rose crazy: I hope you managed to pick up and discard the apricots that fell from your tree, since fallen fruit around the tree is one of the major sources of insects and fungal activity that can affect your trees in subsequent years. Diagnosing a fruit problem such as yours by long-distance is largely dependent on your close observation of the problems so they can be accurately described, including the timeframe when they occur. Apricots are subect to damage from plum curculio (an insect), that is often followed by localized rot, and subequent falling of the fruit. Have you seen any insect activity on the developing fruits? "Brown rot" is a general description for fungal infections that enter the fruit, but they usually have to have a break in the skin to serve as an entry point. Apricots can also suffer from mildews, that grow on the skin in cool, damp conditions, then harden up which causes the fruit to fall. You may have insect problems, disease (fungal) problems, or a combination of both, which you may be able to overcome with a spray program of insecticides and fungicides. Have you ever sprayed your apricot trees with anything? Right now, you should be dormant spraying your apricot trees with a combination of dormant oil and copper to kill overwintering insects cases and fungal infections. It is difficult enough to grow apricots because of their early bloom and sensitivity to late freezes. Worse still is to get through this period successfully and lose a nice apricot crop because of a lack of timely spray treatments. If your apricots set a "ton" of fruit again this spring, make sure you thin them to about 3 inches apart on the twigs, then spray them on your first warm, calm day, and about every 10 days thereafter until harvest. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Thank you carol23, it looks like number one is horseweed. Horseweed is said to be good for diarrhea, dysentery and hemorrhoids. Since I have none of these afflictions, I'll be pulling it. I still don't know the identity of plants 3 and 4. Remy has recommended I remove plant 3, but I kind of like how it looks. Mytime has said that plant 4 resembles something from the Chenopodium genus. I was thinking it looks like Epazote, an herb from that genus. -Thanks, Matt

Yeah, other forum is best. But in short it's just like with citrus: not enough water being absorbed by the roots to supply the given amount of foliage. This could be under-watering or root-loss damage from transplant or over-watering (soggy roots). Let the other forum know if any environmental factors have changed (swings in temp or large amounts of sunlight now vs. before). Gently dig around the soil in various spots to determine if the soil is moist below the surface vs. just looking wet on top when you water. This can and does happen when the soil dries out too much and becomes hydrophobic and won't re-wet again very easily despite heavy watering.

Glad you took the advice to repost here :-) Fruit trees are NOT pruned in the same manner as ornamental trees are and pruning/training should begin while they are still quite young, ideally beginning at planting time, if they haven't been pruned previously by the grower. You do not need to take it down to 'knee level' but you do want to open the interior.....that's how the vase shape is developed. And remove all those lower twiggy stubs coming off the trunk, generally anything within 18" of the ground. It may seem counterproductive but it is not :-) Developing the proper form and growth habit for your tree is of far more importance than the early harvesting of fruit or maintaining a tree at a height that is currently not providing it much benefit. This is approximately what your tree should look like after pruning (far left diagram):