Ever finish eating a succulent apricot, ready to toss the pit away, and think, hmm, this is a seed. Do you wonder, “Can you plant an apricot seed?” If so, how do I go about planting apricot pits? Find out in this article and give it a go.
Can You Plant an Apricot Seed?
Query no more. Yes, growing apricots from seed is possible, cheap, and fun. So, how to start an apricot tree from a pit? Growing apricots from seed is an easy project and, in fact, pits from a variety of fruit can be used to grow trees. Cross pollination between varieties begets uncertain results, so most fruit trees are not grown from seeds. Instead, cuttings or buds of the most favorable specimens are grafted onto rootstock to produce trees that are near carbon copies of the parent trees. These grafted trees are then sold to you for a pretty penny. In the case of not only apricots, but peaches and nectarines, the hard almond-like seeds generally tend to carry on the most desirable traits of the parents. You are still taking a chance, but regardless, the growing part is lots of fun, even if the resulting fruit is less than stellar.
How to Start an Apricot Tree from a Pit
To begin your apricot seed planting, choose a luscious mid- to late-season type of apricot, ideally one that was grown from seed itself. Eat the fruit; actually eat a few to raise the chances of germination, and save your pits. Scrub any flesh off and lay them out on newspaper for three hours or so to dry. Now you need to get the seed out of the pit. Use a hammer gingerly on the side of the pit to crack it. You can also use a nutcracker or vise. The idea is to get the seed out of the pit without crushing it. If you are in doubt that any of these methods will work for you, as a last resort, you can just plant the entire pit but germination will take longer. Once you have retrieved the seeds, allow them to dry on the newspaper for a few more hours. You can now store them in a cover jar or zip-top plastic bag in refrigerator to stratify the seeds for 60 days. Whether to stratify or not depends on where you obtained the fruit. If purchased from a grocery store, the fruit has already been cold stored, so it is less likely to need to stratify; but if you bought them from a farmers market or plucked them directly from a tree, it is necessary to stratify the seeds. If you are not going to stratify the seeds, wrap them in a clean, damp paper towel and place them in a plastic bag in a window. Keep an eye on it. Water as needed to keep it moist and change the paper towel if it begins to mildew.
Apricot Seed Planting
Planting time for apricot seeds from pits is signaled once you see some roots emerge. Pot the sprouting seeds. Put one seed per 4-inch pot filled with potting soil with the root end down. Keep the growing apricots from seed in a sunny window, under grow lights or in a greenhouse until they get bigger and it is time to transplant them out into the garden. With luck and patience, you will be rewarded with sweet, juicy apricots from your own tree in three to five years.
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FAQs
It is advisable to carefully crack open the pit with a pliers, nutcracker, or vise, and extract the seed. Plant it 1-2 inches deep in a fast-draining soil mix and, having been chilled, it should sprout within a few weeks. Thus, you should not have any problem germinating your apricot seeds.
How to start an apricot tree from a pit? ›
As long as you know the proper steps, you can use that pit to plant your very own apricot tree.
- Remove the seed from the apricot pit. ...
- Allow the apricot seed to germinate. ...
- Plant the seed in early spring. ...
- Choose a sunny location with enough room for the tree to grow. ...
- Plant the seed in well-drained, loamy soil.
Place the seeds on top of the moistened coir or paper towel and seal the jar or plastic bag. Place it in the refrigerator. The temperature should be between 32 and 45°F (0 and 7°C). After 4-6 weeks your apricot seeds should have sprouted enough to plant in pots for growing on.
Do you need to dry an apricot seed before planting? ›
The idea is to get the seed out of the pit without crushing it. If you are in doubt that any of these methods will work for you, as a last resort, you can just plant the entire pit but germination will take longer. Once you have retrieved the seeds, allow them to dry on the newspaper for a few more hours.
Will an apricot tree grown from a pit produce fruit? ›
From seed, trees will produce in 3-5 years from seed about half the time of a normal or typical seedling apricot.
How long does it take for an apricot seed to grow into a tree? ›
Keep the growing apricots from seed in a sunny window, under grow lights or in a greenhouse until they get bigger and it is time to transplant them out into the garden. With luck and patience, you will be rewarded with sweet, juicy apricots from your own tree in three to five years.
Should you soak apricot seeds? ›
Apricot kernels are safe to consume when they are processed properly to remove harmful substances, such as by soaking, boiling, or deskinning. The way Chinese soups and desserts are typically prepared removes more than 90% of the latent cyanide in apricot kernels, allowing them to be consumed safely.
Do you need two apricot trees to produce fruit? ›
Apricots are self-fruitful, meaning that they may be pollinated by pollen from another flower on the same tree, or in the case of apricots, by pollen from the same flower. The transfer of pollen from one variety to a different variety of the same type of tree is called cross- pollination.
Can apricot trees grow in pots? ›
Transplanting Apricot Saplings into Pots
Position the plastic flower pots in a sunny spot. Apricots require plenty of sunlight to thrive and bear fruit. Stake the sapling if needed to provide support against strong winds. Regular care is key for your apricot tree to flourish.
How often do you water a newly planted apricot tree? ›
Newly Planted Trees
In fact about 5 gallons of water (one large bucket) about 1-3 times a week is adequate. This frequency depends on your soil type (e.g. sandy or loamy), tree size (e.g. dwarf or semi-dwarf) and weather. For example if it rains all week, then you don't need to water.
Fertilizing is an excellent way to replenish the nutrients in your soil, especially nitrogen. Nitrogen encourages green vegetative growth, which is exactly what you want to promote before your apricot tree reaches its fruit-bearing years.
How do you prepare an apricot pit for planting? ›
It is advisable to carefully crack open the pit with a pliers, nutcracker, or vise, and extract the seed. Plant it 1-2 inches deep in a fast-draining soil mix and, having been chilled, it should sprout within a few weeks. Thus, you should not have any problem germinating your apricot seeds.
Can I grow apricots indoors? ›
Apricot trees can be grown indoors in a pot, but they rarely flower and fruit inside. If you want to harvest fruit from an apricot tree, it is best planted outdoors.
What type of soil do apricot trees like? ›
Apricots prefer fertile, slightly acidic, sandy loam free of alkali or salinity. After planting in winter/spring and watering initially, use rainfall as a guide to keep the soil moist. Apricots require irrigation during the growing season and summer months.
How to grow an apricot tree from cuttings? ›
Select a branch with three or four leaf buds and cut it at a 45-degree angle. Strip any leaves from the bottom half of the cutting, but leave a few on the top half. Fill a pot with peat moss or damp sand, moisten the cut end of the cutting, and dip it in rooting hormone before burying it several inches deep in the pot.
Do you need two apricot trees to get fruit? ›
While many apricots are self-fertile, generally a pollination partner will increase the size and quality of the harvest.
How do you plant a bare root apricot tree? ›
Dig a hole 2-3 times as wide as roots extend but only to the same depth as the longest root, never deeper. A shallow hole prevents the tree from sinking too low. Fill the hole with water, allow it to drain, then fill again. If it takes longer than 3 or 4 hours to drain, the site is not adequate.
