Apricot, Harogem, Bare Root

Harogem Apricot (Prunus armeniaca)

Harogem is a Canadian apricot with a glossy red blush over orange skin and firm freestone flesh. It is useful for fresh eating and preserving when you want fruit that handles better than very soft apricots.

Key Characteristics

Firm, attractive fruit

The medium-sized fruit has orange flesh and a good balance of sweetness and acidity. Freestone flesh is convenient for halving, drying, or making preserves.

A later place within apricot season

Harogem ripens after some earlier apricots and was developed at Harrow, Ontario. It still blooms early compared with most orchard fruits, so choose a site that sheds cold air.

Useful tolerance, with ordinary care

Harogem is noted for useful tolerance to perennial canker and brown rot. Keep pruning wounds dry and remove mummified fruit rather than relying on resistance alone.

Pollination Partners

Self-fertile; a second tree is not required. For a broader harvest, consider Goldcot, Moorpark. Cross-pollination depends on overlapping bloom, not matching harvest months.

Rootstock and Mature Size

Plan for approximately 15–20 feet at maturity, depending on site and pruning. The offered variant identifies the rootstock; keep the graft union above soil level and remove rootstock suckers.

Product Details

• Sun: Full sun to light partial shade; full sun is best for fruiting.
• Soil: medium to medium-dry, well-drained soil; avoid standing water.
• Mature height: Approximately 15–20 feet; see rootstock and pruning guidance above.
• Bloom: Early spring; later within the apricot season; pink buds opening to white flowers.
• Fruit: Glossy red-blushed orange skin; firm orange freestone flesh with sweet-tart flavor.
• Uses: Fresh eating, drying, jam, and baking.
• Ripening: July–August
• Chill hours: A dependable cultivar-specific chill-hour figure has not been confirmed.
• Pollination: Self-fertile; no second tree required.
• USDA hardiness: Zones 5–8.

General Apricot Orchard Guidance

A good start

Choose well-drained soil and enough room for the mature tree. Water consistently while roots establish, mulch with space around the trunk, and keep vigorous grass and other competitors away from the young root zone.

Fertility and fruit-tree guilds

Use a soil test to guide lime and fertilizer rather than feeding heavily by default. Our Tree Planting Kit fertilizer blend is an optional planting supplement; keep concentrated fertilizer away from bare roots and avoid excess nitrogen.

Interested in permaculture and stacking functions around your fruit trees? Explore our fruit-tree guild guide for ideas on combining plants for flowers, ground cover, and mulch while giving your tree room to grow.

Practical pest and disease care

Apricots flower early, so choose a site with good cold-air drainage and avoid low frost pockets. Remove mummified fruit, prune for airflow in dry weather, and monitor for brown rot, bacterial canker, and fruit-feeding insects. Thin heavy crops and keep irrigation consistent as fruit develops.