I recently plucked some smallish apricot from a heritage property near where I live in Hamilton, and would like some help identifying the variety. The apricots are smallish, and were growing from a very thin tree. Photos below. Also, I have saved about 8 seeds, and am interested in trying to germinate and plant these. Any help for this amateur fruit gatherer and would-be gardener is appreciated! I have heard of "apricot bushes" and was wondering if this was one. On other threads, I have read that it is best to either place seeds in a cool area, or to wait until the fall to seed these. When waiting until fall, how should the seeds be stored? Thanks!
Maybe it is itself a seedling, in which case it won't have a variety name. People spit out pits here and there, some survive to become trees. At any rate seedlings of it would not be the same clone. A variety name would only be applicable in the small number of instances where one was being used for a seed strain rather than a clonal cultivar, propagated by grafting so as to retain the cultivar characteristics.
Hi Ron, Thanks for your reply. The only thing that confuses me, however, is that the place where said apricot was plucked was a quite deliberately maintained heritage property, dating back to the Loyalist period (not that a seed could not be spit, of course, say, 7 years ago!) Other vintage plant varieties (i.e. of apples) are present on the property. So I wonder where this little guy came from!
It could be an old cultivar like Tilton or MoorPark. If you take some of the fruit to the folks at Harrow or Guelph they could help you. You could also try this website www.nafex.org What kind of apples are you growing there? It's always interesting to see if some of the old apples are rare hard to find heritage varieties. Cheers Kim Maser