How to Grow an Apricot Tree from Seed

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How to Grow an Apricot Tree from Seed:- Growing your own apricot tree makes late summer apricots even more delicious. Why not plant an apricot tree from seed if you are in a good deciduous fruit tree zone? The rewards outweigh the time. In this post, gardening expert Wendy Moulton shows how to grow apricots from seed!

Table of Contents

How to Grow from Seed

Step 1: Extract the Pit

Remove ripe apricot pits and wash away flesh. The kernel must then be removed from its hard shell. A nutcracker can do this, but be careful not to damage the delicate apricot seed. Instead of a nutcracker, use pliers, a shifting spanner, or a knife to carefully open the seed seam.

Step 2: Soak

After you have successfully extracted the kernels from their safety pit, continue to soak them in warm water for the entire night. Prepare a small number of seeds because it is possible that some of them will not germinate.

Step 3: Package the Seeds

Prepare apricot seeds for cold-stratification to germinate. Use a lidded container or plastic bag. Hydrate coconut coir and wring away extra water. Fill your container halfway with coconut coir. Wrap your seeds in a damp paper towel before putting them in the container.
Keep seeds away from people. Despite their medium toxicity, they contain cyanogenic chemicals and should not be consumed.

Step 4: Cold Stratify

Seal the jar or plastic bag with the seeds on the soaked coir or paper towel. Store it in the fridge. Keep the temperature between 32 and 45°F (0 and 7°C).
Your apricot seeds should sprout sufficiently to sow in pots after 4-6 weeks. Rehydrate the coir and keep it warm for a few weeks if the seeds haven’t grown.

Step 5: Prepare Your Pots

Put a seedling mix or germinating substrate in some pots that are about 15 inches in diameter. Then, put one germinated seed in each pot, being careful not to hurt the little root. Add about half an inch of dirt on top and water well.

Step 6: Monitor

Water the plants often and put them somewhere warm and shady to watch them grow. Once they are big enough and strong enough to go out into the yard with lots of leaves, move them to bigger pots.

**How to Grow an Apricot Tree from Seed**

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Step 7: Harden Off

Give them a little more sun every day before you plant them outside so they don’t get too used to the full sun in the yard. First give them an hour a day, then two hours, and so on, until they get used to it. The name for this process is “hardening off.” Protect your seedlings until you’re ready to put them outside.

Step 8: Pick a Planting Spot

If you want your peach trees to stay put all winter, you should plant them in the fall. After that, they’ll grow a lot of new leaves in the spring. You could also plant in the spring, when the ground is a little warmer.
Pick the spot for your tree with care. For them to flower well, they need at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunshine a day. This will also help them produce a lot of fruit.
You should choose a spot with loose, well-draining soil. Then, fill the planting hole with a lot of organic matter, like compost, and a slow-release fertilizer to give the plants a good start.
If you need to, stake your tree before you plant it so that you don’t hurt the roots later when you try to put the stake in the ground. Put two pegs on each side of the tree and use a figure-eight tie to connect them all. You can change the tie as the tree grows.
Keep the trees out of strong winds so the flowers don’t blow off before they can turn into fruit.

Step 9: Plant

Make a hole that is twice as deep and twice as big as the pot your sapling is in. Separate the dirt and the subsoil into two piles. Mix the compost and slow-release fertilizer into both piles well. Put the dirt pile back into the hole first to make it the right height. When you’re done, the tree’s stem should be at the same level it was in the pot.
Put the tree in the hole carefully, taking care not to damage it. Fill in the hole with more dirt as you go. Make a bowl around the tree to make the most of the water you have and make sure it gets enough.

Step 10: Water and Support

If you need to, stake your tree before you plant it so that you don’t hurt the roots when you try to put the stake in later. Put two pegs on each side of the tree and use a figure-eight tie to connect them all. This tie can be changed as the tree grows.
Strong winds should not be able to reach the trees, or the flowers will be blown off before they can turn into fruit.

Step 11: Maintain Healthy Growth as Tree Matures

As with all deciduous fruit trees, apricot trimming is probably the most critical maintenance task. Sunlight must reach the tree to develop flowers and fruit. Pruning the interior branches lets light into the tree. Late winter pruning is annual.
Remove any damaged or diseased branches and all branches crossing each other with a sharp saw, pruning shears, or loppers. Remove suckers from the stem base. To make a V-shape, select three to five strongest and healthiest branches and eliminate up to 25% of the rest. Make sure light enters the tree center.
In April, thin the tree when the fruit is grape-sized. Leave 6 inches around the remaining fruit to mature by cutting away branches. Though paradoxical, this will yield sweeter, better apricots. It also maintains trees healthy and productive.

Last Points

Spring apricots (Prunus armeniaca) have beautiful white and pink blossoms and tasty fruits. In perfect conditions, the trees grow 10-20 feet tall and provide more fruit each year. When a tree blooms, you can pick your first homegrown apricots in 100-120 days. A treat!

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