Helena du Roussillon® apricot trees

• Check pollinators >

• Picking season: Late
• Self-fertility: Self-fertile

A traditional French apricot variety, grown in the Languedoc-Roussillon area.

Helena du Roussillon apricot trees for sale

Helena du Roussillon is a late-ripening French apricot, with a firm juicy flesh when fully ripe. The skin is a light orange flecked with red.

This is a good variety for eating fresh, having less acid content and more sugar than most apricots.

How to grow

Helena du Roussillon usually flowers in late March in the UK, which is slightly later than average. Like most apricots the blossom is pretty but short-lived - around 6 days. It is reliably self-fertile and generally disease-resistant.

For best results in the UK this variety must be grown in a sheltered spot in full sun, and generally does better in drier areas - you should aim to try to recreate a bit of the Mediterranean in your garden. Like all apricots the tree is cold-hardy, but for successful fruit production it needs good weather in early spring, and cold weather in late autumn.

As with many apricot varieties, if spring weather is good, the tree will frequently set too many fruitlets. Although this is a vigorous variety, it is important to thin the crop immediately after flowering has finished. Like most apricots this variety is drought-tolerant once established - but make sure you keep it well watered for the first few years.

Advice on fruit tree pollination.

Helena du Roussillon characteristics