Sorry but sulfur does NOT convert to gypsum!! These are two separate chemical compounds (well, sulfur not exactly a compound but the same intent.) If you are using sulfur to reduce soil pH, that's one thing but it needs to be applied well in advance of planting to be effective. My understanding of the avoidance of using sulfur sprays on 'cots is due to phytotoxicity. This would not be a concern with a soil application but I would avoid planting immediately after amending the planing hole with sulfur. Many chemical elements can cause issues if they come into direct contact with plant roots.

Sam if it's not your pic, do you know for sure it was taken last weekend? Anyhow, I'm glad they are blooming down there. Changing the topic newbie, but do you have any Mahonia X medias? They also provide color at this time of year. I'm planning on introducing one via Camellia Forest but it won't be ready for a few years. (Oh lord. Mahonia x media is now Berberis × hortensis )

Well the Bakers is slow to flower this year which is a good thing. I pruned it back quite a bit. Likely 2 feet of growth was taken off some of the branches. I'll post a picture later this summer if all goes well. A family member did some digging on the root stock topic. "1) Gov't of Ontario warns against grafting apricots onto myrobalan plum rootstock: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/02-035.htm 2) But what exactly are myrobalan plums? See here: https://homeguides.sfgate.com/rootstocks-plum-trees-28928.html 3) But is the Mustang cherry plum rootstock a myrobalan plum (Prunus cerasifer)? See here: https://sherwoods-forests.com/Trees/Food_Forests/Stone_Fruit/CherryPlum.html Notice in the above article that chums require well-drained soil. 4) So Jeffries Nurseries' patented Mustang cherry plum rootstock (Prunus x 'Jefchum') is apparently a hybrid obtained from crossing a sand cherry (Prunus besseyi) with a plum of some kind, maybe not even a myrobalan plum. So perhaps what is said about the myrobalan rootstock is only partially applicable to the Mustang x 'Jefchum' rootstock, which because of the sand cherry parent would have some genetic differences from strictly myrobalan. And you have well drained soil for certain, which should keep the Mustang plum rootstock happily supporting your 'Bakers Gold' scion--we can hope."

I'm not entirely sure about almond, but I think it is likely almond and apricot may be able to pollinate each other, to be able to result in fruit production on the tree. That is not, however, necessarily the same thing as being able to produce hybrid seed that will be viable. I did quickly pull up one article, in the American Society for Horticultural Science, where some Chinese claim they made a hybrid between almond and apricot, and importantly it was just regular hybridization (without any special embryo rescue technique). ‘Jingren 6’: An Apricot-almond Hybrid Cultivar with Large Sweet Kernels (2025) Hybrids can definitely form between peach and almond, some have been used as rootstocks.