Like most fruit trees, apricots (Prunus armeniaca) do not bear fruit in the first year after planting. The tree needs to reach maturity and have a successful bloom period several months before it will fruit. Once your apricot tree starts fruiting, you can expect fruit from it for years to come, but not necessarily for the entire life of the tree. To get the most success from an apricot tree, plant in it U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 6 through 9.
Age of Fruiting
A new apricot tree requires three to four years before it will produce fruit. These early years are when the tree is growing foliage. You do not want the tree to fruit because fruit production will weaken the rest of the tree's growth in the first few years. If you notice any blooms appearing, remove them to prevent them from producing fruit.
Chill Hours and Fruiting
Apricots require between 600 and 900 hours below 45 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter to properly produce blooms and fruit. Matching this number to your area's average chill hours is especially important for apricots, which bloom in the late winter. If your area gets more chill hours than the variety of apricot you planted requires, your blooms may be killed by frosts late in the winter, but without enough chill hours, you will not see blooms on the tree and a loss of a fruit crop for that year. Some varieties of apricot require fewer than 300 chill hours and are best for areas with extremely mild winters. "Newcastle," "Goldkist" and "Early Gold" are three low-chill apricot varieties.
Bloom to Fruit Time
There does not have to be a second apricot tree for the blooms to produce fruit for most apricots, because most varieties are self-fruitful. The blooms appear during early March or the end of February and require dry weather to remain on the tree and produce fruit. Once a tree matures and blooms, it takes between 100 and 120 days for the fruit to be ready for harvest, which usually happens in June or July, depending on your location.
Apricot trees live between 40 and 150 years, according to the Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute at CalPoly at San Luis Obispo. Though apricot trees live this long, they usually do not produce fruit for their entire lives. Apricots typically fruit for only 20 to 25 years. After this, the tree may still be ornamental, but do not expect it to regularly bear fruit.
- University of California Marin County Master Gardeners: Growing in Your Garden Now – Apricots
- University of California Cooperative Extension: Apricots: Calendar of Operations for Home Gardeners
- University of California Cooperative Extension: Growing Temperate Tree Fruit and Nut Crops in Home Garden and Landscape
- CalPoly San Luis Obispo Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute SelecTree: Apricot
- John Foxx/Stockbyte/Getty Images