Apricot tree: planting and care, photo, pruning, grafting

The fruit-bearing apricot tree belongs to the Rosaceae family. It is related to peach, apple, pear, plum and many other fruit trees.

The origin of apricot is still not known for certain. There are suggestions that these could be the mountainous regions of China or Armenia. This plant came to Europe from Armenia, and from there it was later imported to Russia.

But apricot was most likely brought to Ukraine and the Caucasus from the Middle East, as indicated by its Persian name - zherdel, which was used at that time.

Features of the plant

The apricot growing in our country is a tree reaching 7-8 meters in height. It has a brown bark that becomes cracked with age.

Young stems are colored brown-red.
The leaves have a rounded-ovate shape, a finely toothed edge, and reach nine centimeters in length.
The flowers are solitary, the pedicels are short. Their diameter reaches 3 centimeters. They are painted white and have pink veins. Blooming apricot is a real event. The apricot tree blooms in March or April, but if spring is too late, flowering may begin in late April or early May.
The fruit is a single drupe of round or elliptical shape. Painted yellow-orange. Juicy, with a longitudinal groove.
The root is quite powerful and deep. Thanks to these features, growing seedlings are not afraid of drought and temperature drops of up to 25 degrees.

How long does a plant live? If properly cared for and pruned in a timely manner, the apricot tree can last for 100 years. Apricot berries appear after 3 years, fruiting lasts up to 35-40 years.

Since caring for the apricot began thousands of years ago, scientists have not come to a consensus on where its real homeland is. Some researchers claim that it was cultivated in Armenia, others call it the Chinese Tien Shan. It is known that the planting of apricots in Greece took place thanks to Alexander the Great, and from there the tree came to Italy. In the 17th century it was already growing in Russia.

Marriage

The story of Alexey Abrikosov’s marriage is an illustrative example of a successful combination of commercial interest and heartfelt feelings. The manufacturer's wife was the daughter of manufacturer Alexander Borisovich Musatov, Agrafena (Agrippina). Firstly, the father is the owner of the largest tobacco and lipstick factories in Moscow, and secondly, the bride is given a substantial dowry - as much as 5 thousand rubles. For a novice merchant, such money could be a very good raise. Of course, the manufacturer Musatov could have found a much wealthier groom for his daughter. But, judging sensibly that Alexey Abrikosov was a young, promising merchant who knew foreign languages, “European-educated,” and his daughter Agrippina immediately liked him, he gave his consent to the wedding. The wedding took place on April 24, 1849 in the Intercession Church on Varvarka. The young began to live with their own family. Alexey Ivanovich was engaged in a confectionery business, Agrippina ran a household. Everything seemed to be fine, but God didn’t give us children. One day, the couple went as pilgrims to a monastery, prayed for days, asking the Lord for mercy. Maybe God heard the prayers - for a long and happy life in marriage, the Apricots had 22 children!

Planting in open ground

Before telling you what apricot grafting is, let’s define the intricacies of planting a plant. Residents of northern latitudes are recommended to plant in mid-April, before the buds open. For residents of southern latitudes, it is better to prefer planting apricots in early autumn, so that the seedlings take root properly before the onset of winter. In mid-latitudes, both options have a right to exist. The plant loves light; for planting, choose sunny areas with protection from the wind. Acidic soil will not allow you to grow a good apricot; it must be limed before planting. Light loam is the best option.

Planting a seedling

Why does apricot bloom but not bear fruit and how to solve the problem

A well-blooming apricot does not bear fruit? This problem has a number of causes, which fortunately can be eliminated.

Very often, the reason for the lack of harvest is improper or insufficient care of the apricot tree. This problem can be solved if the plant is provided with comprehensive care: regular watering, fertilizing, and annual pruning.

Planting in spring

Before planting a plant, a hole is prepared for it in the fall. Recommended dimensions: 80 x 80 centimeters. We recommend using crushed stone as drainage. The soil from the hole is mixed with peat, 2 kg of wood ash and 500 g of superphosphate are added. A peg is driven in so that it rises 50-60 centimeters above the ground. The earth mixture is returned to its place and left until spring.

