Apricot
A beautiful, early-blooming stone fruit tree producing golden, velvety fruits with a rich, sweet flavor.
On this pageOverview
Meet Apricot
A beautiful, early-blooming stone fruit tree producing golden, velvety fruits with a rich, sweet flavor. Apricots bloom very early and are highly susceptible to late frost damage, so choose a sheltered, south-facing location or grow as an espalier against a warm wall. Most varieties are self-fertile but set heavier crops with a pollinator present.
When to plant Apricot
Apricot pits require 60 to 90 days of cold stratification and germinate readily. Seedling trees are variable but sometimes produce good fruit, making apricots one of the best stone fruits to grow from seed. For named varieties, purchase trees grafted on Manchurian apricot, peach, or plum rootstock. Grafted trees bear in two to four years. Seedlings take four to six years.
Your Apricot Year
Composed for Zone 7 · typical seasons · frost passes Apr 2, returns Nov 1
Sow Apricot Mar – Apr, pick Jun – Jul. Set your climate below and every date on this plate re-times itself.
How to grow Apricot
Apricots thrive in warm, dry climates with cold winters and are among the most rewarding stone fruits to grow when conditions are right. Plant bare-root trees in late winter, choosing a sheltered south-facing or west-facing site that avoids frost pockets. Space standard trees 20 to 25 feet apart, or train as an espalier against a warm wall where space is limited. Most varieties are self-fertile, but cross-pollination improves yields.
The critical challenge with apricots is their extremely early bloom period, often two to three weeks before peaches. Late frosts frequently destroy the entire crop. In frost-prone areas, delay bloom by mulching heavily around the base to keep the soil cool, or plant on a north-facing slope. Covering small trees with frost cloth on cold nights during bloom can save the crop.
Prune to an open vase shape to maximize sunlight penetration and air circulation. Summer pruning after harvest controls size and encourages fruiting wood. Thin fruit to four to six inches apart when marble-sized to improve size and prevent branch breakage. Water deeply but infrequently, and stop irrigation two weeks before harvest to concentrate flavor and prevent fruit splitting.
Apricot needs more room than a 4 × 8 ft bed gives
Each Apricot wants 300 cm of elbow room. The planner keeps that spacing for you — every plant, every bed.
Apricot's best neighbours
Most apricot varieties are self-fertile but benefit from a second variety for cross-pollination. Underplant with garlic, chives, and nasturtiums to deter aphids and borers. Comfrey as a dynamic accumulator brings deep nutrients to the surface. Avoid planting near tomatoes and peppers which share Verticillium wilt. Keep away from walnut trees due to juglone toxicity.
Garlic belongs beside it. Walnut Tree doesn't.
Old growers' knowledge, checked against Apricot's real companion table below — test any plant you're growing.
Related growing guides
Feed it well
Apricots prefer well-drained, deep sandy loam with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. They are more tolerant of alkaline soils than most stone fruits. Avoid heavy clay and wet sites where bacterial canker thrives. Apply a balanced fertilizer in early spring. Moderate feeders that suffer from excessive nitrogen which promotes soft, disease-prone growth. Maintain organic mulch but keep it away from the trunk.
Ideal Temperature
Hardiness Zone Compatibility
From seed to harvest, stage by stage
Dormancy and Planting
Apricot trees are planted as bare-root whips or container-grown specimens during late winter while the tree is dormant. Unlike apples, apricots have a relatively low chill hour requirement of 300-900 hours below 7°C depending on variety, making them adaptable to a wider range of climates. This rest period allows the tree to establish initial root contact with the surrounding soil before the energy demands of spring growth begin.
Bud Burst and Early Flowering
Apricots bloom earlier than any other common stone fruit, often flowering in late winter before any leaves appear and while night frosts remain a genuine threat. The pure white to pale-pink five-petalled flowers open singly along the previous year's wood, creating a spectacular display on bare branches. Each flower has a single ovary that, if successfully pollinated, develops into the stone fruit. Most modern varieties are self-fertile, though cross-pollination by a compatible second variety improves fruit set.
