Apricots are self fertile. The Plum, nectarine and Apricot don't cross pollinate. The Nanking may pollinate the plum. What varieties are you growing?

Apricots DO produce better if they are cross pollinated in my experience. So if you can graft or plant another variety in the same hole, I would.

Carla in Sac

Wow, Carla, I always assumed that in warmer climates apricots were completely self fruitful. I had always been taught that they required no pollinators but when I moved east from CA I noticed that they were more reliable producers here with cross pollination.

A few years after I began to realize this I noticed that Adams County Nursery started posting this in their catalogues (cross pollination helpful). In S CA I often saw lone trees that consistantly bore heavy crops, including in my childhood home where there is a 60 year old tree that bears heavily every season with no discernable cross pollination.

I vistited that tree perhaps for the last time last summer as my father died and the owner of the property, his second wife, is not my mother. The tree still had the last of another heavy crop which I harvested and enjoyed immensely. It is the tree that began my fruit tree addiction almost 50 years ago.

Interesting. Perhaps it varies from tree to tree.

I know that I planted one apricot tree away from the others on my property by probably 300 feet, all by itself, and I quickly learned that, if I wanted much of a crop at all on it, I needed to pick a couple of branches off of the other varieties and put them in a container of water and hang it up in the canopy of the tree. Otherwise, not much fruit set. When I did that, it helped a lot.

Would an aprium, or pluot work as a pollinator for the apricot? I believe the aprium is about 70% apricot. I only have 1 apricot, but I have 2 pluots and 1 aprium all close by each other.

Even here in California, there are some varieties of apricot which need cross-pollination to produce any fruit at all: Canadian White Blenheim, Orangered, etc. Even a few of the old commercial varieties that don't really taste wonderful.

Many other varuetues are thought to do better with cross-pollination. Others are clearly self-pollenizing.

I think that it is partially a matter of climate conditions and partially a matter of cultivar but if you are in northern conditions I would recommend a pollinator for all varieties- at least until such a time as the issue is thoroughly sorted out.

The issue of self fruitfullness gets even more interesting with pears. If spring weather is warm enough many varieties can produce fruit parthenocarpically, (if that's the word) anyway, without seeds. In the south and far west this is a very common occurance but here in the northeast, much more sporadic.

Carla in Sac, So I can plant 2 trees in the same hole? That sounds easier than grafting since I've never done that before. I've looked for scions online, didn't find any.

Hi Celandra-

I'm not Carla, but let me chime in here to say that while you can plant two trees in one hole it's not nearly as much fun as grafting!!

If you want scions for apples, pears, cherries, grapes, or plums send a SASE (two stamps) to Nick Botner, Spearheart Farm and Orchard, 4015 Eagle Valley Road, Yoncalla, OR 97499. (I've posted this information so often that I worry that people will think I work for Nick. I don't.)

Nick's list is pretty big, so it's a good catalog. Some people have intimated that a certain number of his varieties may be mislabelled. I can't speak to that, but feel it should be mentioned. It doesn't matter very much to a rank amateur like myself, but a commercial grower could be set back by it for sure.

Also worth noting: if you have neighbors within say, a quarter mile who are growing a different variety of the same fruit that you are growing there may not be any pollination issues. Around here there's apples, pears, apricots and plums in just about every block or two.

Good luck,

Mark

thanks guys, I guess I'll order a tree from one of the seed catalogs and decide in the spring whether to trying grafting with it or plant it close to the other one.

In my area the California Rare Fruit Growers have a scion exchange at the end of January. You will be able to get scions and grafting lessons for almost no charge. Because they must rent a facility they may charge up to $5 each both for members and non members to cover the cost of the rental. There are other fruit growers organizations who have a similar program. Al

I second the grafting suggestion. Dave Wilson Nursery has "how to" videos on their website that are very informative. I was intimidated by grafting initially. Then I saw those videos, tried it, and the rest is history. I say this because the closer the second variety is, the better the cross pollination. Evidently pluots are a pain to get to pollinate. Apricots may not be as obstinate about it, but yields will be higher, even if only a little, the closer the pollinator is. You can also make your own 2-in-1, 3-in-1, and 4-in-1 trees via grafting. This way you can graft in varieties that will successively ripen over the summer instead of ripening all at once. If you decide not to graft, planting the second variety in the same hole (18 - 24 inches apart)is the next best option. The Dave Wilson website has info on that as well. Follow the "back yard culture" links. Even if you have already bought and planted a second variety, try grafting from one to another. Easy and fun.