Subject: growing apricot trees in PA

From: diane <[email-masked]>
Date: 17 Feb 1995 18:10:25 GMT

I would like to grow apricot trees in my yard in PA.  Any suggestions on
varieties or successful propagation?
Diane
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Jeffrey A. Del Col)
Date: 3 Mar 1995 13:24:16 GMT

In a previous article, [email-masked] (Typhoon) says:

>Although I don't live in PA, I grew a pair of dwarf Manchurian Apricots in
>my city garden in Providence, RI (zone 6) for 15 years.  I've just moved,
>but the trees were heavy bearers, especially when the winters were long
>and cold.  They have a brief flowering period in very early spring and are
>about the last trees to lose their leaves in the fall.  I would (probably
>will) grow them agatn, but they are quite prone to peach borers.  I would
>estimate mine will probably last another 5 years before they'll need to be
>replaced.

In an earlier response to the posting about apricots in PA, I
forgot to mention the Manchurian bush apricots.  I assumed that the
original posting referred to the typical orchard apricot, Prunus
armeniaica.  The Manchurian apricot is Pr. arm. mandshuriaica (sp?)
and there is an even hardier though pomologically worthless variety,
sibiriaica(sp?).  The Siberian apricot is extremely hardy, but the
fruits are small, stony, and essentially inedible.

BTW, about 90% of the US apricot crop is grown in California, which gives
some idea of its preference for a Mediterranean climate.

The later blooming varieties of apricot include Moongold and Goldcot, but
these late-bloomers are not self-pollinating, so another variety must
be planted close to them.

J. Del Col (who treasures the few apricots he does get here in Zone 5-6)
-- 
Jeff Del Col   * "Sleeplessness is like metaphysics.
A-B College    *  Be there."
Philippi, WV   * 
               * ----Charles Simic----

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From: [email-masked] (Typhoon)
Date: 1 Mar 1995 22:33:48 -0500

Constance