Fruit Set and Fruitlet Development
After successful pollination, tiny fruitlets form at the base of spent flowers and begin a rapid early growth phase. The tree naturally sheds some fruitlets as it adjusts crop load to its available resources. Those that remain swell quickly from pea-size to marble-size, already recognizable as miniature apricots with characteristic downy skin. Leaves fully emerge during this phase, maximizing photosynthesis to fuel the energy-intensive early fruit development.
Rapid Fruit Sizing
Apricot fruit grows rapidly through early summer as cell division gives way to cell expansion. The stone (endocarp) hardens around the developing seed during this phase, a process called stone hardening. Skin color begins shifting from pale green toward the characteristic yellow-orange blush. The tree's canopy is at its most active, intercepting light to fuel the carbohydrate demands of the swelling fruit.
Ripening and Harvest
Apricots ripen over a compressed window of two to four weeks, making the harvest season intense but rewarding. The fruit softens, fragrance intensifies dramatically, and the ground color transitions to a rich golden-orange with a characteristic red blush on the sun-exposed cheek. Unlike apples, apricots do not continue ripening significantly after being picked, making accurate harvest timing essential for the best flavor.
Post-Harvest and Summer Pruning
Immediately after harvest is the ideal window for pruning apricots, unlike most fruit trees which are pruned in winter. Summer pruning is strongly recommended for apricots because pruning wounds made in dry summer conditions are far less susceptible to silver leaf fungal disease (Chondrostereum purpureum) and bacterial canker, both of which can be fatal. The tree redirects energy from fruit production back into building strong new wood for next season.
Leaf Fall and Dormancy
As day length shortens and temperatures drop in autumn, apricot leaves yellow and fall. The tree enters dormancy and stores carbohydrate reserves in its woody tissue for the following spring's explosive bud burst and flowering. Root growth may continue slowly in mild winters when soil temperatures remain above 4°C. This dormant period, combined with adequate accumulated chill hours, ensures vigorous and uniform flowering the following season.
Plant in a warm, south- or west-facing position sheltered from late spring frosts, as apricot blossoms open exceptionally early and are highly vulnerable to frost damage. Prepare a well-draining site, since apricots are highly intolerant of waterlogged soil. Set the graft union 5 cm above the soil surface, water in well, and apply a 10 cm mulch ring.
Caring for Apricot month by month
What to do each month for your Apricot
August
You are hereNo specific care tasks for this month.
Know exactly what to do in your garden — every month
One email at the start of each month: what to sow, plant, and tackle right now — for your Apricot and everything growing around it. Plus a short starter course that helps you dodge the classic mistakes.
- What to do, right now
- Matched to your season
- Starter course included
Harvesting Apricot
Apricots ripen from late June through July depending on variety and climate. Harvest when fruit develops full golden-orange color with a slight give to gentle pressure. Fruit should separate easily from the spur with a gentle twist. Apricots do not ripen well off the tree, so allow them to reach full maturity. Pick every two to three days as fruit ripens unevenly across the tree.
assuming you sow when the window opens — set your real date
Pick Apricot promptly and the plant keeps producing.
Storage & Preservation
Fresh apricots keep only three to five days refrigerated and bruise easily. Handle with care during harvest. Apricots are outstanding dried, either halved in a dehydrator or on screens in the sun. They make superb jam and preserves with a rich, concentrated flavor. Freeze halved and pitted on trays before bagging. Canned apricots in light syrup retain excellent quality for a year or more.
What goes wrong — and the fix
Brown Rot
DiseaseTan, fuzzy mold on ripening fruit that spreads rapidly in humid conditions. Blossom blight kills flowers in wet springs.
Bacterial Canker
DiseaseSunken, oozing cankers on branches and trunk. Gumming and dieback of limbs, especially in wet spring weather.
Peach Twig Borer
PestLarvae bore into new shoots causing wilted, flagging tips. Later generations enter fruit near the stem end.
Plum Curculio
PestCrescent-shaped scars on fruit from egg-laying cuts. Larvae develop inside fruit causing premature drop.
