Our apricot tree!!

**Dutchie** · 05-18-2009, 06:09 AM

Yes, even in this cold/rainy Dutch climate we have an apricot tree.
We have had it for about 13 years or so.
Once when it was about 5 years old we had a tree FULL of apricots and they were delicious. Since the tree is in our front yard I almost had to guard the fruit since so many people just stopped and were picking the fruits even though it was clear that it was in someone's yard.
Since then we have only had about 10 or 15 fruits every year.

A couple of years ago we hired a professional fruit tree trimmer to give the tree a professional pruning.
Since then we have done nothing to the tree at all but we also haven't had many fruits - just the, for us, normal 10 or 15.

This year the tree couldn't be fuller with fruit and we are amazed.
Even with the storms that we had in the weekend most of the little apricots are still on the tree.
So guess I'll have to stand guard again this year.
When the fruits have changed color and can be seen then I'll post a picture.

**baxjul** · 05-18-2009, 07:24 AM

That's great! Glad your tree is producing lots and lots of fruit!

**MomToTwoBoys** · 05-18-2009, 02:41 PM

Mmm, I want an apricot tree.

**savvy_sniper** · 05-18-2009, 03:25 PM

I just did some quick reading about apricots and it seems that they are early bloomers and the cold often kills the blooms. There were several postings I read that said people only got a good apricot crop every 2-5 years.

I LOVE apricots!

**Nana2two** · 05-18-2009, 08:03 PM

We have 2 peach tree's,2 Cherry tree's. several black berry bushes. Last year 1 peach tree got damaged by a storm. so not if that will have alot of peaches. The cherry tree's are loaded.

**fixer** · 05-20-2009, 12:05 AM

There is nothing better than growing your own friut. I hope you enjoy the harvest.

**norcalmommy** · 05-20-2009, 11:31 AM

That is great! My friend has an apricot tree that produced tons of fruit 3 years ago, but not much since. Maybe this year will be better since its been fairly warm. Or at least we can hope.

**ArmyOfFive4God** · 05-24-2009, 10:40 PM

Originally Posted by savvy_sniper

I just did some quick reading about apricots and it seems that they are early bloomers and the cold often kills the blooms. There were several postings I read that said people only got a good apricot crop every 2-5 years.

I LOVE apricots!

PLEASE don't tell me that!!! We're in this house for the first summer (we got here in August) & the blooms are plentiful. Must.find.much.bigger.blanket..... *sniff*

Um, by chance, DYK HOW cold?

**savvy_sniper** · 05-25-2009, 08:21 AM

Info. found on various sites.

"It is disappointing to have the trees bloom and then see the blooms or young fruit destroyed by one of our late freezes. The main reason for inconsistent cropping is that apricots are normally one of the first fruit trees to bloom in the spring.

There are things you can do to make apricots bear more consistently. The first is variety selection. By selecting a variety that blooms later than most apricots or has a long blooming season, as well as the varieties that have hardy blooms, you can get past many late frost problems."

"Keeping the trees cooler than normal will help delay any apricot's bloom time. You can put down a layer of compost or mulch under the trees and keep the soil cooler as another method of delaying bloom. Just do not put it directly up against the trunk of the tree.

Planting trees on a slope so that frost can "drain away" downhill also helps produce apricot crops in areas prone to late frost. In commercial orchards sometimes sprinklers are used to spray trees with water when a frost is expected, but for the home grower that is usually not an option.

Something must be said here about chilling hours for apricots (that's the amount of hours in winter below 45øF). Many of the apricot varieties need about 700 hours of winter chilling, to produce a full bloom in the spring. "

"Apricots like a sunny location along with pruning that allows the sun to penetrate into the tree. They do not require as much pruning as peaches but the open center type of pruning is best for apricots because the more sun the fruits get the nicer they will appear. Prune any limbs that overlap and remove any limbs that start too close to the ground. You must be careful not to prune too much since apricots bear fruit on fruit spurs that are 2 years old or older. So if you prune too much you will not have a good crop the next year."

http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/she...treesfail.html

http://gardening.about.com/od/fruits.../a/NoFruit.htm