What seedlings to take so that growth and fruiting are stable and the plant is well established? For planting, take seedlings 1 year old. Firstly, the crown of such a tree is easy to shape - pruning an apricot is not difficult. Secondly, the survival rate is very high. It is better to buy high-quality varietal seedlings (for example, the same Phelps apricot) in special nurseries or stores - they can sell “wild” ones on the market. Give preference to a tree with thick annual branches without thorns and a strong root system. The apricot must be grafted - there is usually a thorn at its base.

Apricot is a fruit that is planted as follows:

Dig a hole in a pit prepared in the fall.
Remove all dry roots from the plant’s root system and shorten healthy ones.
Immerse in a mixture of clay and mullein and place in the recess. The root neck should rise 5 cm.
Bury and compact, water with two buckets of water.
Tie it to a peg installed in the fall.

Transplanting a seedling (video)

Agrippina Aleksandrovna Abrikosova

0
In the spring of 1879, a four-hectare plot of land was purchased in Sokolniki for the construction of a new factory building. After six years, three- and four-story red brick buildings rose on Malaya Krasnoselskaya Street. And the dates of the beginning and end of construction were forever imprinted on the factory facade. The factory's equipment was exceptional: new equipment was purchased, gas and electricity were installed. For carpentry production, woodworking equipment was ordered from Sweden and England. At the expense of the partnership, a separate branch line from the Yaroslavl railway was even built. Finally, in 1885, construction was completed and the factory began operating at full capacity. It was rightfully considered the largest confectionery enterprise. The annual turnover reached 1,500,000 rubles, and the share of sales in Russian markets was about 50%. The production employed 600 people.

How to care in spring

Comprehensive care of apricots in spring comes down to sanitary, molding pruning. Apricot pruning is done before the juices flow. If you don’t know how to trim a young apricot, use this simple advice. Try to remove all dead, frost- or disease-injured branches.

Spring care also includes fertilizing and treatment with a urea solution. These are necessary measures that will make the fruits even larger and tastier, and will reduce the likelihood of pest infestation. The plant will receive nitrogen, which is especially needed in the spring. The treatment is done before the buds swell. Otherwise they will burn.

What is the best way to prune an apricot?

You don’t always have time to care for your apricot tree in the spring. If you also didn’t have time or forgot to do this, all is not lost. For preventive purposes, treat it with some solution like “Healthy Garden” or “Agravertine”. If there was little snow in the winter and the spring was dry, the tree should be watered regularly.

In 1900, a new house was built for the Abrikosov family.

0
When the Abrikosovs celebrated their golden wedding, 150 people of their direct descendants and other relatives gathered. The children showered them with flowers and presented them with gold crowns decorated with diamonds, their grandchildren presented them with a family tree, and their great-grandchildren presented them with a large family photograph. For the main achievement of their life was still family happiness.

Alexey Ivanovich Abrikosov died on January 31, 1904, having lived 80 years. By the end of his life, he was an active state councilor, a holder of many imperial Orders, the permanent Chairman of the Council of one of the best commercial schools in Russia - the Moscow Practical Academy of Commercial Sciences, and the permanent Chairman of the Council of the Moscow Accounting Bank. Until 1917, his confectionery business was successfully continued by his descendants, but after the revolution the factory was nationalized. Soon it was given the name of the chairman of the Sokolniki district executive committee, Pyotr Akimovich Babaev. However, for a few more years on product labels after the words “Factory named after. worker P.A. Babaev” in brackets it read: “formerly. Abrikosova".

Features of summer care

Summer tree care comes down to abundant watering. Active growth of young branches begins, pruning apricots in the summer becomes a mandatory procedure. Otherwise, all the strength and energy will go into the foliage. The plant will bloom worse and there will be fewer fruits. In the future, the tree will actively grow upward. And it will become extremely difficult to harvest from it.

Since the ripening of fruits occurs precisely in the summer, the main concerns of the gardener are related to the collection, sale or processing of fruits. Pick the fruits in a timely manner. If they were collected immature, they are unlikely to ripen. The collection begins from the lower branches and gradually rises higher. In August, the fruits are fully harvested. The plant is watered abundantly, and the harvested crop is used to prepare compotes, dried apricots and other delicacies.

