Honestly
You could not have chosen a less compatible fruit tree than Apricot.
Norway is cool maritime.
Good for Ribes
Many Rubus
Some Actinidia
Some Apples
but Apricot?
1 Like
.Apricots really ripen all over the place however many of them especially the cold hardy ones ripen with sweet cherries to early european plums.
I’m always the one to tell you what you want can work but really feel you will want to do whatever you can to help put as much radiant heat on those fruits in the summer as you can. I have lots of family growing fruit and food in the coastal maritime climates and it’s quite the difference. I love all the bees they have though and everything along the ocean is always such a unique assortment of animals and insects it’s very interesting to observe
1 Like
There is a Plum called Victoria
it has some Apricot like flavor.
Would be a much better option than a real Apricot
I’m trying out apricots more or less just for the fun of experimenting, to keep myself busy until I am able to build a greenhouse in some years. Since I already have pretty much everything that can be grown here normally. In regards to trees; 3 different plums, 3 different apples, pears, sour cherries, sweet cherries, and some different nuts. Then a whole lot of berry bushes like blueberries and arctic bramble. Chances are high that it won’t be a great success, but I don’t mind too much.
1 Like
Go with apricots, the choices you listed sound doable. From what you mentioned, your climate is quite stable. It should work. You won’t know if you don’t try. Also, you are in this with knowledge. I would be concerned if you would do it on a whim, without any thought into it.
Go for it and let us know how it go. One more thing, if you can find cold hardy peach rootstock, it may worth grafting on it. Apricots in peach rootstock grow vigorously.
3 Likes
I’ll make sure to look into that, thanks. Now I just need to find a nursery that’s willing to ship some seedlings internationally.
I can offer you my experience from growing apricot trees in Scotland’s Central Belt / Glasgow. I have a nursery and grown the trees from stones. Apricots were Spanish and French and I use them to make jam every spring. Out of 100 stones received five trees throughout the past 5 years. The first three died like yours from frost but it was my fault. I grew the recent two indoors in a pot and transplanted them the following spring in a phased out manner ie dug the hole for planting put pebbles for drainage and stood the pot over them over the summer so that the tree got accustomed to the SW orientation of my backyard. Rain waters them over the Scottish kind of summer. At fall and after they dropped their leaves I put a thin layer of sand and a generous layer of peat free compost before I transferred the whole wee tree with the soul from the pot on top of the compost. I made sure that the “line” of the trunk to the pot soil is level with the ground surrounding the planting hole. Filled in the surrounding gaps with further compost and made sure no air gaps left in the soil. Bordered the planting spot with lawn bordering to keep away weeds and that’s it. The dormant plants survived the winter to early spring ie Feb / March covered with fleece. Budded early March and I kept the fleece on till the forecast gives me temperatures above 30F ie >0C overnight. Then fully removed until fall. My two trees are 2 and three years old. Hope to get fruit in a couple of years or three keeping the same routine of protected growth during the unpredictable Scottish spring. Keep in mind that flowers will come first and blossom is very sensitive to spring frost. Although an exception in temperate climates in subarctic circle like Scotland and Norway spring frost is the rule rather than exception despite climate change.
I was kindly given advice by Scott at the early stages of my experiment. I do not know however anybody who’s grown apricot trees open air in Scotland. It’s a personal bet and experience. Hope this helps.
PS.
6 Likes
Thank you for sharing, Xenrouss! I’ll be sure to keep your experiences in mind as I give it a go myself. I’m planning to grow my trees indoors for the first while too. Right now I’m just contacting different nurseries and inquiring into the variants of apricot and rootstocks that they have. Found one willing to do international shipping thus far.
