Stark® SweetHeart™ Apricot Tree

I can't answer this question specifically, but in my experience with fruit, canning saves the flavor, a little more work than freezing, but a better flavor and no freezer burn taste.

SweetHeart apricots are quite different than many other varieties. You can eat the delicious kernels of SweetHeart with no worries; they do not contain toxic elements.

There are among the best-tasting apricots out there - rich and intense, with a little tang. They make exquisite jam.

If you grow them, be sure to net the tree, even when the fruit is green. As one farmer noted, "The squirrels know, without reading the Stark Bro's catalog, that there are nuts inside there." It's worth the effort if you're a fan of good apricots, pus there's the bonus of the "almond" inside!

We are zone 6 (northeast WA) with severe winters--typically 3 feet of snow is on the ground from November until March/April where our SweetHeart is planted. Had the tree thru one winter and it is now beginning to sprout leaves. If you mulch heavy (we use 4"-6" loose straw) in late fall, your tree should survive a harsh winter. Use fruit tree specific fertilizer in spring to help "wake up" your tree from its winter dormancy.

This apricot tree performs well in areas with around 700 chill hours.

This variety has good general disease resistance, to mean it is not known to be highly susceptible to disease, but still you may want to keep a fungicide on hand to control things like brown rot in areas with cool, wet springs and high humidity during the growing season.

Planted my Dwarf Sweetheart apricot September 2016. It was a nice bare root tree and grew very fast; now, Sept. 2020, it is 12 feet tall with a 4 inch trunk. No fruit yet, but probably froze the buds this last spring, as we did not get any peaches either. Beautiful shaped tree with no pest or leaf damage so far.

Goldcot and Wilson are not only good pollinators, but great apricots in their own right.

Apricots are of the Prunus genus (stone fruits), and according to the Penn State Extension Service, they are tolerate of juglone, along with other fruits in the Prunus genus.

Are you getting a freeze after it blooms? I have a new tree after having one for many years did not produce fruit if had a hard frost after blooming. Only had 1 bloom this spring on new tree. Hoping next year will get 1st crop. You can cover tree to protect from cold if it is short amount of time that it is cold. When I was young my parents wod build fires between trees I orchard to help prevent freezing of fruit. Hope this helps. Loretta