Harlayne Apricot Tree

The best apricot choice for colder zones, the Harlayne Apricot Tree was bred in Canada to grow well in cold areas, and produces a delicious crop of medium-sized apricots late in the season, beginning around the middle of August. The fruits are deep orange with a red flush on the skin, with sweet, aromatic flesh that falls off the stone and is delicious to eat fresh or to turn into pies and jams. Ripens over several weeks, making it easy to use all your crop. It forms a medium-sized tree that in time could be 20 feet tall, and can also be grown as an espalier on a wall, for shelter and better ripening. Fully self-pollinating, you need just one tree to harvest an abundance of delicious fruits, in zones where you thought apricots were impossible.

• The most cold-hardy variety of apricot
• Deep orange, slipstone fruits with great flavor
• Ripens from mid-August onwards
• Wonderful for eating fresh or for baking and preserves
• Fully self-pollinating, so a second tree isn’t needed

The Harlayne Apricot Tree should be planted in full sun, in any well-drained soil. Rich, deep soils are best, and apricots prefer neutral to alkaline soils with pH values between 6.5 and 8.0. Dormant flower buds are hardy to zone 5b and branches are hardy in zone 4, so a tree there will fruit if you have a mild winter. Plant on the upper part of a slope and avoid low-lying areas if you live somewhere subject to late spring frosts. Relatively free of pests or diseases, which can be managed with natural products like neem oil, lime-sulfur and dormant oils. Can be left to grow naturally, without pruning, but best to prune when young to develop an open structure with 3 to 5 main limbs. Older trees need minimal pruning. Prune immediately after flowering, or no later than after harvest.