, but still fruited a little bit our first two summers here

==>> good to know.. but even better would be to tell us where here is..big city name .. CA is a bit vague ...

first things first.. go buy a tree saw.. and remove those horrible stubs....

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=pruning+stubs&iax=images&ia=images

flip to the videos ...

and i cant imagine what after that .. need be done .. seems like you already removing a good portion of the canopy.. so lets give it a year or two.. before we go after more ..

bottom line.. here in MI..my dad had an apricot for 25 years. it only bloomed in 5 of those years.. and only twice did it pollinate to fruit.. and then dam squirrels took them all at half ripe size ...

i would hope you could do better in CA.. but crikey .... personally .... i dont find apricot to be and EASY fruit tree.. i presumed there is a reason you dont see tables full of As in the grocery store.. like apples...

ken

I agree with all that Ken said. However, in CA it is advised to prune in August, but wait at least a year before you prune it again.

I prune mine to get rid of anything dead, and anything crosssing another branch. I also prune mine to keep it short enough to pick. And, being who I am, I also prune for looks.... can't help myself.

Fertilize it several times a year with Fruit Tree fertilizer.

Good luck and good eating!

Thanks all for the input. Regarding the TWO comments above about keeping the tree shorter. I agree, this tree got way too tall in the decades before it became ours. I am unsure how safe it is to aggressively try to shorten it now though. Do I just lop off the entire truck 6 feet above the ground?

Ummm, 6' would be a little short. Try about 10'. I try to keep all my fruiting trees that size. I figure the birds are going to get the top and I get the rest... and the neighbor's cat make sure of that.

However, if the branches are really close to the ground you might be able to do the 6'. What do you think, Babka?

Just an observation, which doesn't affect the way it should be pruned... although Blenheim is apparently common in California, I would not rely on any plant id app to name a specific cultivar of apricot.

Actually, floral. I have an "Aprium", which is a cross with an Apricot and a Plum. The fruit looks like an Apricot and tastes like one too, only stronger flavor, more sweet and more firm. I have no idea of the cross, but I love it. To your point, it helps to know the parents and the rootstock if grafted... and if it is grafted or on it's own wood.

Dave, I was looking at your photo again and it looks like this could be a pretty tree and doesn't look terribly tall. A wise gardener once told me to never leave a coat hook when you prune. If done correctly it will seal itself and then grow into/onto itself with something called a collar.

I don't really understand the relevance of your comments about the Aprium, Kate. Nor the references to parentage and rootstock. I was responding to the OP's statement that they had an apricot which they had identified as the cultivar Blenheim via a plant id app. All I was trying to say was that id apps are often wrong and the tree is not necessarily a Blenheim.

Thanks Kate. Whether 6ft or 10ft, I guess I was curious if (next pruning season) it's ok to just remove every branch all the way down to only having a trunk left (and even lopping some of the trunk off if necessary), and if it will recover from that and regrow branches.

I doubt very seriously that any established tree would survive such a drastic shearing.

Don't do that! Why are you so intent on pruning it? What are you trying to achieve? More fruit, less shade?

Orchard trees are trained from the time they are little whips, so they branch closer to the ground so the fruit is more easily harvested. You can't do that to a mature tree. You will probably kill it. Just stick to pruning out dead/diseased/crossing branches, and never take out more than 1/3 of the volume.

Lichens grow on healthy trees, they cause NO HARM.

-Babka

Dave, prune back just off the trunk; you don't want to cut into the main trunk if possible; just get rid of those coathooks. I'd suggest doing that, and then, like Babka said, leave it alone for a year or two. See what you have and then you could sparingly prune crossing branches. In pruning - less is more. Remember, this is an old tree and kinda set in it's ways; you don't want to offend it.

Is it possible for you to take a mini-course in pruning from your local Master Gardeners program? (We have an excellent one here in Fresno - Garden of the Sun, down by the airport.) You can check with the County Ag people where you live; they will know. I'd really like for you to get some hands-on instruction before doing too much more.

It’s too late but when i prune i open my tree up a bit, so wait until next year. i agree to cut the coathooks. Here are pictures of my tree for example.

my first ripe fruit 2-3 years ago.

There should not be stubs sticking out. Pruning cuts should be made where the branch joins the trunk. The thinner branches should be thinned out. Apricots should not be pruned during rainy weather because they are subject to a fungal infection. https://mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/garden-help/fruits-nuts/fruit-tree-pruning/