The Complete Guide to Growing Apricots

There's nothing like biting into a ripe apricot straight off the tree. The sweet, honeyed flavor and soft golden skin make it one of summer's best fruits, and it's also loaded with vitamin A and C. The good news is you don't need a farm to grow one. With the right spot, a little patience, and some basic care, a single apricot tree can keep you in fresh fruit for years.

Apricot trees do best somewhere with cold winters and hot, dry summers. Give yours a sunny, well-drained spot, water it regularly, and feed and prune it once a year. Keep an eye out for pests along the way, and you're set.

Our Apricot growing guide will walk you through everything, from planting your first tree to picking your first apricot.

Tips on how to grow an apricot tree

Let’s discuss some of the best tips on how to grow an apricot tree:

Planting an Apricot Tree

Getting the site, timing, and climate right gives your new tree its best shot at producing fruit. Plant in early spring, after the last hard frost but before summer heat sets in. This gives young roots time to establish before winter cold or summer stress hits. 

Choose a spot with full sun and well-drained soil, so roots don't sit in water. Skip low-lying areas, since cold air and frost settle there and can damage early blooms. Climate matters just as much as the spot you pick. 

Apricot trees bloom earlier than most fruit trees, which means their blossoms are often caught by a late spring frost and the crop is lost for the year. In regions with wetter springs, apricots also don't set fruit as reliably and are more prone to disease. If you're in an area with unpredictable spring weather, a frost-resistant variety and a well-drained, elevated site make a real difference.

If you want a specific variety with reliable fruit quality, buy a grafted tree from a nursery rather than starting from seed. Named apricot varieties don't come true from seed, meaning a seed-grown tree is unlikely to produce fruit like its parent, and may take several years longer to bear fruit at all. Grafting joins a cutting from a known variety onto sturdy rootstock, which is how nurseries guarantee the tree you buy will produce the fruit you expect.

Spacing Apricot Trees

Standard apricot trees need real room to grow. Space them 15 to 25 feet apart, depending on the variety's vigor and your climate, with 15 feet as a solid baseline for a standard tree. Dwarf varieties can be planted closer together.

When you dig the planting hole, dig it wide and about as deep as the root ball, but with plenty of room on the sides. Mix the soil you dug out with compost and mound some in the center of the hole. Set the root ball on top, and backfill around the edges.

Caring for Your Apricot Tree

Young apricot trees need regular watering while their roots get established. Once they're settled in, they'll handle dry spells much better with just occasional deep watering. Our tips will have you picking sweet, golden apricots off your own tree before long.

Soil Preparation

Good soil prep sets your apricot tree up to thrive. Apricots do best in deep, well-drained soil. Always avoid heavy, wet, or waterlogged areas, since standing water around the roots is one of the fastest ways to lose a young tree.

Test your soil's pH before planting. Fruit trees generally do best in soil with a pH around 6.0 to 6.5. If your soil falls outside that range, add lime to raise pH or sulfur to lower it, and retest over time as you adjust.

Adding Organic Matter

Work compost, aged manure, or other organic matter into the entire planting area before you plant. This improves fertility, texture, and the soil's ability to hold water and air.

If drainage is poor, plant on a slope or mound up soil to lift the roots above standing water. Drainage tiles can help too. Keep feeding the soil as your tree matures. Add compost each year, retest pH as needed, and water deeply during droughts. Healthy soil now will result in stronger yields later.

Watering and Fertilizing Apricot Trees

Young apricot trees need about 3 to 5 gallons of water per week while they establish, more often during hot, dry stretches. Once a tree matures, switch to deep, infrequent watering, enough to soak the top 2 to 3 feet of soil, roughly every 2 to 3 weeks rather than a weekly light sprinkle.

Apply fertilizer in early spring as growth resumes, or split the application between spring and just after harvest. This timing matches the tree's actual nitrogen uptake and avoids fertilizer sitting unused in the soil over winter. Apricots don't need much phosphorus, though a little in the mix won't hurt. 

Apricots don't need much phosphorus, though a little in the mix won't hurt. Too much fertilizer can burn roots or push leafy growth at the expense of fruit, so stick to these amounts rather than guessing high.

