How to grow an apricot

Apricot is one of the most popular fruits in our country. Everyone remembers its fruits with a delicate velvety skin and fragrant sweet pulp from childhood. Previously, apricot trees grew exclusively in southern latitudes. Now, many varieties have been bred that are able to winter in more northern regions.

Apricot varieties

For cultivation in areas of the middle lane, special varieties this culture, which are distinguished by such qualities as winter hardiness and self-fertility. They successfully cope with thaws and frosts. These varieties include:

• Lel is self-fertile and ripens early. Its yield is low, no more than 20 kg from one tree. But provided that other varieties of apricots are grown in the neighborhood, this figure can be increased. This variety has orange fruits weighing about 20 g. They ripen at the end of July. The tree begins to bear fruit in the third year.

• The Tsarsky variety also has a low yield of up to 30 kg per tree. The ripening time of its fruits, weighing up to 20 g, falls on the beginning of August. This variety is able to withstand frosts down to -40 degrees, begins to bear fruit in the third year.

• The Aquarius variety brings up to 60 kg per tree. Its small yellow fruits ripen by mid-August. A tree with a height of about 6 meters begins to bear fruit in the third year. The variety perfectly tolerates frost and is suitable for cultivation in the central region.

• The Russian variety has a high yield of up to 80 kg per tree. Its fruits weigh up to 60 g, have a yellow-orange hue and ripen by the end of July. The tree begins to bear fruit in the fifth year. This variety is able to withstand temperatures down to -30 degrees and is grown in mid-latitudes and the Moscow region.

Is it possible to grow an apricot from a stone

Currently, there is an opportunity to purchase seedlings of various varieties of apricots, but if for some reason you want to grow a tree yourself from a stone, then this is not difficult to do. You will get a lot of plants this way. Later you will be able to select the most hardy ones, which will surpass the parent plant in taste and fertility.

It is correct to use seeds from fruits growing in your area or use varieties from Siberia or from the northern regions. Such apricots take root well in all regions of the country. As a last resort, it is allowed to take apricot pits that you bought on the market.

For propagation, take seeds from the best fruits. Slightly overripe with well-separable flesh is best. The bones must be washed well and dried.

How to grow an apricot at home

You shouldn't plant bones in pots... The seedling obtained in greenhouse conditions will die as soon as you transplant it into the ground. It is correct to plant the bones directly into the ground at their summer cottage. The best time for this is mid-fall or spring.

If you chose autumn for planting, then place the seeds in water for 24 hours. Throw out the floating bones at once, and put the rest in grooves 6 cm deep. Cover the bottom of the trench with a mixture of sand, humus, grass and earth. Cover the planting site with grass and humus on top. Place seeds 10 cm apart. The first shoots should appear in spring.

For spring planting, the seeds should be put into water for three days in the tenth of March with a daily change of water. Then they are planted in a box filled with sand, and after a month, when the earth warms up enough, the bones are transplanted into the ground.

In summer, seedlings should be covered with plastic bottles without a bottom to protect them from birds and rodents. Seedlings must be well watered and loosened. In September, grown plants can be planted in a permanent place.

Planting an apricot

Choose a place for planting a tree so that a sufficient amount of oxygen is supplied to the roots of the tree. It should be an area with good lighting and protection from the north wind. It is best to choose a location on a hill.

Distance from other plants and buildings should be 3 to 5 meters. Plant the plant in such a way that its root collar remains slightly above the surface of the surrounding soil. This will give more volume for root development.

Dig a hole for planting with a side size of at least 70 cm.Put drainage at the bottom, then a layer of earth mixed with fertilizers. Plant a tree in this hole, spreading its roots and sprinkling it with earth so that a mound forms. Then, along the edge of the hole, you need to dig a groove for watering. Then the tree is watered with 2 or 3 buckets of water, being careful not to wash out the earthen mound.

Apricot care

After winter, the tree should be pruned by removing broken and frostbitten branches. Then the tree trunk must be whitewashed. Be sure to treat the tree with urea before the buds swell. This will saturate the soil with nitrogen and protect the apricot from pests. If the winter was little snow, and the spring is dry, then the tree must be watered.

Second watering do it in June. In the summer, watch how new branches grow and if the crown thickens strongly, prune it, otherwise the fruits will not ripen. Treat as needed against garden pests and diseases. Harvest on time during the summer. The fruits begin to ripen on the lower branches, so release them first, removing only fully ripe fruits, because after harvesting they do not ripen. In the summer, it is necessary to process the apricot tree with nitrogen fertilizers and solutions of trace elements. From July, instead of nitrogen fertilizers, use fertilizers with potassium and phosphorus.

In August, water the apricot again for the last time before wintering and apply fertilizers with potassium and phosphorus, it is also advisable to add a small amount of chalk to the soil. In the fall, prune again, cutting out broken and dried branches. When the tree drops the leaves, collect them, dig up the earth in the near-trunk circle. Last of all, carry out the prophylactic treatment of the tree from pests and diseases.

For the winter, young plants should be insulated. To do this, they are covered with spruce branches, covering them with spunbond. In the last days of March, the protection can be removed.