Apricot Trees

Prairie Hardy Nursery is proud to exclusively offer the Arctic Trio Series Apricots and Bei Tang Plumcot. 

Apricot growing can be highly rewarding yet challenging in our climate. Quite often apricot trees flower before the last frost of the spring. Great spring weather may bring the Apricot tree out of dormancy, however, it only takes one frosty night during the flowering stage to lose all these early flowers and thus the fruit.

On average we can expect to get a decent crop of apricots every 4th year. Luckily there are some tricks to help delay early flowering. The main solution is to keep the roots cool and dormant. A successful method is to plant your apricot tree on the north side of a building, close enough to be shaded in winter but far enough that the spring sun will reach the trunk in mid to late May. This will help keep the ground cold longer during the spring preventing early blooming. Even better yet, you could go as far as adding leaves or sawdust on top of the snow. If adding sawdust, make sure they are not touching the trunk to avoid rot. 

Apricot trees like well-drained fertile soil and should be planted 5-6m (18-20') apart. You can expect fruit between 5-6 years of age. Apricot trees are sold as one year old whips at between 0.6-1m (2-3') in height. Our apricot trees are grafted on Western Sandcherry rootstock.