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— COMMERCIAL CATALOG —
Apricots
Tree fruit varieties offered by Dave Wilson Nursery are selected for their appearance, firmness, good shipping characteristics and desirable flesh quality. Approximate ripening dates (for the Fresno, California area), chilling requirements and patent information are listed for each variety along with any special traits.
See also Aprium® Interspecific Apricots .
Apricot & Aprium® Maturity Chart
Fruit & Nut Maturity Chart 2017 (full chart)
Rootstocks available for pre-bud orders: Nemaguard, Lovell, Marianna 26-24, Marianna M-40, Myro 29C, Citation, Viking™
Growers: ask your sales rep about new apricot varieties and experimentals from Zaiger Genetics.
Symbols: see bottom of page
Apache apricot, developed by the Agricultural Research Service in California, features a mild flavor and pleasing aroma. Average in size with an attractive pinkish-orange skin covering the freestone orange flesh which is smooth and finely textured. Ready to harvest in the first week of May, stores and ships well. Apache requires a pollenizer such as Katy or Castlebrite.
A good, all-purpose freestone, the Blenheim apricot is a medium-sized, sweet, aromatic fruit with very good flavor. Early blooming, self-fruitful, ripens in late June. Estimated chilling requirement 500 hours.
Ripening just before the Patterson apricot, Bonny is a medium-sized, firm fruit with excellent flavor, well suited for canning or shipping. The tree is vigorous and very productive. (U.S. Plant Patent No. 11307)
The Brittany Gold apricot was introduced by Zaiger's Genetics as a medium-sized, late-season selection that ripens in the last two weeks of June. This large, firm apricot features a sweet flavor, uniform yellow color and juicy, freestone flesh. The self-fruitful tree is large and vigorous with a semi-upright growth habit. (U.S. Plant Patent No. 13504)
With a harvest time beginning in late May, the semi-sweet Castlebrite apricot is a reliable, early bearing variety that produces bright orange fruit with a slight red blush. The medium-sized, firm fruit offers acceptable flavor, although very tart, unless fully ripe. This self-fruitful apricot has an estimated chilling requirement of 500 hours.
Ripening in the 3rd to 4th week of May, with or slightly ahead of Castlebrite, the freestone Earlicot is a large, highly-colored orange fruit with firm texture and very good flavor. The vigorous, upright tree bears reliably when planted with a pollenizer such as Katy.
Similar to Goldstrike in fruit characteristics and mid-June ripening time, the Goldbar apricot produces very large, light yellow-orange fruit with red blush. The freestone flesh is light orange, very firm and meaty, and very sweet with some acidity near the skin. A pollenizer such as Goldstrike is required. Estimated chilling requirement 800-1200 hours.
Goldstrike is a regular and productive bearer of large-size, firm fruit featuring light orange skin with a red blush and exceptionally high-colored orange flesh. The fruit is acidic until fully ripe when it presents excellent eating and shipping qualities. This freestone variety ripens approximately one week ahead of Patterson in mid-June. A pollenizer such as Goldbar is required. Estimated chilling requirement 800-1200 hours.
Ripening in the 4th week of May, the Katy apricot features large, firm, freestone fruit with a pleasing sub-acid flavor. A long-time favorite apricot for warm-winter climates, Katy is self-fruitful and has an estimated chilling requirement of 400 hours.
The Lorna apricot is prized as a very large, early ripening variety. Harvest begins the last week of May when the yellow fruit is moderately sweet. Although the tree can be weak, it is self-fruitful and a good producer.
Named after the apricot capital of the world, Patterson, California, this apricot is a standard cannery variety with firm, all-purpose fruit. Medium-sized and offering good flavor, Patterson is well suited for shipping, drying, or fresh use. The heavy-bearing, self-fruitful tree is vigorous and reliably productive. Harvest mid to late June. Estimated chilling requirement 600 hours.
One of the earliest apricots, Poppy is larger than other early-season apricots and offers a subtle aroma, firm flesh and pleasing flavor. The freestone fruit has a light yellow to pale orange skin cover and ripens in the 3rd week of May, 5 to 7 days ahead of Castlebrite. The self-fruitful tree grows vigorously to a large, semi-spreading form that bears regularly and heavily.
Ripening in the first weeks of June, Robada is a jumbo freestone apricot well suited to shipping. Robada features attractive skin color with a red blush. The deep orange flesh offers a pleasant balance of natural sugars, acids, and aromatic flavors. The tree is typically vigorous and productive with an open, spreading growth habit. A pollenizer such as Patterson or Castlebrite is required.
This large, firm freestone for the very late season has especially good flavor and eating quality, with a good balance of acid and sugar. Summer Cot also stores well and has good handling and shipping characteristics. The consistently productive tree (7 consecutive years) has a semi-spreading growth habit. Harvest in August. This variety is self-fertile and has an estimated chilling requirement of 850 hours. (U.S. Plant Patent No. 23864)
The large Tri Gems apricot is a very firm-fleshed fruit that ripens ahead of Patterson, in early June. Best known for maintaining good shape and texture in a canned product, Tri Gems is a golden yellow freestone with a pronounced aroma. The vigorous tree bears regularly on semi-spreading branches.
Packing Variety, recommended for new plantings in the Fresno area. Within their harvest season, these varieties have demonstrated superior overall quality with respect to size, color, firmness, flavor, yield, storage and shipping. Used for apricot, cherry, nectarine, peach, plum and interspecific fruit types.
Farmers Market Favorite™: varieties that have demonstrated, where adapted, consistent production of especially desirable, high-flavored fruit for local farmers market/fruit stand distributiion.
Zaiger Variety: developed by Zaiger's Inc. Genetics of Modesto, California. Dave Wilson Nursery is the exclusive U.S. licensor and primary propagator.
Note: Fruit and nut varieties in the Commercial Catalog are offered exclusively to commercial growers in commercial quantities for the purpose of commercial fruit and nut production. Products in this catalog are not offered for resale.
