I've hunted for apricots for years. To succeed, they have to bloom as late as possible and have resistance to the gummosis that attacks most apricots here. So far I've had my best results with some seedlings of an old heirloom "Mormon Chinese" apricot I got from someone in Arizona. Several of them bloom with Japanese plums and have enough disease resistance that I've gotten several good crops from some of the trees, far more than any other apricot. The trees have become overrun with blackberries, though, so they haven't had a lot of fruit in the last year or so. I'm working to clear my place after years of having to neglect it, so I have hope to get the apricots back in good shape.

I gave some of my selections to Todd Wilson's nursery in Monmouth, so he may have trees. I have his e-mail and address, if someone wants it off list. I don't want to post it so he isn't spammed.

This doesn't help FrozenNorth any, but dang - I just bought some apricot trees yesterday here in the Willamette Valley! Was wanting to get Puget Gold, which I'd heard was about the only one that really did okay in the damper air West of the Cascades; but the nursery I was getting them from was sold out of them - so I ended up with a pair each of Tilton & Moorpark. Was even able to sample fresh apricots off some of the Moorpark's in their inventory, pretty good though just a bit past! Really isn't the season to be planting, but at $6 a tree with a free one thrown in; hard to resist:) He threw in the extra tree to make it more likely that one would survive - these were unsold bare root trees that had been heeled into sawdust since spring, but still surviving despite it. The guy at the nursery was recommending against the Chinese / Mormon apricot, he didn't think it did as well here - though he raised them also; and after eating Moorpark's off the trees I was sold on them, having managed to fruit successfully despite adverse conditions!

Dave

Sure, I can do that - just be warned, all these trees were dug last winter and have been in bundles of 5 heeled into sawdust since then! So not in the best of shape, but they mostly seemed to be surviving even without care - think they are basically wastage because of the poor economy. But cheap!! You'll need to prune them back severely, and get them planted fast since they aren't potted - and some of the trees I got are big, will take a big hole.

The nursery is Amos Rich Nurseries Inc. amosrichnurseries@gmail.com
7705 SW Rood Bridge Rd, Hillsboro - (503) 648-5013 or cell 971-409-6552 (probably the best one to call); the nursery is actually at 2 yellow warehouses on the NW corner of Rood Bridge Rd, not at the house that a mapping program will show you. They're a wholesale nursery, but once the season is over (spring) will sell to the public; and right now the season is WAY over! Think they last posted the sale on Craigslist a couple of weeks ago, and probably won't be again this year.

I'll list the fruit trees that may be of interest to HOS people - they e-mailed me their inventory list, but that was as of 7 weeks ago, so it's changed downwards since! But they also have more than what they listed on Craigslist; also have lots of shade and landscaping trees...though not of interest to us of course; since they don't bear fruit!!!

Apples: Gala, Gravenstein, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Fuji, Yellow Delicious, Honeycrisp, Spartan, Jonagold
Cherries: Lapin, Rainier, Chelan, Black Tartarian, Royal Ann, Lambert, Van, Montmorency
Pears: 20th Century Asian, Hosui Asian, Bartlett, Shinsecki Asian
Apricots: Moorpark, Chinese Morman, Tilton
Plums: Satsuma, Santa Rosa, Green Gage, Italian Prune

Dave

The fellow at Oak Creek Orchard near Brownwood Texas (7B/8A) had done considerable research on late-blooming apricots, and has published multiple articles in Texas Gardener on same. I believe he also published a book on apricots.

Those who are not convinced that the northwest is the only place to grow fruit might learn something from Richard. see Link: http://www.oakcreekorchard.com/id68.html

I live in Corvallis, Oregon, and over the years have planted two apricot trees, one after the other, but in time each has failed, most likely due to poor drainage in our yard. We have planted a Purple Gage Plum, on Marianna 2624 rootstock, in this same area and it seems to be doing well.

As the Marianna 2624 rootstock is said to do very well on wet soils, this rootstock seems to be the only way that we might be able to have an apricot tree in our yard.

Is this graft possible, and if so, available?

I look forward to any help or guidance offered.

Thank you,

Robert H.