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Prunus armeniaca ~ Blenheim Royal Apricot |
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The Blenheim Royal Apricot announces the real beginning of the fruit season in our garden in late May
or the first week in June. There are some strawberries and vegetables by this time of year, but a loaded
Royal Apricot tree warms me to the depths of my belly; Apricot tarts, apricot jam, apricot upside-down
cake and always a pleasure to eat out of hand straight from the tree. The Blenheim Royal Apricot is a
low chill fruit, though not really low chill enough to produce much fruit in coastal gardens except in
particularly cool microclimates. The Apricot fruit will often split or much of the fruit will drop if
the trees are watered while the fruit is in the last stages of ripening. Historically most of the Apricot
orchards in our area were dry farmed. Blenheim Royal Apricots in our area bloom in mid February. The success
of our season is largely dependent on the warmth of the weather during that week or two of blooms. If it is
warm enough for the bees to fly we get great crops. The temperature differences from one end of the Ojai Valley
to the other make for ripening times that spread over a month and a half. Fruit ripens on our Blenheim Royal
Apricot tree over a two week span.
High resolution images of the Blenheim Royal Apricot are available. |
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