Apricot

Prunus armeniaca

Rosaceae · broadleaf deciduous tree · introduced

Last updated

Prunus armeniaca (Rosaceae) is a deciduous fruit tree native to Central Asia. It grows 15 to 30 feet tall with a rounded crown. White to pink flowers appear very early in spring on bare branches, making the developing fruit extremely vulnerable to late frost. The fruit is a soft, velvety-skinned drupe that ripens in summer.

Apricot requires full sun and well-drained soil. The primary challenge in cool, humid climates is that the very early bloom is frequently damaged by frost, resulting in inconsistent or no fruit production in many years. Brown rot and bacterial canker are the most significant diseases. The species needs a pollinizer in most cases. Hardy in Zones 5a to 8b.

Quick Facts

Height
20–30 ft
Spread
19 ft
Growth Rate
Medium
Light
Sun to Part Shade
Soil
Moist
Water
Moderate
Hardiness
Zone Zones 5a–8b
Origin
northeastern China
Watch for this season
Coryneum blight (Shothole)High

Primary Infection - Flowers and Young Leaves

Cytospora CankerHigh

Spring Canker Activation

RustHigh

Aecial Stage (Alternate Host)

Verticillium WiltHigh

Root Colonization Period

+ 14 more — see full disease and pest lists below

Diseases: Regionally Documented (53)

Bacterial Canker and Blast Monilinia fructicola and M Brown Rot Rhizobium radiobacter (formerly Agrobacterium tumefaciens) Crown Gall Cytospora spp. (Valsa spp., Leucostoma spp.) Cytospora Canker Plum pox virus (PPV) Plum Pox (Sharka) Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni Red Spot Fruit Blemish (Freckles) Stigmina carpophila or Diaporthe spp. Shothole Stigmina carpophila Shothole (Coryneum Blight) Chondrostereum purpureum Silver Leaf Verticillium dahliae Verticillium Wilt Multiple Basidiomycete fungi cause wood decay in trees Wood Decay Armillaria Crown and Root Rot An uncharacterized Black Canker Cherry mottle leaf virus Cherry Mottle Leaf Cherry twisted leaf-associated virus Cherry Twisted Leaf Believed to Crinkle Leaf and Deep Suture Eola rasp Eola Rasp Leaf (Yellow Bud Mosaic) Although bacterial Fungal Cankers June Drop Grapevine leafroll virus Leafroll Uncharacterized graft Necrotic Rusty Mottle (Lambert Mottle) and Rusty Mottle Phytophthora spp. (P Phytophthora Root Rot Multiple fungal agents Pitting Many fungi Postharvest Rots Prune dwarf Prune Dwarf Cherry rasp Rasp Leaf Pythium spp., Phytophthora spp., Rhizoctonia spp., Fusari... Replant Disease This problem Rosette [VERIFY] (multiple possible causes) Rugose Several causes Stem Pitting Cherry leafroll virus (CLRV); complex with prune dwarf vi... Virus-induced Cherry Decline Raspberry bushy dwarf virus and related viruses Virus Taphrina wiesneri Witches' Broom Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni X-Disease Taphrina deformans Leaf Curl Russeting Chrysomyxa piperiana Rusty Spot Split Pit Sprinkler Rot (Phytophthora Fruit Rot) Symptom category — not a single disease Leaf Spot Taphrina pruni Plum Pockets Multiple genera (Melampsoridium, Thekopsora, Naohidemyces... Rust Wilsonomyces carpophilus Coryneum blight (Shothole) Apiosporina morbosa Black Knot Necrotic rusty mottle virus (uncharacterized) Necrotic rusty mottle Multiple obligate biotrophic fungi (Erysiphales: Erysipha... Powdery Mildew Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) Prunus Necrotic Ringspot Xiphinema americanum and related species Nematode, Dagger Mesocriconema spp Nematode, Ring Pratylenchus penetrans (primary) and P Nematode, Root-lesion Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae (bacterial canker complex) Dead Bud Little cherry virus-1 and Little cherry virus-2 Little Cherry Various plant-parasitic nematode genera Nematodes

Pests: Regionally Documented (31)

Cultivars (2)

'Goldcot'
Common name: Goldcot Apricot; Mature height: 15–30 ft
Hardy to USDA Zone 5
'Blenheim'
Data Maturity
Structured Multiple sources. Expert review underway.