Troubleshooting Common Problems
Late frost damage to early blooms is the number one cause of crop failure in most regions. Irregular bearing with alternating heavy and light years is common. Gummosis and bacterial canker affect trees in wet climates. Fruit drops prematurely if the tree is under drought stress during pit hardening. Birds and squirrels target ripening fruit aggressively.
Growing Tips
- Site your apricot tree against a warm south- or west-facing wall or fence if possible, as the radiated heat from the masonry advances the season, protects early blossoms from frost, and creates the warm, dry microclimate in which apricots truly thrive. Fan training against a wall also makes frost-protection fleece far easier to apply.
- Choose a low-chill variety if you garden in a mild-winter climate with fewer than 500 annual chill hours. Varieties such as 'Flavorcot', 'Tomcot', and 'Goldcot' are bred specifically for climates where winters are too warm for traditional varieties to break dormancy uniformly.
- Prune apricots in summer immediately after harvest, never in winter or wet weather. Apricots are uniquely susceptible to silver leaf disease (Chondrostereum purpureum) and bacterial canker (Pseudomonas syringae), both of which enter through pruning wounds far more readily in cool, wet conditions. Seal every pruning cut with a proprietary wound paint.
- Always thin the crop when fruitlets reach 2-3 cm in diameter, reducing clusters to a single fruit spaced 5-8 cm apart. Apricots are highly prone to biennial bearing if allowed to overcrop one year — the exhaustion of carrying too many fruit suppresses flowering bud formation for the following season, resulting in a complete or near-complete crop failure.
- Apply a copper fungicide spray at three key moments: after leaf fall in autumn, at bud swell in late winter, and immediately after harvest pruning. This targeted programme provides the most effective protection against the bacterial canker and brown rot diseases most likely to shorten the productive life of your tree.
- Hand-pollinate early-opening blossoms with a soft artist's brush by gently transferring pollen between flowers on warm, calm afternoons. Most apricot varieties are self-fertile but flower so early in the season — often in February or early March in temperate climates — that few pollinators are yet active. Hand pollination can dramatically improve fruit set during cold springs.
- Avoid planting apricots in frost hollows or low-lying areas where cold air pools on still, clear nights. Even a slight elevation or the protection of a nearby building can make the difference between a full crop and total frost-damaged blossom loss. The blossom is damaged at -1°C and killed at -3°C, making microclimate selection the single most important decision in apricot cultivation.
- Mulch generously to a depth of 10 cm out to the drip line of the tree, but always leave a 15 cm clear zone around the trunk. A wide, deep mulch ring conserves the soil moisture that apricots need during rapid fruit sizing while suppressing the competing weeds that dry out the root zone in summer.
- When growing in a container, choose the 'Dwarf Apricot' or 'Garden Apristar' varieties developed specifically for pot cultivation, and use a minimum 50-litre container. Container-grown apricots can be moved under cover during the blossom period to protect from frost — one of the great advantages of container growing in unpredictable climates.
- Collect and crack a handful of apricot stones after harvest. The inner kernels of sweet-tasting varieties (always taste a small piece first — bitter kernels indicate high amygdalin content) can be used to add a marzipan-like depth to jams and baked goods in very small quantities, just as the original classic apricot jam recipes have done for centuries.
Grow your best Apricot yet — and everything around it.
Start a free plan today. Lay out your beds, drop in your Apricot, and let PlotMyGarden handle the timing, spacing, companions and reminders from seed to harvest basket.
Pick your Apricot
Moorpark
Classic heirloom with large, richly flavored fruit. Considered the gold standard for apricot flavor but somewhat irregular in bearing.
Blenheim (Royal)
The premier drying and canning apricot of California. Sweet, aromatic fruit with deep orange flesh. Self-fertile.
Tilton
Heavy-bearing, late-blooming variety that escapes more frost damage. Large fruit excellent for canning and drying.
Goldcot
Cold-hardy variety developed for northern climates. Late blooming helps avoid frost. Reliable producer in zones 5 through 8.
