dad had one here in MI for 20 years.... only twice did it set fruit ... the blooms are extremely touchy in terms of temps .. the slightest frost will make the flowers abort ... so that would be the simple suggestion as to why it fruited one year.. and perhaps not the next ... even in CA .... [any recollection of the citrus folks going crazy.. the year it did not set fruit????] i would suggest that a 2 year history is not enough info to jump to any conclusions ... and surely not a reason to leap to pruning to solve the problem... which it wont.. if it was a temp issue .... also.. pruning for fruit production.. usually does NOT make for a pretty tree .... if you are not the owner.. its really not your problem ... and i dont know why you would want to interject the topic into your landlord/lessee relationship .... the tree is grossly large for such a tiny space ... if you consider that the root mass could be twice as large as that above.. you wonder where it is getting water and air ... as compared to all that concrete ... at least its not a 100 tree.. that will crush the house ... killing you in your sleep ... if it fails.. it should not do that much damage .. and its not your problem anyway ... if i were the landlords ins agent.. i might not be happy about the risk ... also.. sooner or later.. there is the possibility .. that it might cause those walls to fail ... the only issue being.. in whose lifetime ... lol ... i only bother to mention all this.. because you had a thirst for knowledge.. bottom line.. i would not invest anything in this tree .. and be saving money for future removal ... as even i dont think i could get it out of there safely/easily ... i have 5 acres.. and CA lot sizes mystify me ... thats quite a front yard you have there.. lol ... but at least you have one.. compared to apartment folks.. if i had that tiny a spot.. i would have some type of potted collection of plants to play with ... rather than two 20 foot trees ... have a great day ... ken

Some nurseries(Dave Wilson) and other growers say to cut the trunk off at about knee high,when planting a bare root fruit tree.This gives the roots better early development and allows a person to choose the scaffold height and arrangement somewhat. I just planted 10 bare root stone fruit trees and the branches came shortened,at about eight inches or less,for shipping purposes and the trees themselves were about five feet tall.I could have cut them down,but decided to use the short branches as the scaffolds and left about three to five on,pointing at different directions from each other.The tops were cut off the main trunk when needed,so that the highest branch was about a half inch from the top of the tree. The trees are growing fine and with this method,I might gain a little time for fruiting.In fact a few of the trees have one or two pieces. Trees can really be grown the way a person wants them,as far as height and shape goes.Personally,I'd grow an Apricot tree with an open center. Brady

Yes, I have another ('Goldenglow' dwarf) new one planted similar to the old one- the old variety ( 'Goldenglow' dwarf) is no longer available in the U.S now I guess. I just was curious as to whether I could prune this 'ancient' one back to get more new growth or if I would kill it by doing so?! We are not real fans of apricots as were not fond of most having rather dry, bland flavors but this one has had such great tasting apricots ... juicy & flavorful! Hopefully the new one close to the same variety will also be great. All our fruit trees began flowering very early this year as we have had such mild weather (zone 7/ 5280 ft.) but we have had frosts in early May some years so not getting our hopes (or appetites!) up yet!! We planted a 4-in-1 dwarf apple tree years ago but after 8 years of NO blossoms or fruits we gave up & cut the tree down ... ONLY to find on the tree now cut & laying on the ground: ONE apple that had formed among the dense leaves that year :( Now we jokingly planted one of those 'Fruit Cocktail' 6-in-1 grafted trees. SURPRIZE!! this the third year, it has 4 different branches in bloom (some white blossoms, some shades of pink). Anxious to see what fruit now develops! :) Thanks for your ideas & suggestions .... will maybe try to prune back just a couple of the branches of the old tree this summer after the fruit is gone to see what develops on that branch later in the season ..... or next year.

First, it is very difficult to tell someone how to prune fruit trees :-) This is something that is much better witnessed in person.....I find even videos are lacking in good, clear info in this regard (and many of them are just wrong and not worth the time it takes to view). And different types of fruit trees require a different approach, both in structuring the tree and to encourage fruiting. I agree that the tree looks like it has never been pruned. And that complicates things as fruit tree pruning should start right after they are first planted and then addressed annually thereafter. Personally, I would try to locate someone in your area that is skilled in growing and caring for fruit trees and get their one-on-one advce and help. If you really want to attempt this on your own, then read as much apricot pruning info online as you can find....and go ahead and watch the videos, understanding that if they differ in their methods significantly from published info from the extension service, tree sellers or orchardist and arborists, then it might not be info you should take literally :-) The first thing I would do is remove the righthand branch of that front fork at the branch collar. There seems to be some additional congestion and narrow crotching to the lower far right but your photos are not clear. The intent is to form a spreading structure with main branches emerging at 10 and 2 o'clock.......yours are all pointing to noon!! And you can head back those long branches as well, cutting at an angle just above an outward facing bud. Again, the intent is to form a spreading branch canopy and pruning above an outward facing bud will encourage that sort of growth. Don't take too much off at once. At the most, only remove a third of the branch volume (1/4 is better) in a single season. and I wouldn't remove a lot of the little lateral twigs/branches. These are what will generate the leaves, buds and fruit. But if you can, hire a pro to do it for you while you watch and learn :-)