Also Read: Star Fruit Tree: Growing Unique Tropical Fruit

Pruning and Training

Pruning keeps your apricot tree healthy, but timing matters more for apricots than for most fruit trees. Prune in July or August, after harvest, during dry weather. Apricots are especially vulnerable to Eutypa dieback and bacterial canker, both of which infect the tree through fresh pruning wounds during fall and winter rain. Pruning in summer gives cuts time to heal before wet weather arrives.

Use clean, sharp tools for neat cuts. Remove dead or diseased branches first, then thin the interior canopy so light can reach the fruit. Save any major corrective pruning for successive years rather than doing it all at once. Light, consistent pruning each year builds strong branches and keeps your tree productive, and is a key aspect of apricot tree care.

Common Apricot Tree Varieties

Most apricot varieties are self-fruitful, meaning a single tree can produce fruit on its own. A few, including Goldrich, Perfection, and Rival, need a second variety nearby for cross-pollination. Note that Goldrich and Perfection can't pollinate each other, so pair either one with a different variety instead.

Good self-fruitful options include Goldcot and Alfred, both well-suited to colder Northeastern climates, along with Puget Gold and Blenheim (Royal). In colder regions, Moongold and Sungold are a reliable cold-hardy pair, planted together since each pollinizes the other.

Common Apricot Tree Problems

Apricot trees are prone to a couple of diseases you’ll want to keep an eye out for. Brown rot is a fungus that shows up as withered, brown blossoms in spring, followed by sunken brown spots on twigs and, later, soft brown rot on the fruit itself. It spreads fastest in warm, humid weather.

Bacterial canker causes sunken, oozing cankers on the trunk and branches, often with an amber-colored sap. Infected branches may die back suddenly. Frost damage and pruning wounds make trees more vulnerable, so avoid pruning during wet weather and sterilize your tools between cuts.

Apricot trees can also attract borers and mites. Keep the tree healthy with proper watering, avoid unnecessary wounds to the bark, and prune only during dry weather to lower the risk of infection.

Conclusion

Growing apricots takes some patience, but it's not complicated. Pick a sunny, well-drained spot with enough winter chill, give your tree room to grow, and stay consistent with watering, feeding, and pruning. Do that, and you'll be picking sweet apricots off your own tree by next summer.

If you're ready to start, the easiest shortcut is planting a healthy, well-established tree instead of a seed. Everglades Farm carries a wide variety of apricot trees, along with other flowering and fruiting plants, all raised with care so you can skip the guesswork. Visit our nursery or shop online to see what's available. Contact us today with any questions.

FAQs

What does good apricot tree care involve?

Regular watering, annual pruning, frost protection, and a balanced fertilizer once the tree starts bearing fruit. Amend the soil with compost as needed to keep it healthy.

What do apricot trees look like?

Mature trees reach 15 to 20 feet tall and wide, with oval green leaves and white or pink blooms in early spring. The fruit is round, about 1.5 to 2 inches across, with orange skin often blushed with red.

What's key when planting apricot trees?

Full sun, at least 6 hours a day, and well-drained soil. Space standard trees 18 to 20 feet apart, and work compost or aged manure into the soil before planting.

When are your apricots ready to pick?

Look for fruit that's turned orange with a red blush, usually by mid-summer. Let them soften slightly on the branch before picking, and handle them gently since they bruise easily.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this content is just for educational purposes and is written by a professional writer. Consult us to learn more about growing apricots.

Also Read: 15 Fast Producing Fruit Trees, Shrubs & Vines

References

Cornell University, Department of Horticulture, "Apricot" — http://www.hort.cornell.edu/4hplants/Fruits/Apricot.html

Oregon State University Extension Service, "Growing Tree Fruits and Nuts at Home" (EC 819) — https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/ec-819-growing-tree-fruits-nuts-home

NC State Extension, "Tree Fruit and Nuts," Extension Gardener Handbook — https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/15-tree-fruit-and-nuts

UC IPM (University of California), "Cultural Tips for Growing Apricot" and "Eutypa Dieback and Bot Canker" — https://ipm.ucanr.edu/home-and-landscape/cultural-tips-for-growing-apricot/

Washington State University Extension, "Pollination of Fruit Trees" (C105) — https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/2076/2024/07/C105-Pollination-of-Fruit-Trees.pdf

University of New Hampshire Extension, "Grafting Fruit Trees in the Home Orchard" — https://extension.unh.edu/resource/growing-fruit-grafting-fruit-trees-home-orchard-fact-sheet