Growing apricots in the middle zone - how to achieve a good harvest in unfavorable conditions

Many dachas grow apple, pear, plum and cherry trees. But sometimes you want something exotic. Most often, gardeners' choice falls on apricots and peaches, the fruits of which are tasty and healthy.

But how to grow apricots when the summer is too short and often rainy? Are winters frosty and with little snow? Don’t worry, the “southern guest” is quite capable of surviving all these unfavorable conditions. You just need to help him a little. Let's look at how to get a rich harvest from apricots if the weather in the middle zone is so unpredictable.

Choose your apricot varieties wisely

It all starts with choosing a variety. If you buy an unzoned seedling, the likelihood that it will survive and produce a harvest is minimal. Therefore, buy apricot seedlings only from trusted sellers (in no case from your hands!), Study the features of the zoned variety you have chosen.

If your neighbors in the country grow apricots, ask them for advice on which variety has taken root best. Most likely, they will name something from this list: Northern Triumph, Snegirek, Hardy, Lel, Russian, etc. At the same time, you will be able to evaluate the appearance of the plant and the taste of the fruit if the tree is already bearing fruit.

Blooming apricots decorate the garden in late April - early May.

How many seedlings will you need? Everything again depends on the variety. Self-fertile apricots, which do not require pollinating varieties, can be purchased in minimal quantities. If the variety is self-sterile, you will need at least 2-3 trees with similar flowering periods, and always different varieties. Do you have a large garden? Then plant several apricots at once with different periods of fruit ripening. This will allow you to harvest longer. In a small area, you can propagate the varieties you like by grafting onto a plum or cherry tree.

Read descriptions of popular varieties of apricots in our materials.

• The best varieties of apricots for the middle zone (photos, descriptions, reviews from gardeners)

  It is now quite possible to grow this crop even in not the warmest climates!

• 7 best winter-hardy apricot varieties

  A detailed description with photographs of winter-hardy varieties of apricots that can be grown in central Russia and in the Moscow region.

• The best self-fertile apricot varieties (photos, descriptions, care tips)

  An autofertile tree will not need pollinating insects or additional plants on the site.

It is best to buy a ready-made 2-year-old apricot seedling. But you can successfully germinate a tree from a seed. True, the germination rate of apricots is quite low (up to 50%), and in the first year after planting another quarter of the plants die, so it is worth taking at least 50 seeds from ripe fruits.

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When to plant apricot in the middle zone

An important condition for successful rooting of a seedling is the correct choice of time for planting in the ground. The optimal temperature for rooting apricot is at least 15 degrees. When choosing between autumn and spring planting, you need to keep two facts in mind:

1. Autumn in central Russia is an unpredictable season. It can be warm like summer, or it can surprise you with early frosts. The planted young plant is too vulnerable, and if it does not have time to take root and prepare for winter, it will certainly die. Therefore, planting apricots in the fall is allowed only in the southern region, but not in the middle zone.
2. Spring planting of seedlings can begin after the establishment of positive average daily temperatures, but before the start of sap flow.

If there is a seedling with a closed root system, its planting should be postponed until the end of frost. If we are talking about a seedling with an open root system, then you should hurry: the longer the plant waits for planting, the weaker it becomes.

To protect against sudden cold snaps, apricots are insulated with spunbond (non-woven material) or burlap. Film should not be used for this purpose - there is a risk of the seedlings drying out and burning out.

Properly plant apricot seedlings on the site

Planting an apricot is a fairly simple matter; it is only important not to make the hole too deep (50-70 cm is enough) and not to overdo it with fertilizer. The usual dose per tree: 500 g of superphosphate, 150-200 g of ammonium nitrate, 100 g of potassium sulfate, 1 kg of lime, 1 glass of wood ash, 8-10 kg of humus.

Much more often, the amount of harvest is reduced or absent altogether if the planting site is chosen incorrectly. The following points should be taken into account:

• cardinal direction - southwest, southeast or west, less often - south;
• location – warm, sunny place, protected from cold winds;
• soil – light, loose sandy loam or loam, without stagnant moisture, pH 6-7;
• distance – 3-4 m between plants, 5-6 m between rows.

Plant apricot seedlings only in spring, when the soil is well warmed up.

