I’ve been to the majority of orchards I manage this spring- at least the ones I do the spraying for, and apricots took a big hit. It is always a bit of a mystery who lives and who dies- and where. My own site only saw the death of a few peach trees, although my low was probably a bit steeper than sites where varieties of cots died while mine lived. The range of low temps probably swung from about -8 to -13 F as the “test” low of the season. The size of crop of surviving trees is another question.
Some years I believe cots are killed in the spring by hard freezes after they start to emerge from dormancy, but this year it has to have been the winter low that did them in as spring temps didn’t swing very low this year.
The cots with the reputation of being hardiest are Moongold and Sungold and yet one of the two (the owner has lost track of which is which) suffered fairly severe cambium damage with a lot of dead shoots. I’m hopeful the tree will live, but the site is much warmer than mine and probably only got around -8F at the lowest because it is within walking distance of the Hudson River just 40 miles north of NYC. The winter low came when trees should have been deeply dormant so this is mysterious as cambium injury with cots often is.
None of the other apricots I manage in this area, most of the Har series with probably a Goldcot in the mix, suffered any damage at all- one site with Harlayne and Hargrand has a similar location as does a site with two cots I didn’t plant and don’t know what they are, but am guessing one is a Goldcot. Both of these sites are as close to the unobstructed air-flow from the Hudson as the site with the damaged moon or sun cot.
Some other sites there was no damage, but an orchard on top of a hill 20 miles south of me that always has higher lows than mine lost 3 of 4 trees, including a Redgold, an Earlyblush (a variety I’ve lost a lot of in my nursery near this residence but survives in my colder home and main nursery) and a Tomcot. Originally I planted 3 Har series cots which thrived for 8 years and bore well at this particular site, now, 15 years after planting bearing age trees there, the only survivor is Hargrand. Hargrand is also the only survivor at several sites where I’ve tried several other varieties.
I’ve more to say on this subject and can add more varieties to the dead list from my Bedford nursery when I get back there, but it’s almost 6 AM and I have to get to work. I hope to do most of my J. plum and peach grafting done today. Much warmer days this May than what we got last year even though it has been just as wet as last. We are finally drying out.
The weather wreaked havoc here as well. Lost a variety of trees do to winter kill and the damage is still becoming evident in the last few days. Had a couple nice size apricot trees and plums that leafed out and then just up and died.
I lost some potted trees, and some peach seedlings.I have no idea why the seedlings died? The potted trees all came out of dormancy early. I did learn that Wacissa mulberry can recover and is probably a lot hardier than the zone 7 it is rated to.
Im in nw pa and after the wild weather swings this spring hargrand took the worst hit. Sugar pearls 20 yards away is fine, somehow I even have a couple plum fruits on black ice and toka trees but the hargrand looks cooked, all emerging leaf buds
Even if they leaf out, it is hard to know when cambium kill actually happens. I also lost some Apricot trees, but we got to -9 F this winter and then had the insane April temp swing. Either might be responsible.
Thanks thats interesting. Hargrand was a couple years old but the sugar pearl was just planted in March so it missed out on those winter deep freezes. Maybe thats what did it in.
I have an Ilona on Krymsk 86 that leafed out and bloomed in March (planted last spring). We had a hard freeze April 22nd. It was in the mid 20s for a few hours. The other 5 apricots grew some leaves after but not this one. Finally, today it has 4 tiny leaves on one branch. I’m still not sure it’s going to bounce back but fingers crossed…
Looks like Ilona didn’t make it. It didn’t put out any leaves after the April frost. The wood is looking desiccated now.
The rootstock for the Ilona is fine and sending up shoots- So I’ll probably do some budding on it in fall. Additionally, the other five apricots did make it (Orange-red, Harostar, Hargrande, Harogem and Early Blush).
I also tried some apricot grafting and had possibly the worst timing this spring. I cooked then froze the grafts. It was 85F the day after I grafted and the grafts were on outside trees in the hot sun with no protection. Then, eight days later it was 24F overnight and everything froze and lost all their leaves.
Despite the drama, I have 3 of 7 growing well (Florilège, Sugar Pearls, and Alfred) and 1 looking callused but not growing (Zard). The three that didn’t make it are tomcot, hoyt montrose and precious, so I might be looking for scionwood in the future!
Alfred was apparently killed by the April frost after living against the walls of my house for 30 years and being my heaviest cropper of tasty, if small, apricots. I lost one other tree in my nursery as well, but I don’t know if the frost killed it- it never leafed out while Alfred looked beautiful until the frost immediately killed the leaves on one major scaffold and then the rest of the tree’s leaves gradually wilted.
I have at least one tree growing in my housey nursery with Alfred grafted to it and will replace the dead one with that.
One of my trees against the house actually has a small crop of cots due to the overhang of the roof capturing warmth. I should have thrown tarps over the trees anchored on the roof and I would have had a full crop from the three trees that are growing against my house. Heat from the house and the ground would have protected the trees.
You’ve given me a dilemma! I need to decide what to grow against the wall of my house! I only have one spot for a tree and putting an apricot there like you did is very tempting.
The tree would be espaliered against the side of the house- do you think an apricot would do well like that?
Mine have been the most reliable I manage, and I’m hardly turned off by Alfred. It was growing over my asphalt driveway so its conditions were different than for the other two I have against my house- plus it was 15 years senior.
It is nearly impossible to obtain really good apricots outside of CA in this country so if you love them they deserve a place against your house wall, IMO.
