I have a Montrose apricot tree that was planted in spring of 2020. The tag says that it was a seedling root stock. The tree has grown well and set a good crop of fruit this year. Most of the fruit are large and have beautiful color. Bright orange with a red cheek.
That’s where it ends though. The fruit is dry inside, no juice and no tangy apricot flavor. They look beautiful but taste blah. We had good growing weather with ample rain and tree looks healthy.
What could possibly be wrong?
It’s always a roll of the dice when you grow out a seedling. See if you can get some Hoyt Montrose scion to graft on to what you’ve got.
I removed my young Montrose this spring as it had significant die back after this winter (Zone 5). My Alfred Apricot survived without injury though and even produced half a dozen delicious apricots, might be worth trying
Thanks for the replies and the suggestion of grafting a replacement scion on my present tree. I have two other varieties the same age that had a few apricots but no where near the amount of fruit this tree had. My other tree’s fruit were fine, just fewer of them. Maybe an opportunity to learn how to graft.
Many trees set garbage fruit the first year or two. I would not judge it by first year fruit. You can always graft it over later.
@CWC I am so thrilled you have success with Alfred in your climate! How old is your tree and on which rootstock?
It is 3 years old, unfortunately I do not know what rootstock it is on
Thank you Chris
Do you remember where you bought it?
My Montrose apricots were sweet as candy. Immediately one of my favorites.
I bought it from a small Amish operation in my area. Unfortunately I didn’t ask where he gets his stock from
Shlebachs, the spelling is wrong but they used to propagate Alfred. Years ago, Jim Cummins (Cornell root breeder an co-founder of Cummins nursery) reacted to my comment that it was my most productive cot and question of why didn’t Cummins offer it by saying it was perhaps the most reliable producer in the Cornell breeding and test orchard. He suggested they might begin propagating it but they never did.
The cots are small but flavorful and here can produce fruit without insecticide some years and a single one all years as long as you control scab, to which it is susceptible. A couple of copper sprays will probably prevent that. Scab susceptibility is the variety’s chief liability.
I can share wood with anyone who has wood I like (not likely) or sends me a prepaid, addressed envelope. I’m not in the scion business and the business I run doesn’t leave me with much spare time after I squander so much of it on this forum 
.
I also recommend Sugar Pearls, it is unbelievably sweet as grown here. Both have classic apricot texture and sauce well.
Thank you Alan! I called Schlabach’s earlier to ask for a catalog as well as inquiring about specific varieties I am interested in, left a voice mail. They are probably busy preparing inventory for spring at this point.
I’ve been researching cots and now thinking of getting 2 apricot trees - an Alfred and either Precious or Sugar Pearls. All are cold hardy and late blooming. Precious has added benefits of edible pit and humidity tolerance.
I’m not sure I’d want to add an added attraction for squirrels. What is the claim of humidity tolerance based on? I assume all apricots that succeed in the northeast have to possess a level of that.
In many areas around me I’ve had success with several of the Canadian Har series with Hargrand seeming to be less likely than others to experience cambium kill that often occurs in late winter or early spring. Apricots just don’t stay hard long enough- no joke intended.
Description from Bob Purvis’ website -
“Precious: An almond-apricot cross, coming from a 100-year-old tree in southern Ontario province. Sweet kernels. Tree is self-fruitful, hardy into the –40s F., spreading growth habit. Fruit is small to medium sized, thick skin, sweet flesh. Resistant to late spring frosts and bears well in Quebec, eastern England, and SW Idaho. Does best in humid or subhumid climates.”
There are similar descriptions online on various sites. It’s true I don’t know anyone who grows it successfully in this region. My thinking goes - if it bears well in Quebec and parts of Quebec are similar to parts of Vermont in terms of growing conditions, I might have a shot.
After all, I ordered an Alfred and a SugarPearls from Mehrabyan Nursery in Medina, NY. I have a preference for nurseries in NY or New England. Again, I hope the rootstock and conditions the trees are grown in initially would be more conducive to their success here. I intend to learn to graft and to try other varieties later.
Maybe I am anthropomorphizing it too much as I grew up in Belarus, moved to Texas Gulf Coast and lived there for 20+ years and suffered from heat and humidity every single one of them! Vermont feels like a breath of fresh air, literally and metaphorically.
Nurseries for home-growers and even big commercial nurseries often don’t grow any or all of the trees they sell. Miller’s use to try to sell customers on the advantage of their trees because they were located in a rather cold location- I found out later that they bought most of their trees from other nurseries.
Ultimately, a clone is a clone, no matter what nursery it comes from, although it it comes from a warmer climate it may arrive too tender for ones climate to plant right away. After the firs season I don’t see how it would make any difference with clonal trees.
Thank you Alan, it is instructive. Yep, nursery business is a business like any other. Ultimately, good root, true variety (I read that ‘Fake Valor’ thread), and well cared for plant are most important.
I placed orders for 5 fruit trees, some berries and willows with 3 different nurseries yesterday. Also ordered some rooted plugs and cuttings for gooseberries and currants from Fruitwood in CA. If I ever manage to get in touch with Schlabach’s, I might add to that.
I will try to find out where the stock I ordered was grown. I apologize for taking this thread off topic.
This forum is pretty relaxed about that. Once a topic has addressed the specifics of the title, it becomes like a conversation that might go in other directions. Pirating is only a problem when it deprives the author of a topic from getting the info they need.