I’m planning to take good care of the blossoms once they eventually show up, for sure. Bubblewrap and heat sources will be kept at the ready. And your trees look gorgeous! I think the fact that they don’t normally grow here is part of the fun.
i have a Adirondack gold apricot growing in a raised bed since i got it. it went strait outside with no pampering. its 1st. winter i got down to -38f with no tip damage. its blooming for me for the 1st time now. hopefully some fruit sets. im in growing z3b/4a northern Maine, U.S. the mother tree was found in upstate new york growing and fruiting in z3a. i plan to graft other hardy apricots to it next year.
5 Likes
Again
I’d encourage you to try the Victoria Plum.
My region
Puget Sound lowlands
is quite like Southern Norway, and we even have a Fjiord
Hood Canal.
I’ve tried Apricot several times.
They bloom way too early
highly susceptible to brown rot.
Yes
you could grow one
but it is high maintenance
and won’t be worth the efforts.
1 Like
Like you I have all the trees that belong here. I also have a few that were put in just to see if they would work or not. If you have plenty of land I say do it, if not stick to what works. Apricots will most likely grow fine there, just not fruit every year. I would try both seed and grafted.
1 Like
I’m in Northern Ireland, another wet climate. Victoria plum is the most reliable plum here but in my opinion, not close to apricot in flavour, more so in texture as it tends to be quite a firm, dry fruit. In some listings it is actually described as a cooking plum, although it is enjoyed fresh by some, many experts tend to regard it’s flavour as inferior.
Apricots do not do well here either, late frosts hit them hard and the wet weather seems to invite bacterial infections. I have lost several apricots, I have three different apricot hybrids that are showing better promise but it’s early days and I haven’t had the opportunity yet to taste the fruit. There’s a mail order nursery called Lubera which is based in Switzerland and does all sorts of hardy and unusual fruits that ship all over Europe that is definitely worth a look. Good luck with your attempts!
2 Likes
Adirondack Gold is alleged to really be a Ussurian plum. Mine hasn’t fruited yet, but I do have producing Ussurians to compare when it does. The leaves don’t look like apricot leaves either. But it is super hardy and has never died back at all for me here in Fairbanks.
1 Like
Now that I’ve slain the hardy kiwi dragon, apricots and European plums are in my sights. I’ve tried apricots over the years here in Fairbanks, Alaska, but even the Manchurians died quickly. Last year I grafted 8 cultivars: Brookcot, Morden 604, Sunrise, a Capilano seedling, Westcot, Debbie’s Gold, Strathmore, and Casino. I got takes on a few grafted to Manchurian stock, but it doesn’t look like they made the winter. I also grafted them all onto a big Prunus triloba (Rose Tree of China), well above snowline, and all but Casino succeeded and are pushing buds now. Some had only a fraction of an inch of tip dieback. Fortunately we don’t have trouble with late frosts; by the time it warms up enough for things to bloom, the cold is long gone, with very rare exceptions. So I’m kind of stoked about P. triloba as a rootstock. I saw online that they’re sometimes used for apricot in China, and found a research paper indicating they’re more closely related to plums and apricots than to peaches and almonds. As for domesticas, Sinikka is the most promising so far, having survived well for several years. The only other that’s made it that long is one from Russia called Mecta, but it suffers more and is less vigorous.
3 Likes
I’ve been looking around on the lubera nursery’s website and they have a lot of interesting things for sure, thanks! The only thing that annoys me is how they never put how hardly a plant is in the description, only the single word ‘hardy’. As if that’s going to be helpful!
As a side note, I am a bit curious about cherry x apricot crosses, such as aprikyra. Though it has been difficult to find reliable information on their hardiness, they supposedly bloom later. And if the taste is that of either cherry or apricot then it’d be a delight.
Hi @Maehle
I live in Finland and have about the same conditions regarding weather as you, even a little bit harsher here.
I’ve planted a peach tree 7 years ago inside a small greenhouse where it lived for 3 years. A winter storm broke down the greenhouse and that’s now history. Though the greenhouse is gone i still left the peach three at the same spot and it’s still alive after 4 hard winters. Haven’t got any fruits these 4 years, problems with both cold springs/late frost and diseases on the plant.