Apricot fruits will delight you both in summer and winter, for example in the form of jam!

Crimean branch

A rich assortment - glazed fruits, caramel, marshmallows, marmalade, chocolates, cookies, gingerbreads, cakes, pies, coffee, cocoa - was constantly replenished both by restoring old, long-forgotten recipes and by new ideas. Since the main emphasis in production was on fruits, there was always a need for them. It was necessary to somehow resolve the issue of ensuring the safety of such delicate and perishable raw materials. A solution was found: in Crimea, in Simferopol, they decided to open a branch of the partnership. A large amount of sun, coupled with relatively low humidity, created ideal conditions for growing various fruits and berries. In order to preserve them and transport them to Moscow, it was necessary to set up a processing plant. In 1879, Alexey Ivanovich Abrikosov sent a request to Emperor Alexander III to purchase land in Simferopol to build a confectionery factory. As soon as the highest permission was received, construction began. The factory consisted of three buildings. The first housed fruit, tomato and steam shops, offices and shops, the second housed chocolate and caramel shops, a fruit heat treatment shop, a tin shop and steam power plants. The third building housed a packaging workshop and a loading and unloading area. All buildings were connected to each other by rail tracks. The factory installed two steam engines and two machines for canning and labeling (allowing the processing of more than 3,000 cans per day) of products into tin containers. In addition, to master the new technology, a specialist in steam heating of products was assigned from France. To manage the Simferopol branch, the Abrikosovs hired a manager with an annual salary of 5 thousand rubles. New technologies made it possible to make maximum use of fruits and berries: “non-standard” was converted into puree, from which pastille, marmalade and jam could subsequently be made; high-quality fruits were sent for glazing or canning. Only selected products were glazed - cherries, peaches, tangerines, oranges, watermelons, melons. To deliver them safely to Moscow, they were packed in boxes, baskets and cardboard boxes. They preserved it right there - in glass liter and half-liter jars or in tin cans (produced in a tin shop) with a volume of up to 5 liters. Then all sweet products (candied fruits, preserves, jam, glazed fruits, nuts, marzipans, chestnuts in sugar, compotes, fruit fillings and much more) were sent along the Lozovo-Sevastopol railway to Moscow.

Autumn care: what is its peculiarity

The main task of a gardener is to prepare for winter. The question arises: how to properly prune an autumn apricot? Locate and cut off any injured or disease-damaged stems.

When the leaves fall, the area is cleared of the remains, and the soil in the tree trunk circle is dug up. Preventive spraying will not be superfluous - it will help deal with pathogens that could take refuge for the winter.

Features of growing apricots (video)

What to cook from fruits and their beneficial properties

Apricots are one of children's favorite treats. The fruit helps support immunity and is rich in vitamins and beneficial elements, including potassium, magnesium and iron.

Dried apricot fruits, namely apricots and dried apricots, can be stored for a long time without losing their beneficial properties. Being a tasty and high-calorie food, dried apricot fruits will delight you in the cold winter and save you from vitamin deficiency. Pies, compote, jam - all this can be made from apricot, delighting yourself and your guests.

Reproduction: types and methods, methods of execution

For propagation, 2 methods are used: vegetative (apricot grafting) and seed. Since most varieties are cross-pollinated, you should not hope for a good result when propagating from seeds. Unless you managed to get seeds of the Dwarf variety - they completely copy the mother tree.

In the case of the vegetative method, when summer apricot grafting is performed, you can count on good offspring. Other methods are also widely practiced: propagation by shoots, planting root shoots, etc. Each will be discussed in detail.

