Fruit Hybrids, Explained: A Love Story from the Orchard

Relax for a minute while I tell you the story of a few of my favorite fruit hybrids. It starts in an orchard far, far away…

Apricot and Plum’s Love Story

When Apricot and Plum met that fateful day, they didn’t know that their love story would be one for the ages. Plum dangled dramatically from her branch just a few feet from Apricot. She was bold—decked out in deep purple-black skin—and always the life of the fruit bowl, though she could leave others puckering. Apricot, on the other hand, was sweet, soft, and shy, and couldn’t help but blush whenever Plum gave her a wink.

Day by day, the two fruits leaned a little closer, whispering sweet nothings through the breeze. They watched the harvest come for their neighbors and dreaded the moment they’d be separated. Then one afternoon, a blue jay swooped down and landed right on Plum’s branch. The jolt was just enough to shake Plum free, and she flung herself toward Apricot.

Down they rolled, bouncing through the orchard—together at last!

Soon, new trees began to appear: the fruit hybrids Aprium, Plumcot, and Pluot. Each child was sweeter than their parents and carried different pieces of them both.

• Aprium is most like Apricot. He’s a little fuzzy since he’s roughly ¾ Apricot and ¼ Plum.
• Plumcot is a perfect blend of her two parents, nicely balanced.
• Pluot is more like Plum: they have smooth skin and a sweet heart.

These fruit hybrids all grew to be big and bold in their own way, offering their own talents and flavors to the world.

Record Scratch: Is that Really How Fruit Hybrids Work?

“Mom,” my son says as he rolls over in bed, “is that true?”

“What do you think?” I ask.

“Well,” he starts slowly, considering his response, “usually people have to mix plants on purpose, like putting pollen from one on the other or sticking trees together. So I don’t really think Plum and Apricot could just magically make new fruits. Also, wouldn’t they get all squashed when they fell? Still… I guess it’s kinda romantic.”

“Sweet dreams, smarty pants,” I say as I kiss his head good night.

The Actual Science Behind Fruit Hybrids

My son was right, of course—fruit hybrids like apriums, pluots, and plumcots don’t appear like magic when two fruits fall to the orchard floor together. Instead, they pop up in nature when fruit varieties cross-pollinate, or on farms or in laboratories when humans help out with pollination.

That’s how these particular stone fruit hybrids came to be. More than a century ago, Luther Burbank crossed a plum and an apricot to create the plumcot. In the 1980s, Floyd Zaiger also experimented with crossing plums and apricots and created the pluot (which has more plum genes). He released the aprium (which has more apricot genes) soon after.

If you want to learn even more about fruit hybrids, we have a blog all about the hybrid process. It explains how hybrids differ from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). You can also check out our Citrus Family Tree and Apple Adventure Guide to see more examples of fruit hybrids and discover the parent varieties of your favorite fruits.

Want Delicious Hybrid Fruits for Your Office? 

The fruit mixes we deliver are just what you’re looking for. They’re often full of juicy hybrid fruits—including apriums, plumcots, and pluots in the summer; grapefruits and tangelos in the winter; and varieties of hybrid apples all year round. Browse our options to find the perfect fruit mix for your team. 

Welcome to the Chief Banana newsletter—weekly letters from the desk of The FruitGuys’ CEO. Find more Chief Banana newsletters here. To get Chief Banana in your inbox every week, fill out the “Subscribe to our Newsletter” form on this page.