Apricot trees in Sydney?

HappyEarth says...
There are a few low chill varieties available like daleys 'glengarry' that will fruit. In general they get to be about 4m x 4m but you can prune them to keep them smaller.

Rich
www.happyearth.com.au

amanda says...
I had a glengarry and a newcastle - one died and the other gets shothole too. It's been a contrary plant to get going..just flowering this year (3rd year) but still less than metre tall. I will perservere just for the taste of a 'real' apricot! My dad has trevatts and they are loved by his whole neighbourhood!

amanda says...
Hi HappyEarth - divinity sounds promising - please let us know how it goes when the time comes? (and what it tastes like!)

amanda says...
Crikey HappyEarth ... that's dangerous!!!? If it doesn't fruit I suggest u buy some fruit from the shop...stick em onto the tree and just "pretend" until she's a bit older!! Littlies take this "stuff" very seriously! .. (plus it's fun!) :))

My 5 yr old daughters tree is a poincianca - and it's the most beautiful/perfect tree in our whole garden...

HappyEarth says...
Hi Natalie, Im stil hoping my divinity apricot tree will fruit - there is a chance that we may not get the winter chill for it to fruit properly. Ill let you know :)

Rich
www.happyearth.com.au

Tara says...
We grew an apricot tree at Kundabung which I think was either a glengarry or bentley. It was delicious. We purchased some of the anti fruit fly fabric and made some sleeves which we slipped over the fruiting branches and then tied the ends off. This successfully protected the fruit from birds, bats and fruit flies. Another bonus we noticed was that if it rained a lot, the bags prevented the fruit from splitting and pitting. We had just sold this property and will miss our delicious unsprayed apricots.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
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Jimmy says...
me jealous, my Newcastle flowered this week for the first time.

Viva says...
I bought a multi-fruit tree with peach, nectarine and apricot brances grafted onto it. The peach and nectarine have set fruit, but the apricot had a few flowers on it that then dropped off. I'm looking at this blog and getting the impression that it will probably never fruit as the CC is even warmer than Sydney. I'm wondering whether it might be a good idea to prune it off and let the goodness go to the other fruit. What do you think?

Chris says...
Apricots do crop in Sydney, provided you are not right on the coast. Biggest issue is fruit fly. The blighters have gotten worse here in recent times.

amanda says...
Nice one MaryT - aren't the Italians good growers too!? :) My tree is happy enuf and flowers well (and we are right on the coast) - but I never get fruit here - it's a Glengarry and I think it's too warm for it.

MaryT says...
Wow that is a lot of land by the sea Amanda! My property measures 196 sqm hahaha. Yes the Italians use every bit of the land, even go so far as ABSEILING down the cliff to grow and harvest - how about that? Their eyes bulges when told about our million acres properties here.

MaryT says...
Speaking of "chill", can someone tell me what temperature that would be?

Kazzygirl says...
I grew up around Windsor NSW and we had 2 apricot trees that fruited so well there was enough left over to give away after making jam and just eating them off the tree.
We also had blood and Narrabeen plums and so many different peaches that fruited at varying times that my father and his father had grafted onto about 4 trees not to mention so many citrus.
I recently finished pruning what remains of these fruit trees and an old Isabella grape that must now be over 90yrs old for my 86yr old father as he can no longer climb too high on the ladder.
If these trees can survive this long maybe you can grow good apricots in Sydney Natalie

Senecio says...
I live in western Sydney. I've had my apricot tree for nearly 5 years now. It grew fast and is around 4 metres in height, but it only gave me 1 fruit within that timeframe. It also doesn't bloom much, just a few flowers here and there - unlike my plum tree that produces extravagant flowers in August.

There's this Arabic idiom that goes like "tomorrow when the apricots bloom" (which has the same sense as the English "when pigs will fly"). Because in places like Egypt and Palestine, apricots don't bloom much and therefore do not set fruit that much. So I can now totally see where that idiom comes from, as my apricot has only produced 1 fruit in the past 5 years.

QRcode says...
Fireball fruits for me without much of a cross pollinator. But even though it is on dwarf rootstock, it is a pretty tall tree.
I have a Divinity also, but it is newly planted so has only a solitary fruit.