Reproduction by shoots. The appearance of offspring is a sure sign that the root system is damaged. As for the growth, it always appears due to damage by animals after severe frosts. This method is simple and accessible, the shoots are grafted easily. The problem is that a healthy tree never produces suckers or shoots. If they appear, the one-year-old shoot is dug out as far as possible from the trunk so as not to damage the root. Only self-rooted plants reproduce by shoots. If the tree was previously grafted, the root shoot will produce a rootstock rather than a varietal scion.
Seed method. Do you like experiments, but apricot grafting seems too complicated? It is worth trying seed propagation. The advantage of this method is that a tree grown from a seed will be resistant to almost any climate change. Rinse the seeds thoroughly and soak them in water for a day. Throw away the ones that float and plant the rest in the ground. The recommended depth is 5-6 cm, the optimal planting time is autumn. But it is better to plant in September-October, otherwise rodents will take away the seeds. The bed is covered with earth, the top is lined with grass, humus, and kept moist.
Apricot grafting. For rootstock it is better to use plum or almond. Cherry plum or other apricot tree will also work. If you graft an apricot with a peach or almond, frost resistance will be low, while plum and cherry plum will give a more hardy result. Sizes are also not so simple. Grafting an apricot with cherry plum or peach will give tall seedlings, Hungarian plum and almonds will make the tree medium-sized. Well, if you bull an apricot into a sloe, you get a semi-dwarf tree. The advantages are obvious - it is much easier to harvest from it.

Vaccinate in April-May, during the period of strong sap flow. The rootstock and scion must have the same thickness. For rootstock, seedlings that are 2 years old and have a fairly thick trunk (from 0.8 cm) are suitable. After cutting the rootstock at a height of 7-8 centimeters, oblique cuts are made on the scion and rootstock. The sections are applied, fixed with garden varnish, and wrapped with electrical tape.

How to graft an apricot

Recommendations

You can buy apricot seedlings in nurseries. The price depends on the size of the plant and age. A one-year-old seedling costs about 450 rubles, a two-year-old - 650 rubles, a three-year-old - about 1,200, trees over 5 years old cost 2,500-5,000 rubles.

When choosing apricot seedlings, take into account the fact that not all varieties may be suitable for the climate of your region. Pay attention to the root system - the better it is developed, the faster the tree will take root. The trunk should be smooth, the branches and leaves should be healthy.

Look at the type of rootstock - this factor affects the drought resistance of the variety. The most resistant varieties are those grafted onto almonds, the less drought-resistant varieties are grafted onto apricots and peach. The most vulnerable are seedlings grafted onto plum and cherry plum. The correct choice of variety and proper tree care will provide you with a bountiful annual harvest, which must be collected from the branches only after full ripening.

Pruning technique

During the growing process, it is important to form a beautiful crown and prune the apricot tree. It is carried out all year round. Since the plant does not shed ovaries, it is overloaded with fruits. The weight of the fruit may cause branches to break. To maintain a balance between the amount of fruit, branches and leaves, it is better to prune the apricot in mid-October.

Sanitary pruning is carried out even in the spring, before the leaves have time to bloom. It is recommended to cut off all dried, frozen and damaged shoots. The conductor and branches are also pruned - this will help to form a beautiful, regular crown. It is formed in the form of a ball or cypress, as well as palmette. Which option to choose is a topic for a separate article. Today we’ll talk about how to form a classic sparsely tiered tree crown using pruning.

Shorten the conductor of the tree that was planted last fall by 1/4. The work is carried out in September.
A year later, select 2 strong skeletal branches and shorten them by 50%. Cut out the rest. The length of the central conductor should be 25 centimeters longer than the skeletal branches. All shoots that grow at an acute angle are also removed.
To form a lush crown, pruning of an apricot tree is carried out with the annual laying of several skeletal branches. This will allow you to form 2nd order branches. It is important that the shoots from above do not outgrow the shoots from below. All excess branches are removed.
When the seventh skeletal branch has been laid, next spring you can cut the conductor along with it. The crown is formed - now it needs to be trimmed regularly. Actively growing trees are pruned three times a year, shortening shoots by 25%, and strong ones by half.

Gardener's tips for pruning apricots (video)

Confectionery factory Abrikosov A.I.

0
Abrikosov was a talented businessman. He skillfully used advertising opportunities, introduced marketing innovations, and took care of the beauty and comfort of his stores.

One New Year's Eve, a message appeared in Moscow newspapers that in one Abrikosov store only blondes worked as saleswomen, and in another only brunettes. The townspeople rushed to check whether this was really so, accompanying their curiosity with buying and eating sweets. And intriguing inserts - postcards, puzzles and other surprises in candy sets - these advertising techniques are still used in business today.

