Apricot Trees

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Apricots need water consistently throughout the growing season. Lack of moisture in early summer will result in small fruits; later in the season, it can interfere with bud set for next year's crop. You will probably need to water deeply every 10 to 14 days if there is no rain. Where there is plenty of moisture in the winter and spring, you may need to water only three or four times during the summer. Apply a small amount of nitrogen fertilizer each spring.

Under good growing conditions trees produce too many fruits. If all the fruits are allowed to stay on the trees, your apricots will be small, and the weight of the fruits could break the branches. Thin out the weakest fruits to the three or four healthiest apricots per cluster. The best time to thin is when fruits measure about 1 inch across. If you have only one or two trees, hand-pick the excess fruits.

The harvest season for apricots is July in mild climates and August in colder ones, though different varieties can be slightly earlier or later. Expect 3 to 4 bushels of fruit from a full-size tree, 1 to 2 from a dwarf. Pick the fruits after they attain a rich apricot color and give slightly when pressed. The apricot season is short, so try to plan around it. If you leave for a 2-week vacation at the crucial time, you may come back to bushels of spoiled fruit on the ground.

Planning

• Plant new trees in early spring, fall planting in mild areas can be successful if trees are dormant.

• Buy dormant, bare-root, 1-year-old trees, if possible.

• Although most varieties are self-fertile, fruit set is better when planted with one or two other varieties nearby. Trees will start bearing in the third or fourth season.

• Expect 3 to 4 bushels of fruit from a standard-size tree, 1 to 2 from a dwarf variety.

Preparation

• Choose a site in full sun. Northern growers should put trees on the north side of a building so trees warm up as late as possible in the spring.

• Apricot trees do well in a wide range of well-drained soils.

Planting

• Space standard-size trees about 25 feet apart; plant genetic dwarf trees 8 to 12 feet apart.

Care

• Apply a small amount of nitrogen fertilizer each spring. Where apricots are easily grown, train to an open center. For colder areas use a modified central leader.

• Prune bearing trees annually to encourage new fruiting spurs.

• When fruits are 1 inch in diameter, thin to 3 to 4 fruits per cluster to increase the size of remaining apricots and prevent over bearing one year, little the next.

• See our article Fruit Pests and Diseases for controls of common apricot pests such as codling moths, peach tree borers, plum curculios, and brown rot disease.

Harvesting

• Harvesting peaks in July in mild areas and in August in colder ones. The picking season is short.

• Pick when fruits are fully colored and skin gives slightly when pressed. 

Source:  http://www.garden.org