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Apricot, the planting and care of which have specific features in the middle zone, prefers to grow away from other trees. Apple trees, pear trees, cherries and plums often suppress the development of the plant, which can affect the amount of harvest. Also, you should not plant apricots next to raspberries or currants, from which various pests can migrate to the tree.

How to prune an apricot when planting in spring

The goal of pruning any fruit tree is to obtain a powerful, well-lit crown.

Young seedlings are pruned immediately after planting. If the seedling is an annual twig without branches, it is simply shortened at a height of 70–90 cm from the soil. Starting next year, at a height of half a meter, the apricot begins to form a crown, consisting of 5-6 main branches, evenly spaced around the circumference of the trunk.

Apricot pruning patterns differ depending on the age of the tree.

If you plant a tree with lateral branches, you can leave the two strongest of them, choosing well-placed ones. Shorten them by half. The rest should be cut out without leaving any stumps. The conductor should be 20–30 cm higher than the remaining branches. All branches and living buds that grow close to the ground (closer than half a meter) must be removed. Cover all cuts with garden varnish. This is not very critical for cuts with an area of ​​up to 1 cm2, but it is better not to leave a young seedling with unnecessary wounds.

Water and feed apricots according to the rules

Caring for apricots involves regular watering and fertilizing. It is also useful to mulch the tree trunk circles with sawdust or compost with a layer of 5-10 cm.

How to water an apricot

During the season, 5 waterings are usually carried out:

• in April, before flowering (if there was little snow in winter and the soil was dry);
• at the end of May, 2 weeks after flowering;
• 2-3 weeks before fruit ripening;
• after harvest;
• in October-November after the leaves fall (moisture-charging irrigation).

If the summer is hot, you can carry out additional watering. But remember that apricot does not like stagnant moisture, this often leads to cracking of the fruit. But there is no need to overdry the tree, otherwise the fruits will not form.

Pour 5-8 buckets of water under trees 3-5 years old, 7-10 years old and older - 12-15 buckets.

How to feed apricot

Apricots need nutrition, but it is important not to overfeed the plants, especially when they are young. Try not to overuse nitrogen fertilizers when feeding fruit-bearing trees, otherwise flowering will occur late. When apricots reach 3 years of age, apply 3-5 fertilizings every season, combining them with watering.

Experienced gardeners have different opinions on the amount of fertilizing. Some experts believe that 1-2 fertilizing per year is enough, because... Too active application of fertilizers during the season makes it difficult for the tree to overwinter in the future. When choosing fertilizing and its frequency, try to take into account the composition of the soil on your site and the condition of the tree.

Apricot responds very well to fertilizing with wood ash. It can be poured into the tree trunk during the season at the rate of 120 g per 1 sq.m.

How to plant apricots in spring

In industrial production, apricot trees are planted in a 3 x 5 meter pattern. But under no circumstances should you plant more than two trees on six acres! From the point of view of pollination, they will find a partner somewhere in the neighbor’s gardens. If you like apricot in your climate, then one is enough for the family. And if not... So, as they say, it’s not fate!

About 20 years ago, having acquired a new plot, the author of these lines was glad that three mature apricots grew on it. I was not happy for long. After 2 years, we had to uproot them: nothing wanted to grow within a radius of 10 meters from them, since all the nutrients were sucked out by the far-spread roots. It took 2 working days to uproot each one: the roots were as thick as the trunk itself.

The apricot tree requires a lot of nutrition, so it has an extensive root system

If you plant two trees, you must leave at least four meters between them.

Planting seedlings

When purchasing an apricot seedling, pay special attention to its roots. The root system must have several main roots. They should be clean, elastic, and not overdried. If there are still damaged areas, they must be trimmed with pruning shears to healthy tissue. Two-year-old seedlings take root best.

It is useful to dip the roots of a seedling delivered to the site for planting in a mash made from mullein and clay diluted in water. If there is none of this, let them swim in the water until landing, and get enough moisture.

Planting an apricot in a prepared hole is almost no different from planting, for example, an apple tree, but we must remember that our tree will grow on a mound. It is difficult to cope alone, it is better to call an assistant. It turns out that almost the entire planting hole must be filled with fertile soil and fertilizers, and planted on an almost horizontal surface. First, as usual when planting, you need to drive a strong stake into the hole. It should stand firmly and protrude from the ground a little less than the height of the seedling. Your assistant will hold the tree by the stem, straightening the roots, and you will pour soil on them so that a slide is formed. After compacting the soil, the root collar should stick out exactly from the top of this hill. It would be better if it were 3-4 centimeters higher than the top of the head, but in no case under it! Then, using two ribbons, loosely, in a figure eight, we tie the stem to the stake.

