Apricot trees

Apricot trees make an interesting addition to the garden. With their pink blossom in early spring, red-tinged new leaves and shoots, large glossy green summer leaves and bright orange coloured fruit they make attractive trees. But most importantly of all, home grown apricots ripened on the tree are far superior in taste to apricots sold in shops. If you get a bumper crop you can make apricot jam, which is truly one of the loveliest of jams.

On the negative side the British climate does not particularly suit apricot trees. They are much more at home in a continental type climate with warm sunny summers followed by a steady decline in temperature during autumn and a cold winter. Confused by our erratic autumn weather, they may fail to prepare for winter and suffer from die-back once cold weather eventually arrives. Unseasonably mild weather in late winter can cause them to come into blossom too early when there are no pollinating insects about or the blossom is at risk from later frosts. Some of the modern varieties, bred specifically for our type of climate, suffer less from these problems. Growing apricots in warm sheltered gardens or against south facing walls also helps, particularly in less favourable parts of the country. Growing apricots is very worthwhile but you need to accept the risks of die-back and irregular cropping.

We offer a good range of both modern and traditional apricots trees for sale at Keepers Nursery. Click here for a guide to choosing apricot trees.

1Alfred
Pre-order from May
A good hardy variety suited to UK conditions
2Bergecot
Pre-order from May
A large late ripening apricot good for eating and jam making.
3Bergeron
Pre-order from May
4Flavourcot
Pre-order from May
A modern apricot with excellent flavour and good cropping in UK conditions.
5Goldcot
Pre-order from May
One of the best modern apricot varieties suitable for UK conditions
6Golden Glow
Pre-order from May
A hardy variety found in the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire
7Hemskirke
Pre-order from May
A hardy variety similar to Moorpark
8Moorpark
Graft to order
An old favourite for growing in UK gardens
9Petit Muscat
Pre-order from May
An unusual new variety producing good crops of delicious small bite size fruit
10Puget Gold
Graft to order
11Tomcot
Pre-order from May
Probably the best and most reliable modern variety for UK conditions

Apricot trees

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