In the 90's and before many people just planted seedling apricots since there were not as many grafted varieties. If they found one they liked they would take a seed and plant it. I say this because it could be that the apricot is a seedling and the only way to get a true clone would be to graft it.

I guess you could try root cuttings but not sure if they are easy to root from cuttings. Many fruit trees are very difficult to root, while others, such as figs and pomegranates, are pretty easy.

I agree that it’s quite likely to be an unnamed seedling, especially since the owner has a ’yard full’ of varied apricot trees.

Thank you both - that makes sense. I'm definitely going to see if I can do a rooted cutting or something. Do either of you know of a cultivar that might be similar to the one I described?

That description fits Blenheim in my Santa Fe area garden. I do agree with the suggestion that there are many seedling apricot trees around here, and they can often have good fruit. It seems that the cultural conditions (most importantly soil quality, moisture, and also thinning of fruit, whether intentional or not) contribute most strongly to fruit size and quality around here, but planting any named variety is probably your best bet. In Santa Fe the three most commonly sold cultivars seem to be Blenheim, Tilton, and Mormon.

Don't bother trying to root cuttings, because that is not likely to succeed with apricot, but you could use the cuttings for grafting, if you can get your hands on something to use as a rootstock. Seedling apricot or peach should work fine in many locations.

Finally, something you probably already know, apricot is very susceptible to late spring frosts due to its early flowering, and so does not fruit reliably in many parts of the country. Here in Santa Fe we only have good crops every few years, and some local areas of cold air drainage never have success with apricots.

Anyway, home grown apricots are incredible, so best of luck!

Thank you so much for your input! As it happens, I just ordered a Blenheim because it seemed like my best chance at finding something the same or similar... so your comment is very encouraging. I've been on the fence between ordering a Mormon or a Montrose. I thought the Montrose might do well since it comes from a high altitude tree, but the Mormon sounds very tough.

Thank you for the advice on the root cutting vs grafting. I've always wanted to learn how to do it so this seems like the perfect reason to jump in.

I appreciate the reminder regarding spring frosts. I knew about the frost issue, but the cold sink consideration hadn't occurred to me. I think I'm in a relatively mild spot as far as that goes, thankfully. There is actually an older apricot tree here on the property though that I haven't seen a crop from in the three years I've been here because it flowers very early, even earlier than most apricots. I'm going to try a few different varieties and hopefully some will do a little better. It's certainly worth a try! :)