Prunus armeniaca Seeds | Apricot
LATIN NAME: Prunus armeniaca
COMMON NAME: Apricot
Plant Profile
Prunus armeniaca, better known as Apricot, is a deciduous tree in the family Rosaceae. It grows steadily into rounded, spreading form, and it stands warm, dry summers and cool winters well. It likes sun, and deep, well-drained soil. The flowers are a welcome resource for bees and other pollinators through the season. Taken together, these traits make it a genuinely useful plant to know and to grow.
Science & Biotechnology
Botanists studying Rosaceae regularly include Prunus armeniaca in comparative work, and the species also appears in horticultural trials aimed at gardeners and growers. Apricot is never far from studies of warm-temperate stone fruits, and armeniaca species appears in work on early-ripening cultivars and golden-fruit chemistry. Modern seed-handling and propagation practice means growers can raise this species with confidence using ordinary good methods.
Uses & Benefits
Beyond its ornamental appeal, Apricot has the practical versatility that makes a plant worth growing from seed year after year. In warm orchard, apricot opens pale blossom into the first of the spring, then shades the golden fruits through the summer. Velvety fruits serve tables and drying racks, blossom feeds early bees, and tree makes fine orchard, garden tree and preserve fruit. It thrives in deep, well-drained, sunny ground. It settles in without fuss and thereafter needs only ordinary garden care.
The rose family’s great fruit genus gives plums, cherries, peaches, apricots and almonds, all carotenoid- and polyphenol-rich; in Chinese medicine the kernels and fruits, from Xing Ren for coughs to Yu Li Ren for regularity, are classical herbs, always processed to manage their cyanogenic compounds.
Growing from Seed
Raising Apricot from seed is straightforward. Use a loose, well-drained seed compost, sow evenly over the surface and cover lightly, and keep everything evenly moist in a sunny position. The seed responds well to a cool, moist stratification period, which helps it break dormancy evenly. After pricking out, grow the seedlings on in bright light and plant out when conditions suit.
Our Take
Apricot repays a little patience at sowing time with plenty of garden presence later.
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