Growing Apricots: Could You Be Doing It, Too?

While peaches and/or nectarines might be on the mind of most home orchardists, apricots seem to be a beloved fruit that is often overlooked. For one, unlike nectarines and peaches, fresh apricots aren’t something we regularly see in markets and supermarkets.

Dried apricots and apricot jam are beloved treats found just about everywhere, but for some reason— some might say they bruise like a peach— apricots don’t make the produce section too often. In reality, they just don’t keep very well. So, to eat them fresh might require growing them at home.

Like similar stone fruits, apricot trees are relatively easy to grow, begin producing quickly (compared to other fruit trees), and provide bushels of delicious fruit. So, what’s the deal with growing apricots? Could you be doing it, too?

The Apricot Basics

Apricots are a stone fruit, closely related to peaches, nectarines, and plums. Like these other fruits, they require several chill hours under 50 F to produce fruit, so they do best in USDA Zones 5-9, with cold winters and warm summers.

They grow best in full sun. They prefer well-draining soil, but they do like to have plenty of water, especially in the first few years. One of the great aspects of apricots is they are mostly self-fertile so that they can produce fruit with only one tree.

The trees can be dwarf (8 feet), semi-dwarf (15 feet), and standard (25 feet) size. Each size is similar in spread to height, so they’ll need to be spaced roughly as far apart if there is more than one or if they are in a mixed orchard.

The Apricot Challenges

While apricots are an agreeable fruit tree, they do have some notable preferences in climate. Most growers won’t have trouble working amicably with these trees, but here’s what’s important to know:

1. Apricots are Mediterranean fruit trees, so they are accustomed to drier weather. That means they don’t tolerate heavy, wet soils. The roots need soil that drains well. In clay soils, growers need to dig out planting areas, fill them with looser soil, and add drainage trenches. Abundant rain isn’t a probably, but very wet soil is.
2. Apricots need chill hours to produce fruit. Some varieties need less than hours. It’s important to be aware of the chill hours your microclimate has and choose an appropriate variety of apricots. (Options listed below)
3. Apricots tend to bloom very early, making the blossoms susceptible to late frost which can destroy the year’s potential crop. Planting apricots in higher areas of the property can help, as can be ready with a protective tarp tent for smaller trees.

The Apricot Varieties

As with any cultivated fruit, there are dozens of apricot cultivars to choose from. Some of them are prized for being freestones, late-blooming, or particularly hardy. Popular choices include…

• Autumn Royal. It grows well in the South because it requires fewer chill hours.
• It grows well in colder climates, requiring 800 chill hours. It’s also a late bloomer to help with avoiding frosts.
• It is known for having large, sweet, juicy, freestone fruits. It ripens in mid-July.
• It is hardy and late-blooming, making it a great choice for colder places.
• It has low chill hours and ripens early. This one is for places with very mild winters.

The Apricot Care Package

Once the challenges are met, maintaining an apricot tree is fairly simple and similar to maintaining other fruit trees.

Pruning apricots in dormancy is a good start. Because they bloom earlier than most fruit trees, they’ll need attention in mid-winter. The basic idea is to shape branches like a wine glass, clearing away center branches and keeping other branches from crossing.

Fertilizing apricot trees with a good layer of compost in late winter/early spring will give them the juice to grow well for the year. It’s a good idea to top that compost with a couple of inches of mulch, too.

Once the flowers have been pollinated and the fruit sets, it’s a good idea to thin out the fruit to only one apricot every three or four inches. This allows the trees to put more energy into each fruit and room for each fruit to grow larger.

Another layer of mulch in the autumn will help protect the soil at the base of the tree from heavy winter rains.

The Apricot Harvest

Apricot trees are highly productive, and the fruit should be harvested when the fruits’ mature color has arrived but before the fruit gets soft. Trees will take about three to five years to start bearing significant harvests.

Related Content:

• 15 Sweet and Tangy Plant-Based Apricot Desserts
• 15 Unique Sweet and Savory Apricot Recipes for #NationalApricotDay!
• 10 Vegan Peaches and Cream Recipes
• All About Plum Trees: Often Overlooked but Always Enjoyed
• A Quick Guide to Standard Fruit Trees Grown in the USA

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