Apricots are a real pain in Kansas in 6 A! The blooms get frost every year practically and we lose the crop. Every 5-7 years there is a big harvest!
Good luck to you. I have mulled getting some cots here (NE Kentucky), and have decided against it for the freeze problems mentioned. From what I understand, cots are one of the first, if not the first, fruit trees to bloom.
Peaches are iffy here too, but I have planted four of them over the last couple of years. I don’t expect to get fruit from them every year. Do you have peaches, and if so, how have they fared?
I have since decided that pluots might have a better chance here. I’m considering getting a couple of them for next year.
Tried twice with zero fruit to show and both trees died the second or third years.
I know I am probably a bit foolhardy as well, planting apricots in 8a Georgia, where we get our share of killing frost.
But I have to try anyway, because there is almost no fruit as delicious as a ripe apricot.
I think part of growing apricots in non-ideal conditions may be about how much you want them, and how much you’re willing to put up with failure.
I have one cot planted and its growing well. But no harvest yet. I planted it knowing I won’t get cots every year. They are the first things to bloom here so they are very subject to frost.
Thanks everyone. If someone is in OH with success let me know.
I have plenty of space and some patience so I’ll continue but the sentiment here is what I expected; frost at the wrong time and we’re SOL for the year. Like @VSOP said if youre comfortable with failure (and I am) then I’ll keep trying.
When I do hit the harvest jackpot, I’ll be sure to share it all across this board.
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Im growing them just south of you. Recently planted so it might be a few before I see anything if any at all.
Are there any old apricots growing in your area? If so, I suggest that you see if you can find a few seedlings growing in the duff underneath it, or, failing that, score some fruit to plant. These won’t give you name brand fruit, but you will have a (very good) fighting chance of getting a tolerable apricot that is genetically programmed for survival in your area- timely blooming and fruiting is another question.
If nothing else, it would provide a healthy tree to graft different varieties to and one or more of those varieties might work for you … some years … 
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In this case, you can buy some rootstocks (Myro, Manchurian apricot, Krymsk-1, and Prunus americana all should work for your area), plant them next spring, and one year after that graft various apricot varieties (especially, try late blooming varieties). In this way, you will find out what works best for your area without spending a fortune on a bunch of trees. Even in the worst possible scenario that all apricots eventually die, you can later graft plums on the same rootstocks.
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Have you tried this? That is, graft onto a rootstock?
I transplanted a 5ft local Am plum last spring into our yard, and hope to graft some peach and or pluots on it over the next couple years. It took to its new home and grew another foot or two with some new branches.
I’m am a total newb when it comes to grafting, but from what I’ve seen on videos, it doesn’t look too difficult.
I was wondering which usually have a better “take” percentage: peaches, pluots, plums or apricots?
Yes, I’ve grafted apricots, plums, and peaches on a bunch of Krymsk-1 rootstocks. Here is a Krymsk-1 with five apricot varieties grafted on it, after one season of growth:
Another Krymsk-1 with six gage plums grafted on it:
Some Krymsk-1s with Redhaven peach grafted on them (to serve as an interstem for more peach & nect grafts next year):
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Pluots, plums, and apricots are all easy takes for me. Peaches are more difficult. It’s not rocket science, and this forum has tons of great info on the subject.
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Nice work. Looks like they are doing well. Is the soil blackish clay, or is that some kind of dark amendments? Looks like the stuff I was used to back in North Texas. Could hardly get anything to grow in it, and was hard as a rock when dry. Not fun digging in that stuff! Looks like you have soaker or irrigation hoses on them. Makes sense with clay.
I thought the K rootstocks were more suited for cold regions, not warm areas like where you’re at?
I guess you are done with apricots, so which ones were you pleased with the most? The most productive?
The soil is gray clay (it’s what between the rows), when dry it’s hard as a rock indeed. The black stuff is compost, holes and mounds are filled with a mixture of native clay, compost and gypsum, with a layer of compost on top. We have zero rain for about six months most years, so everything has to be irrigated.
Krymsk rootstocks (I have K-1s and K-5s) seem to work fine for me, their winter hardiness does not makes any difference here.
My apricots are still a work in progress, many varieties have been planted/grafted just this year and many still wait for their turn to be added. Tomcot and Tilton have been most productive for me so far while Moorpark is the winner taste-wise (not the best producer though), but it’s still too early to jump to conclusions.
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Davis,
Apricots are heartbreakers in zones subject to late frosts.
You would think scientists would have figured out a way to grow cots in these areas, but it is still truly a work in progress.
If you use the “search” function, you’ll find lots of threads here with other discussions on our struggles and experimentations with cots.
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Examples:
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Thanks @Matt_in_Maryland
I’m intrigued to see what is growing around here per some members suggestions and grab the seedlings to graft onto.
My current favorite apricot for early freezes is Hoyt Montrose. We have had two bad years in a row and Montrose is the only cot that produced more than one or two. Montrose is a town in the Colorado mountains where early freezes are common.
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We have a Goldcot and Sungold. They bloom about the same time in mid March. However, we haven’t had any fruit yet nor do we have any expectations of fruit here in z5… will probably get some at some point. The one concelation is that appricots are probably one of the best looking fruit trees you can grow. The blooms in the spring, the large green leaves in summer, and irredecent yellow/orange foilage in fall are staggering. Peach trees in comparison always look sad and droopy for some reason. Appricots on the other hand are stunning and make a terrific landscaping tree.
I think you are in for a treat with those trees you have.
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I am just north of Chicago. This is mostly Zone 6 (the “a” and “b” that everyone differentiates is an illusion in my opinion), in a few winters dipping into Zone 5, that is below -10° F., for one or two nights. My location is only 1/4 mile from the west shore of Lake Michigan, which I suppose tempers some of the late frosts, but surely not all of them. As someone posted, you have to be willing to put up with some failures. My Sweetheart gives fruit more than half the years, and I am willing to put up with that. Your biggest enemy is late frost (not frigid dips in January), but by all means take measures against plum curculio,which can break your heart by ruining the entire crop after it sets successfully after the last frost.
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