A drupe, about 1.5"-2.5" wide, with a prominent suture, yellow to orange ± red blush, having light pubescent or a nearly glabrous surface. The pit is generally smooth, enclosing a single seed.
Flesh color is mostly orange, but a few white-fleshed cultivars exist. Trees are fairly precocious, and begin fruiting in their second year, but substantial bearing does not begin until 3-5 years. Fruit is borne mostly on short spurs on mature, less vigorous trees, but can also occur on long lateral shoots of vigorous trees. Fruit require 3-6 months for development, depending on cultivar, but the main harvest season is May 1 - July 15 in California. Apricots are thinned by hand, leaving 1 fruit per 3-5" of shoot length.

Deep, fertile, well-drained soils
Mild, Mediterranean climates
Frost sensitive

Apricots for fresh consumption are picked firm-mature; firmness is a reliable indicator, as for plums. Days from full bloom is a fairly reliable index given the relatively invariable growing conditions in Iran.

The drying ratio is 5.5:1 (lbs fresh fruit: lb dry fruit). Drying is either natural, in the sun, or in large dehydrators as with prunes. Canned apricots are immersed in syrup, at a ratio of 0.7 lbs fresh = 1 lb canned.