Moorpark Apricot

Prunus armeniaca 'Moorpark'

fruit

Moorpark is the classic English heirloom apricot, prized since the 1600s for its honeyed orange flesh, lively apricot tang, and intoxicating perfume. The fruit ripens unevenly over several weeks rather than all at once, spreading out the harvest. Self-fruitful and a strong pollinizer for other apricots, Moorpark is widely considered one of the best for fresh eating, jam, and drying.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Comfrey — Mineral-mining mulch that returns potassium to surface roots
• Chives — Repels aphids and may help suppress brown rot around the trunk
• Yarrow — Hosts predatory wasps that hunt peach twig borer and aphids
• White Clover — Living mulch that fixes nitrogen below the canopy and feeds early-spring pollinators

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Brown rot →

  Remove mummified fruit in dormant season, prune for airflow, and pick fruit promptly before it softens on the branch

• Peach twig borer →

  Apply dormant oil at bud swell, and consider Bt sprays at petal fall and again at first cover

• Plum curculio →

  Apply kaolin clay at petal fall, jar the trunk over a sheet at dawn, and pick up early drops

• Bacterial canker →

  Avoid pruning during cold wet weather, summer-prune instead, and paint the trunk with white latex to limit sunscald cracks

🌾 Harvest & storage

Moorpark ripens over four to six weeks in late July and August. Pick each apricot when the orange background flushes red and the fruit yields to gentle thumb pressure. Eat fresh within a few days, or halve, pit, and dry at 135F for 24 to 36 hours for an excellent dried apricot. The variety jams beautifully because of its high pectin content.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

About 48 calories per 100 g with 2 g fiber, 10 mg vitamin C, 259 mg potassium, and 1926 IU vitamin A. Apricots are exceptionally rich in beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A for eye and immune health.

⚠️ Toxicity & safety

Eat the flesh, not the pit. The kernel inside the pit contains amygdalin, a cyanide-releasing compound - discard the pits and never eat or crush the seeds inside.