North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Three Hills Farm" <organic@threehillsfarm.com>]

Are there any folks on the list growing Hunza apricots?    I'm interested in hearing how they've done here in the States.   I had three dozen different selections of these grafted last week and am going to see how they do here on the Maine coast.   It would be great to hear of people's experiences with these apricots, good and bad.   From what I've read, they generally bloom a few weeks later than domestic apricots, but they're not quite as productive and generally produce smaller fruit which lack the shelf-appeal of most domestic cultivars.    They can be amazingly sweet though.   A few of these apricots have even tested into the low 30's in Brix.   Mine were all budded onto Torinel (a hybrid of Prunus domestica 'Reine Claude 994' x 'Reine Claude de Bavay' ) which allegedly will increase their productivity.   I learned recently from a grower in zone 4a MN that his trees recently survived a -29F winter, which may make them of interest to growers in colder climates.   I visited Hunza for a month back in 2000 and ate a ton of them dried.   They're amazing, as is this part of Pakistan.  

 

Drop me a line if you have any info to share, ok?  Thanks.

 

John A Gasbarre
Three Hills Farm
Union, Maine  USA
organic@threehillsfarm.com

44° 15' 47" N / 69° 18' 42" W