Apricot trees are vigorous growers with extreme cold hardiness, often down to zone 3. Their main issue is early flowering, which makes them very susceptible to frost damage. Here in zone 6a in southern NY, they often only give a decent crop one out of every three years because of this issue. On the up side, these little apricots are packed with so much flavor that they are still well worth having around! The foliage is beautiful and lustrous, and they would be worthwhile as an ornamental lawn tree if only for the foliage and beautiful early flowers, not to mention the fruits.

All seeds this year were sourced from local proven varieties in the Hudson Valley, and apricots breed close to true-to-type. These are primarily from hargrand, harglow, puget gold, and tomcot.

Aside from the loss of fruit during bloom, the other biggest issue with apricots in many areas is a weevil called plum curculio weevil. From the time the small green fruits have set in the flower and the flower falls off, nearly through the entire time the fruits are maturing, the fruits are susceptible to plum curculio. The insects make a crescent-shaped scar on the fruits as they lay eggs into the fruit. The larva live in the fruit and if enough are present, the fruit will fall off and the larvae will then exit the fruit and finish their lifecycle in the soil. In many years in areas with lots of curculio, entire crops can be lost.