Harcot
Canadian-bred variety with excellent cold hardiness and disease resistance. Bright orange fruit with good fresh eating quality.
A mature apricot tree on a semi-dwarfing rootstock can produce 15-35 kg of fruit per season, equivalent to $75-$200 worth of fresh apricots at typical farmers' market prices of $5-$8 per kg. Organic fresh apricots are rarely available in supermarkets due to their fragility and short shelf life, making home-grown fruit the only practical way most gardeners can access truly tree-ripened apricots. When fruit is dried, the value multiplies further: 3-4 kg of fresh apricots produces roughly 1 kg of dried fruit, which retails for $15-$25 per kg. A single productive tree can therefore yield the equivalent of $150-$400 worth of dried apricots alone. Trees typically cost $20-$40 and reach meaningful production by year 3-4, providing decades of returns.
Quick recipes
Fresh Apricot Jam
45 minutesA vibrant, intensely flavored jam that captures the essence of sun-ripened apricots at the peak of their short season. The natural high pectin content of slightly underripe apricots helps achieve a perfect set without requiring commercial pectin, and a small amount of lemon juice brightens the flavor and aids preservation. This straightforward recipe is one of the most satisfying ways to extend the apricot harvest through the year.
5 ingredients
Roasted Apricot and Honey Galette
55 minutesA rustic free-form tart that transforms fresh or slightly overripe apricots into a caramelized, jammy filling encased in buttery pastry. Roasting concentrates the apricots' natural sugars and develops a complexity that raw fruit alone cannot achieve. A drizzle of honey and a scattering of flaked almonds complement the apricot's almond-family heritage beautifully in this forgiving recipe that requires no tart tin.
8 ingredients
Sun-Dried Apricots (Oven Method)
20 minutes active (8-12 hours oven time)Drying apricots concentrates their sweetness and nutrients dramatically while preserving the harvest for months without refrigeration. This oven method replicates traditional sun-drying, producing deeply flavored, chewy apricots free from the sulfur dioxide preservatives used in commercial dried fruit. The result is darker in color than commercial varieties but far richer in flavor and antioxidant content.
3 ingredientsCulinary Uses
Fresh apricots are sublime in tarts, galettes, and cobblers. They make world-class jam and preserves with an intense, concentrated sweetness. Dried apricots are a staple snack and baking ingredient. Apricot kernels flavor amaretti cookies and amaretto liqueur. The fruit pairs beautifully with lamb, pork, and Middle Eastern cuisine.
What's inside
Health Benefits
- Outstanding source of beta-carotene, the plant-based precursor to vitamin A, with 100g of fresh apricots supplying over 60% of the daily requirement — a nutrient essential for maintaining healthy vision, immune function, and skin cell renewal
- Contains lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoid compounds that accumulate in the macula of the eye and act as natural filters against harmful high-energy blue light, with regular consumption associated with a significantly reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration
- Provides catechins, chlorogenic acid, and other polyphenol antioxidants that help neutralize oxidative stress in cells, with studies suggesting these compounds play a role in reducing the chronic low-grade inflammation linked to cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome
- Supplies soluble dietary fiber that supports a healthy gut microbiome by acting as a prebiotic substrate for beneficial bacteria, while also helping to moderate post-meal blood glucose rises and supporting healthy cholesterol levels
- Dried apricots offer one of the highest plant-based concentrations of iron available in commonly consumed fruits, making them a practical supplement to diets requiring increased non-heme iron intake, particularly when consumed alongside vitamin C-rich foods that enhance absorption
- Rich in potassium at 259 mg per 100g of fresh fruit and substantially higher in dried form, supporting healthy blood pressure regulation through its role in counteracting the vasoconstricting effects of sodium and maintaining proper cardiac and muscular function
Where Apricot comes from
