, but August in cooler areas). The harvest season is relatively short as they all ripen in 2 or 3 weeks. This can be a\nproblem if you happen to go on vacation for a couple of weeks at the critical time.\nYou could miss them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How: You can start picking the fruit a few days after\nthey have colored up and stopped swelling. The flavor still develops for a\nwhile after they reach full size, but pests may start harvesting earlier (and\nforce you to do so too). A slightly underripe fruit can still be pretty good,\nespecially for cooking and will slowly ripen after picking. The ripe fruit will\nbe slightly soft and the skin gives slightly if pressed. Ripe fruit is easily\ndamaged, so be very gentle with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storage: You will get a lot of fruit all at once so you need\na way to store the surplus. Fortunately they dry, freeze and can well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fresh apricots can be kept at\nroom temperature for a week or so, slightly longer in the fridge. Freezing also\nworks well, just slice in half to remove the pits and freeze in a plastic bag\n(a little lemon juice will help them retain their natural color). These should\nlast for 6 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dry apricots by cutting them\nin half, remove the pits and dry them until they are leathery. A dehydrator\nworks well, though you can also dry them in the sun. They can then be stored at\nroom temperature or in the fridge (for 6 months).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unusual\ngrowing methods: In cool climates\nApricots can be given extra heat by training them along a south or west facing\nwall, as espaliers or fans. They need a sizeable wall though, as they can get\nquite big (15 ft long x 8 ft tall is a minimum and more vigorous trees may need\n20 ft x 9 ft.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Landscape\nuses: Apricot is one of the prettiest\ncommon fruit trees and the white or pink blossom is quite spectacular.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food\nuses: It\u2019s hard to get good apricots in\nstores because they don\u2019t ship well. This is no doubt the reason that apricots\nare more popular dried than fresh. The small (average 2\u201d) fruit is good cooked,\nfresh or dried (one of the best dried fruit in my opinion). Some varieties\nproduce edible sweet seeds also.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rootstocks: There aren\u2019t very good dwarfing rootstocks for\napricot though there are genetic dwarfs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seedling (Manchurian is good)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St Julian A 10-12 ft tall x\n12ft wide Yield \u2013 50lb This isn\u2019t a good rootstock for apricots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lovell<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marianna 26-24 Good for heavy wet soil<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nemaguard<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Krymsk 86 Similar to Lovell Tolerates heavy wet\nsoil<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pixy 8-10ft tall x 10ft wide\nYield 20lb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brompton 15ft tall x 15 ft wide\nYield 55lb+<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Varieties<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several factors can make\ngrowing apricots tricky (lack of chill, late frost, fluctuating winter\ntemperature, rainfall, pests and disease) and it is very important (even more\nthan with most crops) to choose the right variety for your climate. There is\nconsiderable variation in tolerance and resistance in the different cultivars\nand this can determine whether they do well. If you live in a place with many\nspring frosts, you will want to choose a variety developed for northern areas that\nflower later, so they escape frost damage. You may also choose varieties that\nare resistant to brown rot or other diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have several trees you\nmay want to stagger the harvest season with early, mid and late varieties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are quite a few Apricot\ncultivars in existence, but only a few are widely available, and you may have\ndifficulty finding some of the rarer varieties. A few have edible seeds as well\nas flesh and are known as Sweet Pit Apricots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have room for several\ntrees then you should have early, midseason and late blooming varieties to\nextend the harvest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moorpark<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blenheim<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some genetic dwarf varieties\nare available on their own roots. These include<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stark Golden Glo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Garden Annie<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweet\npit Apricots<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are priced as much for\ntheir edible seed than for the fruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mormon ?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prunus armeniaca Introduction The apricot originated in China or Manchuria, but is now grown in warm temperate areas around the world. A fully ripened apricot doesn\u2019t ship well, so for … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fruit-trees","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Apricot.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=834"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1756,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834\/revisions\/1756"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}