Jess,

Are the buds swelling any at all? If not, it may be dead.
I know that your plant was sick last year and that you had drainage issues as well and the combination of the two could have been lethal.

If the buds are showing any swelling, the tree probably is still alive or more-or-less alive, although perhaps not thriving.

Using your fingernail or a nail file or a small paring knife, GENTLY scrape a small section of bark....just a small area, maybe 1/8" wide by 1/2" long. You don't have to go deeply at all (and, in fact, don't want to hurt the tree with a deep scrape)...just about the depth of a hair or two. Underneath the top layer of bark, do you see a thin green layer with a whitish/tannish/yellowish layer of living wood beneath it? If so, the tree is probably still alive.

If there is no green and the wood looks dead, it is probably good-by tree.

BUT, there also is a chance it froze back to the ground. If it did, wait and see what, if anything, resprouts. Since most fruit trees are grafted onto a different rootstock though, the tree that sprouts may be the rootstock tree and not the apricot.

Here, our plum trees are in full bloom but the peach trees and apricots are not even close and show only relatively minor swelling of the buds. (Plus, I am way down south so my trees should be significantly ahead of yours.) So, it could be the tree is fine and you'll know in a couple of weeks. If the buds are not swelling at all by mid-March, then I'd be concerned.

Dawn

Thanks Dawn, It is green under the bark, but there is not budding yet. So it looks like it made it.

I forgot to mention that sometimes trees will retain that green for a while after they die, so just seeing the green is not a guarantee that the tree is alive. Remember, in gardening, there are very few "rules" that are cut-and-dried. That's why I hate to use the terms "always" or "never" in relation to gardening, because there is an exception to every rule!

Still, the green is a good indicator. I think that in all the years I've gardened, I've only had one plant that I thought was dead....but then it did show green, so I thought it was alive, but then it wasn't. I'm a little concerned that no buds are swelling, but sometimes they do that. You're in zone 6, also, so I'd expect your trees would still be dormant even those ours are leafing out and blooming.

My peach, necterine and apple trees all have buds. Only the apricot is bud free. Sad to hear that green doesn't always mean it is alive. I know that The very tips of the branches, or at least a couple of them were brittle and so broke off easily. other branches bend at tips

Do you know which variety of Apricot you planted? The one I see most commonly sold in stores here in our part of Oklahoma is Moorpark or Moorpark Gold.

My neighbor's Apricot tree is about 20 years old and it is in very heavy, slow-draining clay so I suppose they may be able to handle heavy, wet soil better than I thought?

I really think your yard's drainage issues may be the reason the apricot tree seems to have struggled. If it doesn't survive and you decide to replant, you might want to try to find a spot that sits a little higher than the surrounding grade, if you have a spot like that.

The front yard drains pretty well, and that is where I planted it.

I am so excited. The tree has buds on it now, and my peach tree has one blossom so i took a photo of my firt fruit tree in bloom.

Our apricot trees & nectarines are usually the first to bloom. Which for the apricot is the biggest problem because it often gets blasted by a freeze (although last year was a bumper crop!). For me, I give all trees that "act dead" a good 3 years before I call the time of death (I have faith!). As for trees that do die, but maybe their rootstock grows, sometimes I even let that live because although you won't get decent fruit, or even edible fruit, sometimes the tree will still flower beautifully in the spring & have lovely leaves as well.