Page 28 - Simply Vegetables Winter 2021/22

Like plums it is possible to keep apricot trees small by using a dwarfing rootstock such as VVA1 or Torinel although in poor soils the
long serving rootstock
St. Julien A might best be
used. Although apricots
are usually grown as
bushes in the warmest
areas of the country or
as fans against a warm
wall they can be grown
just as easily as cordons
which means that they can be grown in a very small space indeed which means that you can always find room for one! How about one in the garden as a decorative feature at the back of a border? Growing apricots as cordons (or fans if warm walls are available) is the ideal method in anything but the largest of gardens or allotments and they can easily be grown alongside cordon apples, pears and plums. This is how I grow my apricots.
It would be untrue to say that growing apricots is very easy as they do seem to be a little choosy about where they will succeed - I have known some gardeners to have
early stage. Whilst some small dieback of parts
of branches seems to occur naturally - and
can be quickly dealt
with by removal of the affected part - large scale dieback is usually caused by disease entering
an open wound often caused by pruning out of season or
branches damaged during the winter. If a branch or part of a branch is broken off during the winter months by winds, birds sitting on them (!)
or general carelessness quickly tidy up the wound to prevent any disease entering the tree’s system and treat with Vaseline.
Although apricots can be susceptible to the diseases noted above trees grown and looked after well rarely suffer from them. In most cases the disease enters the tree’s system and survives there is because of poor management - pruning at the wrong time of the year, not noticing broken
Why not try growing apricots?
Although popular opinion often suggests otherwise apricots can
be grown successfully in the open garden or allotment although in
the colder parts of the country they are best grown under glass or a polytunnel. Having said that it is true to say that you may not get a good crop every year and perhaps accept that some years cropping might be fairly minimal. But before I go any further I must warn you that apricots are similar to other stone fruits in that their quality generally diminishes quite rapidly from the moment that they are picked and as a result they are best eaten direct from the tree although they will store for a few days - however, I can promise you that a freshly picked apricot still warm from the sun tastes absolutely nothing like those that you buy in the shops! In any case remember that apricots are good for you and that is a very real excuse for growing at least one tree!
absolutely no success but others in the same locality to do very well indeed. But I suppose that is one of the joys
of gardening - never being quite sure what results you will get!
Although apricots are often closely linked to peaches, they are very similar in growing habit to plums and therefore they should be treated in
the same way and the most important fact to understand about apricots is to make sure that you do not prune them unless the sap is rising. This means that they are out of bounds to any form of pruning between mid-September and mid-February - the prime reason for this being that like plums, apricots are very susceptible to the viruses Bacterial Canker and Silverleaf and once one of these diseases are within the tree it is pretty well doomed. By only pruning when the sap is moving will help ensure that any disease trying to enter the tree will be forced out by the sap.
Dieback in apricots occurs every now and again and can affect large parts of a tree if not spotted at an
Apricot Fans
branches and allowing the tree to become weak due to the lack of essential nutrients. Pest wise there
is little to cause severe damage apart from the plum fruit moth which can very occasionally attack apricots. It is the caterpillars which do the damage, and they look like reddish maggots which can be found around the stone when the fruit is cut open. Fortunately, the organic plum fruit tree moth trap which is pheromone based (similar to the codling moth trap used in apple trees) will give a good control against these unwelcome visitors.
Apricots tend to be the earliest of fruits to flower in the garden - often earlier than plums and peaches - which means that it is best to grow them in a sheltered position and
away from frost pockets if possible or be prepared to throw fleece, old net curtains or the like over them when frost is forecast. This is easily done with cordons and with smaller bushes and fans. Naturally, fans grown against warm walls are less likely to suffer from frost damage but on very cold nights I would nevertheless suggest that some protection is given.
Apricots are generally self-fertile, but cropping can be considerably improved by protecting the blossom from frost and undertaking a little hand pollination. This is helpful because at the time of the year that
Dieback in apricots occurs every now and again
28 Simply Vegetables
GERRY EDWARDS FNVS