Grow Your Own Magazine

I've just bought an apricot tree from Woolies. It says they tree will fruit in August and can be planted out now in regular soil. (I will wait until after this cold snap). There is not much else on there about caring for it except to say that its self-pollinating which is good news. Is there anything I should know about them? and can I expect fruit this year? Its about 5foot tall but doesn't look as though there are any signs of life (buds/leaves etc).

It also came with a free silver birch and I have no idea what to do with that...they are huge trees aren't they?!?!?!?!?

Hi Mikk100, you can actually grow a silver birch in a large container for several years if you want to keep it small. You're right though they can grow huge but I think you can coppice them or prune then to some extent to keep them small. No idea about the apricot although I think you may not get fruit this year, depends on how old the tree is , weather conditions etc. but you never know!

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Into every life a little rain must fall.

I have a fan trained apricot against the side of my house, which always flowers very early in the year (Feb). Because of this, it needs hand pollinating and protection from frosts when in blossom. It's quite a young tree (about 3 or 4 years old) with very pretty flowers. Last year we had a few fruitlets, but I think the snails must have had them. At any rate, they all disappeared

This year I bought a couple of cheap apricots and nectarines in Aldi, and I'm going to grow them as bushes in pots. The plan is to keep them under glass while in blossom until the last frost, and then put them in the garden for the rest of the year. I've heard this works well, but time will tell.

Wishing you lots of luck. I'm sure more knowledgeable grapes will be along soon with more advice.

I would expect fruit in a couple of years, but mine took 5! They should be pruned in leaf but not when heavily in fruit or in full sun. They fruit on two-year old wood. The key to lots of fruit to me was giving them a good drink from time to time.

Like you muckdiva I've bought an apricot at Aldi and I am doing exactly as you are!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

I was under the impression that apricot trees could go against a north facing wall. Because of this I earmarked a part of the garden where it go go and be fan-trained. Now that it arrived from T & M, the instructions state that it would work better against a southern wall.

So my options are to either pot it, or put it in the allotment as a bush. I don't mind it going to the allotment, but then I'll have to ensure some form of fleece protection in spring.

I am not really keen to pot it, as the yield will be much less.

Anyone have any suggestion?

I don't think that you can grow them as bushes, but correct me if I'm wrong.
I'd grow it as a 1/2 standard in the lottie instead.

Cherries apparently like a north facing wall, but I've only ever heard the advice to grow apricots on a south facing wall. According to Mr Flowerdew you can grow an apricot (his preferred method) as a bush in a pot and the yields are very acceptable compared to outdoor ones as you can give them optimum conditions. In 'The No Work Gardener', I think he says you need as dwarfing a tree stock as possible. It may be a case of swings and roundabouts where amount of fruit is concerned as oudoor trees, even though bigger, may lose a lot of their fruit due to conditions.

Maybe I should just pot it for this season and then move to a more decent site in the dormant season.

I actually have a place next to another piece of fence where it can go, but I need to replace that fence in the summer, so I cannot put the tree there now.

Well now, I've just learnt something! I had it in my head that apricots must be tender - at least more like citrus trees. Turns out they're fully hardy. I wonder why I thought they were softies? Funny.

I found some extra info on the RHS site, if anyone is interested

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0805/apricots.asp