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An Abundance of Apricots

Anna's Hummingbird in Apricot Tree
Male Anna’s Hummingbird

Our grafted, fifteen-year-old apricot tree produced about fifty pounds of fruit this season. It’s a record. In fact, any previous record now seems laughable. Yes, that is a lot of fruit, and it happened all at once.

A healthy tree branch laden with ripe apricots, surrounded by lush green leaves.

The tree is a curiosity. We learned about four-in-one grafted trees from a neighbor when my youngest son was turning 10. He was enamored, back in the day when gardens were more interesting than they are to a now 26-year-old, and he asked for a tree for his birthday. We were happy to oblige.

Starting with a single fruit tree, the grower adds three additional grafts, all of them stone fruit. The tree once produced apricots, plums, peaches, and nectarines; only two have survived and thrived over the years.

Most years, the fruit is quickly claimed by neighborhood critters. We’re ever hopeful, as we were this time last year, as we watched the fruit disappear from the tree, dropped into half-eaten, sticky, fruit-fly inviting messes on the garden floor.

A garden pathway made of stone, scattered with fallen apricots and small pebbles, surrounded by lush green plants.
Dropped fruit

Imagine our delight and surprise when this year’s bumper crop arrived. While the plum half of the tree produced some fruit, the tree is too tall to make any harvesting practical. I let out a sigh as I stepped over a few of them, but it was short-lived. The apricots, however, were prolific.

In record time, dozens of branches drooped from the weight of the fruit, with some clusters nearly touching the ground. I temporarily repurposed a sturdy garden trellis to support all that extra weight, and I thinned what I could to help lighten the load. It worked.

My research said that I could start harvesting the apricots as soon as they had some color and would give way to a gentle thumb press. I kept checking the tree like a new mum with a sleeping newborn.

Meanwhile, neighboring critters began to take stock of the fruit on the tree, color be darned. In fact, pound for pound, I think we can call it a draw.

We enjoyed those first few apricots, sweet and delicious, each one delivering on summer’s promise. I filled a basket for our kitchen. Then I filled a bag and took it to my sister and her caregivers. We offered fruit to friends and neighbors, and at the same time, fruit continued to fall at an alarming rate, half-eaten or bruised, leaving a mess on the garden floor.

It became clear at that point that even the unripe fruit would soon be lying on the ground, making nature’s version of apricot jam. I removed another twenty pounds of fruit and, this time, placed it at the curb with a free-apricot sign and several paper bags, and monitored the basket as the fruit slowly found a home, removing the mushy fruit every few hours.

A basket and a container filled with an abundance of yellow and orange apricots placed on a wooden surface.
Abundant Apricots June 18
A woven basket filled with fresh apricots, some marked with brown spots, alongside a note that says 'Garden Apricots Please take some.'
Garden Apricots, Almost Gone

This passed Wednesday I pruned the lower branches and watched as the tree lost all that weight and bounced back to its original height. It’s been a fun and interesting few weeks.

A vibrant green tree with lush leaves, surrounded by various plants in a garden setting, with a wooden fence in the background.

Now I will give my full attention to the garden’s reddening strawberries and tomatoes.

30 thoughts on “An Abundance of Apricots”

  1. Lovely! I was wondering what you did with all that fruit. Glad you could give some away and the garden visitors also had their fair share. Home grown always tastes better. 😃 Lots of people have apple or plum trees here and in a good year there are baskets in front of their doorsteps offering free fruit. We are hoping to get apples, plums and pears this year, but it is always a matter of what the weather does and which pests/creatures get there before us. (The few cherries we had were eaten by the birds before they even ripened!)

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  10. My gosh, what a bounty! Wish I lived nearby. I have never had a really tasty apricot. I think they are picked too soon and somehow never ripen into deliciousness. I love how your son wanted a tree for his birthday. Who knows? As he gets older older, his love of growing things might return.

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    • I wish you lived nearby as well. I find that a lot of fruit is harvested too early. Our markets have strawberries that look ok, but they’re white inside with little flavor. We’re loving our garden tomatoes, and incorporate them into most dinners.

      I hope he returns to his early love of the garden. We grew pumpkins together, and one year Santa but pumpkin seeds in his Christmas stocking. They were a hit.

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  13. Your tree is amazing! I have an apricot tree but it has to grow in a big pot in the greenhouse so is much smaller and less prolific than yours.

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  15. My goodness! I’ve never seen a crop like this, Alys. Your lucky neighbors. I love apricots and reading this have developed a little envy! 🤷‍♀️

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  16. It would also break my heart to lose that much fruit especially apricots. What a mess to clean up after the critters get their share but getting a few is better than getting none of those delicious home grown tasty morsels. I read this earlier but brain didn’t connect the idea of a comment. Same is true with a letter I received. Reply will follow when brain decides to work. It was received.

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  18. Oh, Alys! What an amazing bounty of apricots you have harvested this year!! It made my heart smile just knowing that your son wished for this special apricot tree for his birthday years ago. You are so warm-hearted to share nature’s bounty with everyone, sweet friend!🩷

    I’m sorry to be so late to visit. After a blogging break, I’m excited to catch up with my faraway blog friends! I think of you so often, dear heart!🩷🩷

    🩷 Dawn

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