I distinctly remember my first close encounter with a hawthorn.I was looking for the perfect pair of trees to hang
06.06.2023 - 17:36 / gardenerspath.com / Laura Ojeda Melchor
How to Grow and Care for Apricot Trees Prunus armeniacaAs a kid, I spent a few summers camping along the Columbia River in Maryhill, Washington – Yakama Nation land – where some of the best stone fruits in the world are grown.
When I think of summers there, I picture the wide brown river, warm sun on my back, and sweet, tart apricot juice dripping down my chin.
We’d buy loads of apricots, Prunus armeniaca, from Gunkel Orchards in Maryhill, and cart them all the way back home to Montana. My mom made jars of apricot jam to remind us of those sweet summer days all winter long.
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You may not live in a place like the Columbia River Gorge with its plentiful sunshine, but you can still grow apricot trees at home if you live in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 through 9.
And because these fruits are sometimes hard to find fresh in the grocery store since they don’t travel well, they’re an ideal addition to your home orchard.
Ready to learn more? Here’s what’s ahead:
What Are Apricots?Along with cherries, peaches, and plums, apricots are members of the Prunus genus in the rose family, Rosaceae. Like these sister fruits, P. armeniaca is a stone fruit, which simply means that it has a pit, or stone, in the center.
These lovely perennials can live anywhere from 40 to 150 years under ideal conditions, but they’ll probably last 10 to 35 years in your garden with appropriate care.
If an apricot tree does live to 35 or 40, you can expect it to bear fruit for 20 to 25 of those years. Trees begin bearing fruit by the time they’re three or four years old.
Each stone encases one seed, called a “kernel,” which contains a toxin called amygdalin. If
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