The apricot planting pattern is no different from most fruit trees, you just need to remember that the tree will grow on a mound

After planting, the tree will have to be watered a lot until new roots grow in sufficient quantities. Therefore, it is necessary to make a roller at the top so that the water does not flow down when watering. In the autumn of the same year, the roller must be leveled so that excess water can drain freely: excess moisture in winter is more harmful to a maturing tree than its lack. The root neck of an apricot should never be underground. It is better to let the upper roots be slightly exposed, but the neck should breathe. In the spring you will have to pour a new roll of earth and do this for the first few years.

Pruning your apricot

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Like other fruit trees, apricot needs regular pruning. At the same time, it is important to carry out not only sanitary and formative pruning, but also regulatory pruning, which will allow you to control the number of ovaries and fruits. The fact is that the apricot cannot do this on its own; as a result, the abundantly fruiting tree exhausts its strength ahead of time. Thus, it is better to opt for a slightly smaller amount of harvest than to lose the varietal tree altogether.

Apricots tolerate frequent and light pruning more easily than sparse and large-scale pruning, so do not forget about this annual procedure.

You will find detailed information on pruning apricots in our articles.

• From seedling to mature tree - all about spring pruning of apricots

  Pruning apricots in spring - diagrams, useful tips for beginners, plus video.

• Pruning apricots in autumn - diagrams and useful tips for beginners

  Apricot is not able to regulate fruiting itself and may die from exhaustion. To prevent this from happening, it is important to trim the tree on time.

Further care after planting

There are no difficulties in caring for a planted apricot if you know what exactly the selected variety of crop likes. Typically this is:

1. Abundant watering throughout the growing season. In the fall, water-recharging irrigation is done.
2. Loosening and mulching. The tree trunk circle is loosened with a hoe for indoor plants so as not to damage the root system.
3. Pruning and crown formation. The formation process is gradual and lasts for 3-4 years. The first time is cut by 1/3 immediately after planting, then preventive work is carried out.
4. Cleaning weeds around the seedling.
5. Warming for the winter. If there are traces of rodents on a summer cottage, they provide protection from them.

Protect apricots from diseases and pests

Unfortunately, apricots quite often suffer from diseases and pests. Trees can get sick with moniliosis, verticillium, clasterosporia and other dangerous diseases. Among the pests, aphids, codling moths and leaf rollers cause great harm to apricots. Preventive measures will help you save your harvest.

Apricots in the spring, before the buds swell, and in the fall, after leaf fall, should be sprayed with a 3% solution of Bordeaux mixture or a 0.5-1% solution of copper sulfate. And for protection against pests - Fitoverm, Bitoxibacillin, Aktara, etc. Use catch belts. Also, do not forget to prune on time; in the fall, be sure to whiten the trunks and remove all fallen leaves.

• Apricot diseases and pests: how to recognize and fight?

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Seedling care

This season, the seedling will require periodic watering once every 10-15 days for the first month, and then depending on the weather. When the ground has dried out by 10-15 cm, and no rain is expected, young apricots are watered in 1-2 buckets. After watering, the tree trunk circle is cleared of weeds, loosened, and mulched.

The health of the seedling is monitored throughout the season, treated against insects if pests appear on the site, or against infection if other crops are affected. By winter, young trees are covered with spruce branches and the tree trunk is mulched with peat or compost.

The branches are tied so that they do not break off from the snow.

Choosing the right variety

In the south of Russia, varieties with high yields and valuable fruit taste are recommended. For cultivation in harsh climatic conditions, frost resistance and frost resistance of the variety, disease resistance, and early ripening of fruits come first.

Crops for cultivation in the Non-Black Earth Region:

1. Russian is a self-fertile variety, tree height is 4 m. Winter-hardy, drought-resistant. Large fruits 50-65 g, tasty.
2. Monastic - late-ripening, ripens at the end of summer. It has increased frost resistance and disease resistance.
3. Iceberg is partially self-fertile, early ripening. High yield.

