Westcot Apricot

Overview

Westcot is another standout cold-hardy prairie variety from Manitoba, bred for tough northern climates. Like Morden 604, it’s a cross between ‘Scout’ and ‘McClure’, but was introduced later in 1982 by Agriculture Canada at Morden, MB.

Cold Hardiness & Climate Adaptation

Hardy to: -48°F (proven in Bemidji, MN). Zone: 2. Bloom time is just before Debbie’s Gold. Second only to Sunrise (hardy to -50°F+) in terms of extreme cold resilience amongst named varieties (that we know of).

Self-Fertile & High-Yielding

Self-fertile, so no pollination partner is required, although greater yields may be obtained if planted with Debbie's Gold, Sungold, Morden 604, or some of the other Prairie Province apricots.

From Bob Purvis:

“Westcot is sweet (18° Brix), with yellow-orange skin, good for fresh eating and firm enough to can. Tree vigor is moderate, growth habit is irregular but can be trained with spreaders. Average production on two 9-year-old trees in SW Minnesota was 200 lb/tree in 2010.”

Ripens in mid-July in southern Minnesota. In Missoula, it ripens anywhere from last week of July to first week of August. In Homedale, it was ripe when we filmed our "Cold Climate Apricot Growing with Bob Purvis" on July 8th 2024.

Fruit Qualities

Flavor: Sweet, 18° Brix

Texture: Firm enough for canning

Skin color: Yellow-orange

Uses: Fresh eating, canning, and potentially drying

Tree Details

Rootstock: Grafted onto cold-hardy Manchurian apricot, which can reach up to 25 feet if left unpruned.