Strike gold with apricots
Chilly winters and hot dry summers are ideal conditions to grow apricots, writes Rachel Clare.
Jars of preserved apricots have lined some shelves in my mum’s kitchen for as long as I can remember. I once bumped into an old friend I hadn’t seen since high school.
The one reminiscence she shared had nothing to do with me. Instead, it was ‘‘I’ve always remembered your mum’s shelves of preserved apricots.’’
Year-round, breakfast at my parents’ house is a bowl of preserved apricots with muesli and yoghurt and, although I would struggle to get my children to eat this for breakfast at home, this has become one of the familiar comforts of school holiday visits for my children.
Where to grow
Depending on the variety and where they are grown, apricots fruit from December until February. They tend to be fussy about their conditions, preferring winter chill for bud development and warm days for fruit to flourish.
Planting instructions
Like most stonefruit, apricots do best when planted in sites with fertile, freedraining full sun and protection from strong wind. It’s best to plant them in late autumn or winter.
To plant, dig a hole twice as big as the rootball or planter bag, add in compost and some slow-release fertiliser and work the soil over. If you’re dealing with a heavy clay soil, incorporate gypsum clay breaker when planting.
Plant your tree, water it, backfill the hole and hammer in two sturdy stakes, one on either side. Tie the tree to the stakes with some flexible ties to allow a little give.
Heather Cole from Country Trading found that the apricot trees grafted onto plum rootstock did much better in her heavy soil than the trees planted onto peach rootstock which languished in the soil before she pulled them out.
Apricot trees should be fed in summer and autumn with sheep pellets and compost to improve soil fertility and drainage, and gypsum to improve friability of clay soils. Fertilise with specifically formulated fruit fertiliser and spray with copper in late winter to kill off any fungal disease.
Prune after harvest in late summer. Apricot trees do best pruned to an ‘‘open vase’’ shape, where the central leader (main trunk) is removed, leaving a core structure of four to five evenly spaced branches. Aim to have a mixture of old wood with new growth coming on, as apricots fruit on second-year wood.
Varieties
Different varieties fruit at different times during summer. Early varieties fruit between December and January and have low winter chill requirements making them more suitable for warmer, northern areas. These include ‘Garden Annie’, ‘Royal Rosa’, ‘Katycot, ‘Sundrop’ and ‘Newcastle’. Mid-season varieties, which are ready to harvest through January to early February, include ‘Robada’, ‘Moorpark’ (superb flavour), ‘Tomcot’ and ‘Cluthagold’. ‘Trevatt’ and ‘Cluthalate’ are ripe in late February.
Harvesting
Apart from eating them straight from the tree, apricots are easy to preserve. A small bruise won’t affect taste and hard apricots soften during cooking.
To freeze apricots, slice them in half and remove the pit. Drizzle with lemon to discourage discolouration.