About Apricot Tree Problems
One of the earliest, sweetest fruits of the season is the apricot. The small fruit has a thin orange skin and juicy orange meat surrounding a small pit. Jams, jellies, pies and sauces made from apricot are all delicious. However, the trees are vulnerable to a few problems. Does this Spark an idea?
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Size
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Apricot trees get as tall as 30 feet and can require up to 30 feet in diameter between trees. Unless two apricot trees are planted nearby, they will not set fruit because they rely on cross-pollination. To avoid this problem, buy a self-pollinating tree.
Time Frame
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Apricots flower very early in the spring before the last frost date is past. However, if a frost happens while the tree is blooming or just afterward when the young fruit is just beginning to emerge, the blossoms and the fruits will die. Frozen blossoms turn an ugly brown before they shrivel up and the hard little fruits just fall off the tree. To give an apricot tree the best chance of blooming late enough to avoid a killer frost, don't plant it on the east or south side of your garden. These locations get the most sun. Apricots planted on the north or west side of your garden won't warm up as soon so the blooms will come later.
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Risk Factors
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Another apricot tree problem happens when the tree is too close to a vegetable garden with tomatoes, potatoes and melons or to a strawberry patch. These plants carry a disease called verticillium wilt. When an apricot tree comes into contact with verticillium wilt, it may get a condition known as blackheart.
Identification
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Certain insects attack apricot trees as well. Branch and twig borers are beetles that dig into the apricot branches. Cankerworms eat the apricot leaves and lay their eggs on the branches. If your apricot tree's leaves start to curl up, it may be being attacked by mealy plum aphids. Finally, the brownish snout beetle enjoys eating every part of an apricot tree: the leaves, petals and fruit.
Benefits
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Apricot trees are in the same family as plums, peaches and almonds. All of these different kinds of fruits can be grafted onto the same tree, which would be known as a host. This simple horticultural operation can afford the gardener with one tree with ripe fruit all summer long. If the host is a plum tree, the tree can tolerate a richer soil. If the host is a peach or another apricot, it can thrive in a poorer soil.
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