Our Victorian forebears clearly knew how delicious a freshly picked apricot can be, for they regularly included them in their big walled gardens. We seem to have lost confidence in growing them or perhaps don’t realise how superior a home- grown apricot tastes to the usually under-ripe, bland supermarket offerings. What a shame; for given the right conditions and careful pruning, apricots will crop generously in a warm English garden. In the North of England and Scotland they will grow under glass.
As long as there is no frost at blossom time (March and April, depending on the variety) a well-trained fan tree will give the best crops. If you buy a part-trained tree rather than a maiden, you might even get fruit in the first season. But even without fruit, the tree has pretty red-tinged stems, glossy green foliage and pink flowers.
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Site and planting
Give the trees a warm, sheltered site with plenty of sun. They also need plenty of humus. Bare-root trees should be planted in the dormant season. When planting against a wall or fence, dig out a hole 60cm x 60cm (2ft square) to at least a spade’s depth. Clear out any old roots, stones or weeds and turn in a bucket of well-rotted manure or compost. Plant the tree 15-20cm away from the wall, firm in well and water thoroughly. Give a good mulch of manure or compost but keep this away from the stem and make sure not to bury the graft union. The tree will need watering only in periods of very dry weather.
Training
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Fan-training allows light to get to the fruit and makes pruning easier. The best position for a fan-trained tree is a south- facing wall. The tree will need to spread two metres on either side of the main trunk, along horizontal wires which should be fixed 10-15cm proud of the wall, and about 2.5m in height. Apricots fruit on wood made the previous year. Pruning should be done in early summer. For information, consult The Fruit Garden Displayed (Cassell) and D. G. Hessayon ‘s The Fruit Expert (Expert Books).
In pots
Apricots will do well in pots of 60cm x 60cm or bigger, in a sheltered sunny position and grown as a bush plant or trained as a fan against a wall from the pot. Put crocks in the bottom for drainage and fill a third of the pot with well- rotted manure. Put in a 15cm layer of a loam-based compost such as John Innes No 3 and then plant before topping off with more compost to 5cm below the rim. Water well and keep watered weekly in sunny weather. Feed fortnightly through the summer with a high nitrogen organic feed.
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Varieties
Moorpark: The variety traditionally grown in England. It has firm juicy flesh and ripens in August.
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New Large Early: Reliable cropper with large fruits; ripens in early July.
Alfred: Has good yellow colour and ripens in late July.
Golden Glow: Hardier than others and recommended for cultivation in the North of England; ripens in August.
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Farmingdale: Sweet American variety which ripens in late July and shows resistance to dieback.
Suppliers
Ken Muir (0870 7479111; www.kenmuir.co.uk).
Reads (01508 548395; www.readsnursery.co.uk).
Keepers (01622 726465; www.keepers-nursery.co.uk).
Tom Petherick
Apricot trees offer
Pick your own juicy apricots within two to three years of planting a tree in a warm, sheltered spot. Times readers can choose from three self-fertile varieties offered by Ken Muir. All are grafted on to St Julien A rootstock, which produces a bush tree of up to 3.5m, or the trees can be fan- trained. Alfred has a good flavour, is moderately juicy and ripens in July-August. Golden Glow crops well as a free-standing tree and ripens in August. New Large Early has large, juicy fruits and ripens in mid-July.
The offer price is £18.60 for one maiden tree, £34.70 for two and £51 for three. P&p for each order is £6.75, and a free copy of the Ken Muir Grow Your Own Fruit will be included. Trees are sent bare root within 28 days of receipt of order. Closing date is March 12.
To order, call 0870 7479111 quoting TTAO or send a cheque, made out to Ken Muir Ltd, to Ken Muir Ltd, Rectory Road, Weeley Heath, Clacton-on- Sea, Essex CO16 9BJ. State if you plan to fan-train.