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 All About Apricots
Planting Tips
Planting apricots in the
winter shade of your yard helps increase the possibility of fruiting because
it delays early blooming which might be damaged by frost. Moving the
air around the tree utilizing a fan may also reduce frost damage. If
covering your tree, use cloth not plastic because plastic conducts cold.
Make sure the cloth covers the tree from the ground up, if possible.
Pollination
Many apricots are
self-fruitful; however, certain varieties require specific pollination.
Check the listing below by variety for specific requirements. If no
specific pollinizer is stated, any other variety will suffice. SF=Self-Fruitful
Pests and Disease
Few insects are harmful
to apricots. Coddling moth and other fruit-spoiling insects may be
avoided by maintaining a regular spray schedule. Dormant oil sprays
or dormant disease control sprays applied in January or February
before the buds, swell when the tree is dormant, helps to control these
pests by killing over wintering insect eggs. Further insect control can
be achieved by spraying with Fruit & Vegetable Insect Control,
Master Nursery Pest Fighter or Garden Insect Spray three times at
one week intervals when 80% of the blossoms are dead. Bacterial gummosis, a
disease which causes long, narrow, damp-looking gummy patches on the trunk
or branches, can be controlled by pruning; be sure to sterilize your pruning
implement after each cut or use by dipping it into a 10-to-1 bleach and
water solution. For persistent or chronic cases, consult our garden
center expert. A fungicide can also be recommended to control diseases
such as mildew where there is a problem.
Thinning &
Harvesting
Because trees usually
set too heavily, fruit must be thinned severely when about an inch in
diameter. Trees that overbear may set little or no fruit the following
year. Broken branches may also occur as a result of lack of thinning.
Harvesting & Storage
Apricots develop
delectable flavor when allowed to ripen fully on the tree. A single
tree will ripen its fruit over a period of about three weeks. If you
plan to can or store fruit, pick when firm-ripe before fruit skin has
developed its typical apricot color. When stored in a cool place,
fruit will keep fairly well for another three or four weeks. Stored
fruit, however, will not have the sprightly flavor of a tree-ripened
apricot.
Due to the
uncertainty of wholesale grower stock, trucking, and weather, all varieties
will not be available at all times. Although we do have the ability to
special order some stock, we make no guarantee of its arrival and cheerfully
encourage alternate selections.
Available Varieties
Blenheim:
Medium to large. Skin dull yellow with orange cheek. Flesh pale
orange, juicy with a delicious flavor. Equally
valuable for canning and drying
Chinese (Mormon): Medium-sized,
golden, firm fruit with a flavorful flesh. Sweet, edible pit.
Heavy bearer. Frost resistant.
700 hrs SF
Earligold:
Medium sized fruit; skin is golden yellow and fuzzless. Flesh is rich
and juicy, good for canning or eating fresh. Needs a pollinizer.
Early Perfection:
Large, oval, firm fruit with a large pit. Skin color is light yellow
to orange with some texture on the skin. Needs a pollinizer
Garden Annie:
Medium to large fruit with bright yellow skin. Clingstone flesh is
juicy and firm. SF
Goldcot:
Medium to large fruit is nearly round with a thick, tough, gold skin.
The flesh is orange, firm, and sprightly flavored, excellent for processing
or eating fresh. 800 hrs SF
Harcot:
Frost hardy late bloom. Medium to large fruit with sweet, juicy, rich
flavor. 700 hrs SF
Harglow:
Late-blooming, productive tree. Medium size, bright orange fruit.
Orange freestone flesh is firm, sweet, flavorful. 800 hrs SF
Moongold:
The fruit is orange with a tough skin with orange-yellow flesh that is mild
but sweet. Considered a very good quality apricot. Pollinize
with Sungold only.
Moorpark:
The large fruit is orange with a deep blush, sometimes under laid with dots
of brown and red. The flesh is orange, of excellent flavor, and has a pronounced perfume.
Ripening is uneven, which is an advantage in the home garden since the
gardener does not have to use the fruit all at once.
600 hrs SF
Sungold: A selection from the same cross as Moongold this apricot has a rounded,
medium size tender fruit with a golden blushed orange skin. The fruit
ripens somewhat later than a Moongold. Pollinize with Moongold only.
Tilton:
Very large, heart-shaped fruit with light orange skin. Firm, flavorful
flesh. Excellent for freezing, canning and drying.
600 hrs PS
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