This is a handsome tree; it is large and spreading, high vigor, and it puts out a showy bloom. Sugar Pearls™ is a new cultivar, and complete data is not yet available, but reports suggest that it is broadly disease resistant. In our orchard, we have found that it is slightly slower to produce than other apricot varieties (taking five years to bear), but it is very productive once it begins to crop. The tree blooms late, and it should be planted with another late-blooming apricot for pollination. Suitable partners include Harlayne, Harogem, Hargrand, and Jerseycot.

Ripening midseason, about a week after Harcot, the fruit is smallish and elliptoid, and the cream-colored flesh is smooth and melting. The flavor is, well, mind blowing, and this apricot has quickly become a favorite at our farm. Our nursery manager describes it as "the best apricot in the universe," while Chrys in the office came up with the more poetic "ambrosial." Sugar Pearls™ is very, very sweet, but the sweetness has an appealing, rich character that is most often described as honeyed. In Fruit Notes 2016, Dr. Frecon of Rutgers says it is "one of the best pieces of fruit I have ever eaten in 50 years of evaluations." This one is a winner.

Sugar Pearls™ was developed by J. Goffreda at Rutgers and introduced in 2005.