The apricot (Prunus armeniaca) carries a name suggesting Armenian origins, and for centuries naturalists and historians believed the fruit was first cultivated in that ancient region. Modern genetic and archaeological research has, however, decisively shifted the story eastward to the mountains of northwestern China and the surrounding Central Asian highlands, where wild apricot populations still grow in extraordinary diversity today. Chinese records documenting apricot cultivation date back more than 4,000 years, and the fruit features prominently in early Chinese literature, medicine, and symbolism. Confucius himself is said to have taught in an apricot grove, lending the tree an association with scholarship and wisdom that persisted through Chinese history. From China, apricots spread westward along the ancient trade corridors that would eventually become the Silk Road, reaching Persia, the Middle East, and the eastern Mediterranean over many centuries. The Persians became particularly accomplished apricot cultivators, developing numerous varieties and establishing the tree as a prized garden and orchard fruit. Alexander the Great's armies are often credited with introducing the apricot to Greece and western Europe in the fourth century BCE, though it was the Romans who truly established apricot cultivation across their empire. Roman agricultural writers including Pliny the Elder and Columella described the fruit and its cultivation techniques in detail, noting that it had spread from the eastern provinces to the Italian peninsula. Arab traders and scholars carried improved apricot varieties into North Africa and through the Moorish expansion into Spain and Portugal, from which the fruit spread northward into France and Britain during the medieval period. Spanish missionaries introduced apricots to the Americas in the eighteenth century, planting orchards at their California missions along what is now the El Camino Real. The warm, dry climate of California proved ideal, and the state became a major global producer of both fresh and dried apricots through the twentieth century, with the Santa Clara Valley once known as the Valley of Heart's Delight for its vast apricot orchards. Today apricots are cultivated on every inhabited continent, with Turkey, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Italy among the world's leading producers.
Apricot: did you know?
Fascinating facts about Apricot
Apricots are one of the oldest cultivated fruits in human history, with archaeological evidence of apricot cultivation in China dating back over 4,000 years. The fruit was so deeply woven into Chinese culture that apricot groves were traditionally planted near Confucian schools and academies.
Apricot questions, answered
When should I plant Apricot?
What are good companion plants for Apricot?
What hardiness zones can Apricot grow in?
How much sun does Apricot need?
How far apart should I space Apricot?
What pests and diseases affect Apricot?
How do I store Apricot after harvest?
What are the best Apricot varieties to grow?
What soil does Apricot need?
Why did my apricot tree blossom beautifully but produce almost no fruit?
When is the best time to prune an apricot tree, and why is it different from other fruit trees?
My apricot tree has amber-colored gum oozing from the bark. What is it and what should I do?
Can I grow an apricot tree in a cold climate or short growing season?
How do I know when apricots are ripe enough to pick?
What are the best varieties of apricot for a home garden?
You just read the theory. Now grow it on autopilot.
Everything that makes Apricot fiddly — the timing, the spacing, the companions, the harvest window — is exactly what PlotMyGarden handles for you, for every plant in your garden.
A plan that knows your weather
Set your location once. Get sow, feed and harvest dates built around your real last-frost date and live forecast — no more guessing from a generic seed packet.
From the “When to plant” sectionDrag-and-drop bed planner
Design beds on a grid. Every plant snaps to its proper spacing, and you can see your whole season laid out before you spend a cent on seed.
From the “Growing guide” sectionCompanion conflicts, caught early
200+ good-and-bad pairings checked live as you plant — so a season-wrecking mistake never makes it into the ground.
From the “Companions” sectionReminders you'll actually act on
“Water the beans.” “Pick today before it turns.” Timely, specific, and tied to the plants you're really growing.
From the “Harvest” sectionSuccession, scheduled
Want a harvest for six weeks, not six days? It spaces your sowings automatically and reminds you when each new block is due.
From the “When to plant” sectionA record that gets smarter
Every harvest you log teaches it your garden. Next year's plan starts from what actually worked in your soil, not a textbook's.
From the “Overview” sectionPlant these alongside Apricot
More Stone Fruits
Keep Apricot away from these
Grow your best Apricot yet — and everything around it.
Start a free plan today. Lay out your beds, drop in your Apricot, and let PlotMyGarden handle the timing, spacing, companions and reminders from seed to harvest basket.