You may have a shy-bearing kind of apricot, of which there are many, or
the trees may have grown too fast to hold the fruit, or the frost or
north wind may have blasted the bloom. Stop winter pruning, and summer
prune to prevent excessive growth; reduce irrigation; try to convince
the apricot that it is not a "green bay tree" and see what will happen.



Pruning Apricots.



In pruning apricots, if there should be a hollow center of a big branch
in center of a seven-year-old tree, should it be cut out with summer
pruning? Should heavy growing apricots be summer pruned? Would it be all
right to thin out a dense growth of wood in the prune trees in
September?

It is always desirable to cut below a hollow in a limb if possible.
Where, however, this would necessitate cutting below the desirable
laterals, the cavity may be filled with cement and thus rendered
serviceable for some years. Summer pruning of the apricot is desirable
if the growth is heavy and the tree has reached a bearing age. Thinning
out of prune trees can be undertaken in the autumn, providing the tree
has practically finished its growth, as indicated by the change in the
color and pose of the leaves.