Anyhow, that it has survived for 7 years encouraged me to try apricots to. Been looking for hardy varieties and bought a Kaunas last spring. It will be interesting to se how it turns out this spring but I’ve read about successful growing of it in northern Sweden.
Im also experimenting with peach and apricot seedlings but those are still to small to know if they turn out god or bad and if they even survive.
5 Likes
Добрый день,
В Волгограде , Россия зимой до минус 27… 30 градусов Цельсия это 4, 5 климатическая зона. Подходят сорта абрикос Канады, Украины, Китая, Европы … для Урала, Сибири есть сорта 3 климатичекой зоны, плодоносящие в Хабаровске, Барнауле, Перми. Интересен мировой опыт и сорта абрикос и подвои для 2…3…4 климатической зоны.
По зимостойкости должны подходить следующие сорта абрикос … в порядке убывания от Harlayne до Goldcot. …… ‘Harlayne’> ‘Harcot’ = ‘Hargrand’ = ‘Harval’> ‘Harglow’ = ‘Harogem’> ‘JL Budd’> ‘Manchu’ > ‘Gibbs’ = ‘Sunglo>’ Haggith ‘=’ Veecot ‘>’ Stella ‘>’ Goldcot.
Но хватит ли солнца и тепла для созревания абрикос большой вопрос. Сумма активных температур около 10 градусов Цельсия может у Вас быть недостаточной. Или надо брать для посадки ранние сорта … как вариант абрикос Harcot
Повышенная влажность или дожди … это большая вероятность болезней абрикос … это тоже надо учитывать. Ну и абрикосы зачастую прививаются на сливу, может Вам по
Good afternoon,
In Volgograd, Russia in winter to minus 27… 30 degrees Celsius is the 4th, 5th climate zone. Apricot varieties of Canada, Ukraine, China, Europe are suitable … for the Urals, Siberia there are varieties of 3 climatic zones bearing fruit in Khabarovsk, Barnaul, Perm. The world experience and varieties of apricot and rootstocks for 2 are interesting…3…4 climatic zones.
According to winter hardiness, the following apricot varieties should be suitable … in descending order from Harlayne to Goldcot… ‘Harlayne’ > ‘Harcot’ = ‘Hargrand’ = ‘Harval’> ‘Harglow’ = ‘Harogem’> ‘JL Budd’> ‘Manchu’ > ‘Gibbs’ = ‘Sunglo>’ Haggith ‘=’ Veecot ‘>’ Stella ‘>’ Goldcot.
But whether there is enough sun and heat for the apricot to ripen is a big question. The sum of active temperatures of about 10 degrees Celsius may be insufficient for you. Or you need to take early varieties for planting … as an option apricot Harcot
Increased humidity or rains … this is a high probability of apricot diseases … this should also be taken into account. Well, apricots are often grafted on a plum,
2 Likes
welcome! we have similar weather. im in northern Maine right on the Canadian border. we occasionally get to -40 with alot of snow. my 1 apricot from northern New York was killed by -40 last winter. will be looking for a replacement or maybe just graft onto my zone 3 hardy plum. there are many fruit cultivars that you have in your country i would love to have. i grow several older Russian bushes and trees here and they do well.
1 Like
In the USA, you can find the states with the climate of the Volgograd region … or the neighbors of the Astrakhan, Rostov, Saratov and others with a climate zone 3, 4, 5. Menn one of these as others, on the Internet, partially reflects the Apricot of Institutes, nurseries, which ones That programs … But I would like to find the best of their winter -hardy, resistant to illness, tasty or some winter -hardy stocks to minus 30, 35 Celsius, with a cooling clock of 800, late flowering.
Of course, the climate in Norway, Finland, the Far East, the Urals makes its own adjustments … But at least by winter hardiness, resistance to disease and taste, one can somehow decide, taking into account the apricot of China, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Siberia, the Far East, the USA, France, Canada. I would like to create a topic about such … but in which section it is better to place it.
1 Like