Unusual & Old Fashioned Fruit Trees

Apricots - Prunus Armeniaca

In many respects Apricots look a little like small peaches with their yellowy, slightly furry skin and soft juicy flesh inside. Again they are a stone fruit like the Peach, albeit with a smaller stone in the centre, and Apricots have a very similar growth to Peaches as regards the size of the tree and general care. As with Peaches, the self-fertile plants are grafted on to another type of tree as a rootstock that must never be allowed to dry out, although good drainage is even more essential. However, there are some subtle differences in their treatment, as for instance they need a limey soil.

One of the big differences to Peaches is that Apricots do not have the same problems with diseases such as Canker, but instead some varieties are subject to die back in the winter/spring that tends to be on some of the younger, more delicate growth and this will need cutting out and trimming. Another problem is that they flower even earlier than Peaches and as such are even less likely to fruit successfully outside.

As with peaches they can be grown under glass, but there are some varieties grown on a dwarfing or “Pixie” rootstock that means it is possible to grow a mature fruiting plant in a large plant pot or tub that is small enough to be moved out onto the patio for Summer and back into the greenhouse for Winter.