What ails apricot

Like most plants, apricot trees can suffer from various diseases. We list the most common of them:

Moniliosis. This is a fungus that causes the plant to dry out. Flowers fade, shoots and branches become covered with small cracks. Control methods: spraying with Bordeaux mixture (3%), Teldor and Horus, Switch.
Hole spot, scientific name - clasterosporiasis. It can be identified by characteristic spots in the place of which holes form. Copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture (4%), Horus will help get rid of the disease.
Valsa mushroom – growths appear on trees. The tree is treated with Switch or fungicidal spray. To avoid disease, pruning during the dormant period is not recommended. Before performing the procedure, all instruments are thoroughly sterilized.

Common Pests

There are three main pests:

Aphid. It not only sucks out juice, but is also a carrier of sooty fungus and viral diseases that cannot be treated. Karbofosa and Actellik are considered effective remedies for aphids; among the folk methods of control, a solution of ash and tobacco has proven itself well.
Codling moth. Lays eggs in the ovary. It is easier to prevent its appearance by performing regular spring and autumn treatment. Loosening the soil and treating with lime and copper sulfate helps.
Hawthorn butterfly. The danger is not the butterfly itself, but its caterpillars, gnawing huge holes in the leaves. The hawthorn butterfly must be combated mechanically by collecting caterpillars and destroying egg laying in the fall.

Selection of seedlings

The best planting material is seedlings that are one year old, because it is easier for them to take root and it is much more convenient to form a crown. In no case should you buy seedlings from strangers at the market, because you can buy wildflowers instead of a varietal plant; the purchase is usually made in trusted nurseries, where plants are grafted and high-quality varieties are preserved. Before you buy a seedling, you need to ask for all the data on the selected variety - the amount of harvest from the tree, the size and taste of the fruit, the fruiting period and the month of ripening. Cultivated varieties do not have thorns, their branches are thick and strong, and in the place where the seedling is grafted there is a thorn (a stump or a place where the rootstock is cut above the grafted eye).

The root system should not be frozen, rotten or dry, as the tree is unlikely to be able to take root. The trunk of the seedling should have a strong base, straight and branched in the middle with branches evenly distributed along it. The side shoots must grow from different places; if they are positioned incorrectly, they will have to be removed, which can harm the tree and introduce infectious diseases. It is also necessary to clarify where the seedling comes from; if it is not grown in your region, there is a possibility that the seedling will have difficulty taking root or even die. Some experienced gardeners prefer to grow apricots from seeds, but with this method it will take two or three years to get full-fledged seedlings, and the variety may not survive, so for beginning gardeners, the method of planting a tree with a seedling from a reliable nursery is more acceptable.

Popular varieties

Are you planning to grow apricots and don’t know which varieties to choose? Indeed, the choice is huge - there are more than 50 types. They are divided into 3 groups:

Early. Leskore, Alyosha, Melitopol early.
Mid-season. They begin to ripen only in July. The most productive varieties include: Dessert, Pineapple, large-fruited Polessky and Michurinets.
Late. This variety of apricot is distinguished by the fact that it ripens in mid-August. These varieties include: Ogonyok, Success (a good frost-resistant hybrid), Iskra, Favorit, Sirena, etc.

Plum

Abundant flowering of plum trees in May does not always guarantee a high fruit harvest in August. Sharp temperature changes from frost to thaw and back to severe frost have an adverse effect on plum fruit buds. The dormant period of the plum is only 50-60 days, after which even short thaws (from +6°C) in January-February can trigger the beginning of the growing season, and subsequent frosts will destroy the swollen tender buds. In addition, even bright spring sun rays are dangerous for plum trees, which can cause sunburn on part of the tree trunk.

Plums bloom in early May, so there is a risk of bud damage due to frost. To improve pollination, the biologist recommends installing beehives in the garden.

Feeding young trees

The answer to the question of why young apricots do not bear fruit properly may lie in the insufficiently rich composition of the soil. In this case, it is necessary to apply a complex of fertilizers:

Fertilizing plants with manure is recommended in the spring during the period of fruit formation;
In summer, fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium are used.

When growing apricot trees organically, chemical fertilizers are replaced with chicken droppings and ash. It is important to maintain a balance of nutrients in the soil to ensure the normal development of fruit trees.