Apricot Trees
What puts the “ape” in apricot? Courage! At least, that’s what the Cowardly Lion exclaimed in The Wizard of Oz. This sweet fruit has been lending courage to eaters over the millennia. It was grown in Armenia so long ago that it was believed to have originated there. But, today’s best apricots originate from Burchell Nursery.
Apricot Tree Rootstocks
We offer you a choice of 12 varieties of apricots on these rootstocks.
Nemaguard, Nemared, Controller 5 (Patent Pending)*, Lovell, Cornerstone (PP#21,248), Controller 9 (Patent Pending)*, Hansen 536 Hybrid*, Guardian® Brand (BY520-9)
* Sold under license from the Regents of the University of California. Propagation without a written license is prohibited.
Burchell Nursery provides its customers with the utmost planting flexibility by offering most varieties as Ready Start® Potted Trees. Please consult with your field reps for Healthy Start Trees’ current availability and pricing.
Apricot Varieties
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Apache
A delicious apricot developed by Agricultural Research Scientists in California. It boasts a sweet, delicate flavor with a pleasing aroma. The fruit is average size with a pinkish-orange skin with an orange flesh that is finely textured.
Ripens the first week in May
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Blenheim
Blenheim is considered to be the most flavorful, best tasting apricot in production. The fruit is medium to large, yellow with orange cheek and firm, juicy, pale orange flesh and delicious flavor.
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Castlebrite
One of the first apricots of the season. The fruit is medium size and turns golden yellow when ripe. It has a firm texture and a mild sweet flavor that is good for fresh eating. It is a good pollinator to help increase production on Robada even though it is self-fertile.
Ripens in early June
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Chinese
The Chinese Mormon Apricot, also known as a Sweet pit or Sweet Kernel Apricot, has a very limited history, but the era that it comes into popularity may reflect on why. It begins with the Gold Rush in California and ends up at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory with the driving of the Golden Spike to join the Transcontinental Railroad. The Apricot kernels have long been used in Chinese medicine to treat colds, coughs and stomach ailments. It also traces back to the Hunza population, using the sweet pit Apricots for eating and Bitter pits varieties for oils used in cooking and lighting. Cold hardy and widely adapted the Chinese Mormon Apricot has become very popular in cold country selection doing well where other apricot varieties fail. Good flavor and texture along with heavy production are all common features of this variety. Self-fruitful but can benefit from adding another variety to pollinate.
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Golden Sweet
Has a very nice size with an orange-yellow color. It is best for eating fresh and drying with a nice quality taste and firmness. Golden Sweet is a self-fertile tree that is productive and has a moderately vigorous growth habit.
Ripens just ahead of Patterson
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Harcot
Harcot is considered to be one of the finest tasting apricot today. Harcot is a tremendously hardy selection introduced by the Harrow research station in Canada. The adaptability of this variety is another quality, doing well in zones 5 through 9 where once established you can expect consistent production. A good choice for colder climates where a late frost could devastate other apricots varieties. This is a beautiful, large, yellow-orange fruit with a very sweet, very rich traditional apricot flavor.
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Harglow
A luminous apricot developed in Ontario, Canada especially for colder Northern areas. Harglow produces medium-size, freestone fruit with a gorgeous, bright-orange color. Harglow apricots have exceptional flavor and texture.
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Helena
A USDA release apricot. The fruit is large and firm with a sweet flavor and moderate acidity. The skin color is yellow to orange with no blush. It has been known to freckle in wet Springs.
Ripens around June 20, slightly behind Katy, but ahead of Golden Sweet and Patterson
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Katy
Introduced in 1978 and continues to be a popular choice. A red-blushed fruit that is large and firm with a very good flavor. It is an early shipping variety that has low chilling characteristics.
Ripens about May 28
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Lorna
Lorna Apricot (Prunus armenisca sp.) Sun exposure increases red blush. Large, early ripening apricot with firm, fine textured flesh. Ripens: Mid to late May, just after Castlebright (the first commercial apricot of the season) but Lorna is twice as large. Trees consistently produce generous harvests. Suitable for backyard gardens and commercial production. Self Fertile. Freestone. Requires 400-450 hours chilling below 45º F Cold hardy to U.S.D.A. Zone 7. Breeder: Craig Ledbetter – USDA Parlier, CA. A very large and very flavorful USDA variety apricot that can be delicate and require some special handling. Requires summer pruning to achieve optimum harvest.
Ripens between Castlebrite and Helena
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Modesto
A very early and heavy producer. The fruit is large with a deep color orange and a good flavor. It has been widely used successfully as a freezing apricot.
Ripen about June 15
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MoorPark
Deep yellow with an orange-red blush, the Moorpark is good for all of your favorite usages, fresh eating, canning, and preserves. This is also a choice variety for drying and dehydrating.
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Patterson
Patterson is a consistent, heavy producer of a large fruit that is nice and firm and highly-colored. It is a versatile apricot used for canning, freezing, drying and fresh market use. Large size, fairly round. Fair to good flavor, with not much juice. Streaked red over yellow.
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Robada
A USDA variety with excellent color, and high blush. It has a good upright growth habit and uses Castlebrite for a pollinator.
Ripens June 15–20
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Tilton
An old time apricot that produces a large, somewhat elongated fruit that is light orange in color. The fruit is firm and primarily used for canning and drying.
Ripens about July 1
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TomCot
Coming 2022 Large orange fruit with orange flesh the Tomcot is slightly acidic with a traditional apricot flavor. Known for giving off a lot of fruit and is very consistent year to year and is early to ripen.
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Westley
A very high quality apricot with good color. The fruit is very large and flavorful. It is excellent for drying as well as fresh eating.
Ripens about July 7
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White Knockout
BNI Exclusive
Praised by many as the finest flavored apricot with its intensely sweet, white flesh. dessert-quality apricot is truly a knockout. Eats well when firm ripe, right up to when it is soft ripe with juice dripping down your arm. Try the White Knockout Apricot Tree today and you will not be disappointed.. Apricots make one of the best looking small shade trees for your home. Fast growing with a mushroom like canopy.
Ripening dates shown are approximate for Fresno in California and may vary with season and location.