Varieties zoned for the Urals:

1. Mountain Abakan - height 3 m, frost-resistant, yield up to 15 kg.
2. Minusinsk ruddy - early fruiting, fruits 20 g of good taste.
3. Sibiryak Baikalova is one of the best varieties for areas with unfavorable climatic conditions. Frost-resistant, has large, tasty fruits. Requires pollination.

Varieties for Siberia:

1. Khabarovsk - begins to bear fruit in the third year. Blooms at the end of June, early ripening.
2. Amur is a tree 3 m high and can withstand frosts down to -38˚C. Has high immunity to diseases.
3. The bullfinch is short, up to 1.5 m. The fruits are 20 g, cream-colored with a burgundy blush. Increased frost resistance.

South of Moscow you can use cultivars:

1. Northern Triumph - fruits up to 50 g, high yield and taste of fruit.
2. Saratov ruby ​​is an orange-purple colored fruit that is very tasty. Stores in the refrigerator for up to two months.

When purchasing apricot seedlings, it is important to know whether the variety is self-fertile or whether it requires a pollinator. In the latter case, you need to plant at least a couple of plants.

Features of planting with a bone

You can grow apricot seedlings from pits yourself at home. It is better to use separate containers for each seed, since apricots have a taproot system. The pot should be deep enough - for example, a plastic glass with a volume of 0.5 liters will do.

You need to germinate the seeds in advance - place the seeds on a damp cloth or gauze and wrap them. As soon as the first root appears, you can begin planting.

The technology for growing apricots from seeds is as follows:

1. Make several holes at the bottom of the glass through which excess water will be removed.
2. It is better to use a universal peat-based soil intended for seedlings.
3. Place a layer of drainage at the bottom of glasses or pots.
4. Pour out the soil mixture, not reaching the edge of the cup 1-2 cm, compact the soil a little.
5. Place pre-sprouted apricot kernels on the surface of the ground - take 1 kernel per glass.
6. Place the seeds with the root down, but do not deepen them, otherwise this will lead to rotting of the root collar. You can lightly sprinkle the top of the root with soil.
7. Pour some water and cover the glass with film so that the moisture does not evaporate.
8. Be sure to place the pot in a warm place.
9. Periodically inspect the plantings, remove the film and ventilate.
10. After the sprouts appear, place the cups on a warm and sunny windowsill.
11. The ideal temperature for apricot growth is +25°C.
12. Water as the soil dries.

Read more about growing apricots from seeds here.

How to care in summer

In summer, apricots need care no less than in spring. To grow a juicy and tasty harvest, the tree must be watered. Watering is important during the period of fruit ripening.

If you watered the apricot in the spring, before flowering, you will need to repeat the procedure in early June. If the last watering was in May, it is postponed until July.

In addition to watering in the summer, the tree will require seasonal pruning. During this period, new branches appear. It is necessary to remove those that grow inside the crown, making it thicker. Branches whose length exceeds 40 centimeters are shortened by half. If you ignore the recommendations of agricultural technicians due to the neglected crown, the crop will not ripen well. And it will be inconvenient to assemble it.

To fully restore a tree after pruning, it needs a sufficient amount of moisture and minerals. Therefore, the procedure is combined with watering and complementary feeding.

Summer is the time to harvest apricots. Only ripe fruits are picked if they need to be used immediately, or semi-ripe ones if they are planned to be transported to the point of sale. They begin to collect fruits from the lower branches, gradually moving upward along the crown. For convenience, use a fruit collector. Shaking the tree to harvest is not recommended.

When the tree stops bearing fruit, it is watered for the last time for the season. Usually watering is done at the end of August. It is important to nourish the soil abundantly before the upcoming winter.

In summer, the tree is also regularly fertilized. If necessary, it is treated against seasonal pests.

Advantages and disadvantages of spring planting apricots

Beginning gardeners do not know what period to choose for planting apricots. To make the right decision, you should familiarize yourself with the pros and cons of planting seedlings in spring.

The main advantages of planting apricots in spring are:

• Early planting allows the tree to grow a powerful root system and become stronger, making it much easier to endure the winter.
• It becomes possible to timely combat pests and drought, and the tree’s immunity is increased with the help of fertilizers.
• Before the beginning of winter, the planting hole will have time to settle, thereby preventing the root collar of the seedling from sinking.

The only disadvantage of planting apricots in the spring is considered to be the early growing season of the plant, because it is not always possible to carry out the procedure before the onset of frost.