Agree,..
I'm allot worse off when it comes to growing apricots..one's in about 3 to 4 years in average we can get some,..http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1880541/apricots-in-flower I grow a local Capilano, Sunrise and last year I grafted the supposedly late flowering Zard.

I do much better with plums..http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1888864/lets-talk-about-plum

nmfruit, so basically they will flower when ever the temperature gets the sap flowing again, regardless of night frost etc...

Can you delay the awakening of the trees? What about making a pile of snow around their stems, so that they are colder for longer??

In regards to the climate, I live at 60' north, but the climate is more like the north west US or like BC in Canada. It snows in december, quite cold and dark in winter (like Alaska). Febuary can see temperatures down to 0 F, but are on avarage more like 20 F. Spring from mid march with a thaw/frost cycle until mid april with the occational frost in may. Late spring and early summer is warm (for the sub-artic) with temperature in the 70'ies and lots of sunlight (all though the lux/lumens are not like in the tropics).

Other stone fruit like plums and cherries blossom in late april/early may and will produce very well...

Konrad, I'm going for two plum trees as well. This is quite normal here and they produce well. Going for Opal and Reine Claude Verte. Also trying som cold hardy peaches, which will survive the winter and have a later flowering.... Tart Cherries of the variety Fanal will produce massively here...

Also I want to try planting Beach Plum and Nanking Cherry as these plants look good and hopefully tastes good as well ??

In addition to this I'm planting a walnut tree (broadview) and a Mulberry (Illinois Everbearing).

All. With respect to seedlings vs. rootstock ?? any tips ??

Rootstock for what...Manchurian apricot seeds I would use for apricot stock, I'd try for Japanese plums also if I had lots.
Snow might help a little but it would help more if you insulate that pile of snow.

You'll probably find more information about delaying flowering in similar posts… Basically, snow won't do a thing, but shade will, likely by a few days. Physical protection from those late freezes during flowering is definitely the most common way to go, for commercial orchards also. Plastic tent with a lightbulb for heat is the most common...

Konrad,

I was thinking to use nematode resistant peach, like Nemaguard or Guardian?Or will the trees fare better on their own roots?

I can't grow peach here, sorry can't help you.

hmmm I guess you misunderstood. I meant that i would grow a resistant peach rootstock and graft the apricots over...

But then again, you give me the impression that apricot it self is a quite resilient tree, at least the Manchurian variety?

When it comes to apricots I'm a bit sceptical of the time and garden space I'll use, but I think I sould alt least try it... In case it works.

Have you ever heard of the Alpine apricot ? Prunus brigantina http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_brigantina It should thrive in a cold climate?? No ??

PS: My bet is that you can grow peach if you can grow apricot. There are some cultivars, namely Frost, Riga and Wunder von Perm amongst others, that can survive winters of 0F... I don't know how cold it gets in your area, but it seems quite like our climate http://www.yr.no/place/Canada/Alberta/Edmonton/statistics.html and people here can get peaches :)

I'm gonna try it... So in a couple of years I'll know.

Yes, Manchurian I would try, what I meant was for apricots, peaches would work but I don't think the grafting union is compatible, [bulding out].
No, have never heard of Alpine,..I'll check it out.
Your climate zone 5 - 6 is much different then my 3, we can get minus
45C.

Brrrrr.... Sounds cold....

I've found a few orchards/nurseries in central Europe that has had the Alpine apricot. http://www.fruitiers.net/fiche.php?NumFiche=2085

I'm gonna track it down, one way or the other : )

Hunza apricots sprouting from seed.......

I'm finding the is thread very interesting. I have never grown peach or apricot although they can be grown in Southern England, preferably against a south facing wall, although they remain borderline crops. I've seen peaches ripening in Southern Germany but their summers are much warmer than ours. The same applies to much of central Europe. Cold winters - hot summers. I'm quite curious about the notion that apricot could be grown outdoors in Norway. I would have thought the issue would be not so much winter cold as lack of summer heat and sun. Do I have the wrong idea about the climate?

Hello floral, my temperature extremes are -25C to +35C, but somewhere in between is the average highs and lows... Oslo and the coastal eastern areas, from the southern town of Kristiandsand to the border of Sweden, have a milder and warmer climate then the rest of Norway.

The further East the more continental climate with hot summer and cold winters. For ripening peaches and apricots it's all about the varieties and micro-climate. I live in a 6a/6b climate environment, though it can go down to 5b, but some years are 7a. So some years the spring frost will kill my flowers and some years I will get ripe fruit. Planting the tree in a sheltered location also helps I'm told.

I have almonds on a tree that is almost ripe, even with an extraordinary cold summer, so I think apricots will do fine.

Cultivar selection is key, late bloom, early ripen varieties.

I'm betting on Hunza and Manchurian.

I am amazed you get 35c in the Summer. You say ' So some years the spring frost will kill my flowers and some years I will get ripe fruit'. So have you already got some peaches or apricots which produce fruit?

This item mentions trials with Apricots. Maybe you could contact them? Fruit in Norway

As I say in the post, these are the extremes, not the average annual highs and lows. Last winter was -17.9 and we got around +28 as a high this summer. Usually we get a period of heat with tremperatures up to 30ish.

Apricots and peaches are sold at nurseries here... mostly 'tros oranje' for apricots and 'red heaven' peaches. Both are pretty bad for this climate. 'Frost' and 'Riga' peaches are ready available for the keen specimen hunter, but not really a lot of apricots, hence my experiment. As for my assumptions about ripening, a base this on my almond tree... A 'Robjin' with dupes that are opening now...

Hello r_f,

apricot varieties bred in Canada, western and mid Europe should be much better adaptable to Norway's wet climate than those from central Asia's dry climate. This is very important for the health and disease susceptibility of the tree, especially if you grow them from seeds on their own roots. In various German forums I often read about these central Asian varieties dying just after a few years of growth outside, but I did not read of a single case of a grown up tree or a tree that has fruited yet. I think that (without selection over many plant generations) these central Asian varieties have no chance to withstand our rather steady wet soils over extended periods of time.

The latest flowering variety with very good frost resistance of the bloom and good tree health that I know of is 'Kioto', but taste and flavour are not so satisfying. Cultivars that bloom just a little bit earlier (1-2 days) but still very late and that I would recommend are 'Bergeval', 'Harlayne', 'Bergeron' and 'Leskora', with the first two being the most suitable, imho. The last four apricots also show an exceptional resistance against strong cold spells in late winter, very low bloom susceptibility against late frost, and have a very good, balanced taste and flavour. If you have the chance to purchase one of these varieties, I would advise you to choose any type of Wangenheims rootstocks, i.e. 'Wavit', 'Waxwa' or 'Weiwa'. Good luck with your project!

Greetings from Germany

Michael T. H.

Spring frost is a problem on apricots, I had minus 3C in town when apricots were about 10 day's past flowering stage and most survived, in the City the Capilano did better, another bumper crop this year...

Capilano Apricot in flowers and...2016