One of the most popular for growing is an apricot tree. The sweet pulp of the fruit captivated not only the people of China, the homeland of the tree, but also our compatriots. Many people are interested in the question of how to grow an apricot tree from seed. We will talk about this and much more in our article. It is designed for beginner gardeners who decided to plant this tree in their garden. Some people plant it in order to enjoy the sweet taste of the pulp of the fruit, but not everyone knows about the beneficial properties of apricot. But there are so many of them that it is very difficult to underestimate this fruit.
general information
Apricot, the description of which we present to you, is very common in the Caucasus. Even the translation of the name makes us understand that apricot is a Caucasian product. "Armenian apple" is the second name of this fruit. But, despite the fact that the tree prefers a warm climate, it is real to grow it in other regions. Recently, apricot in the suburbs is not uncommon. The main thing is to follow the recommendations for care, which are not very difficult or impossible.
Many varieties of fruit are known. The main difference is the size of the fruit, its color and taste. Some varieties are more sweet, others are more fragrant, etc. The composition is different, for example, the amount of sugar, and this is an important point, because not everyone can use sweet. Apricot is also used in different forms. In addition to eating fruit in its raw form, it can be dried and juice made from it.
Types of trees
There are two types of apricot tree, which is based on the growth method:
- Wild trees.
- Homemade apricots.
If we talk about wild options, then most of these trees can be seen in places such as:
- Middle Asia.
- North China
- Kazakhstan.
- Caucasus.
Well, at home, in the garden, apricot can be found in different parts of the world, except for very cold regions where the tree cannot survive due to lack of heat. It should be noted that the appearance of the tree does not affect the taste of the fruit. Wild trees bring the same delicious apricots.
Varieties
If we talk about the territory of Russia, then we know about fifty-four varieties of this tree. Each of them is good in its own way, and the gardener can choose an option for every taste. We list the names of these varieties for your reference:
- Iceberg.
- Academician.
- Alyosha.
- Amur.
- Aquarius.
- Apricot East Siberian.
- East Soyan.
- Mountain Abakan.
- Countess.
- Gritikaz.
- Dzhengutaevsky.
- Pearl.
- Kompotny.
- Apricot Krasnoshchek.
- Krasnoshchekoy Nikolaevsky.
- Late Krasnoshchek.
- Black Kuban.
- Anniversary Kuibyshevsky.
- Lel.
- Monastic.
- Musa.
- Orlik Stavropol.
- Orlovchanin.
- Early Kuibyshevsky.
- Petr Komarov.
- Spicy.
- Marusich early.
- Advertising.
- Samara.
- Sayan.
- Northern Lights.
- Seraphim.
- Siberian Baikalov.
- Snezhinsky.
- Youth Stavropol.
- Scion of the Red-Cheeked.
- Surprise.
- Tamasha.
- Triumph of the North.
- Uzden.
- Ulyanikhinsky.
- Untsukulsky late.
- Uralets.
- Favorite.
- Khabarovsky.
- Hekobarsh.
- Honobach.
- Royal.
- Early Chelyabinsk.
- Champion of the North.
- Black velvet.
- Shindahan.
- Alasha.
- Volga amber.
As you can see, there are so many varieties that it’s hard not to choose among such a huge list such a fruit that you and your family will like it.
What is useful in apricots?
Whatever the type of tree, whether it is the Red-cheeked apricot, or the Tsar's one, any of them has useful properties, because of which the fruit is becoming more and more popular. The composition of the apricot includes such useful elements as:
- Vitamin A, B, C .;
- acid malic, citric, tartaric, salicylic;
- mineral salt;
- insulin;
- silver;
- iron;
- potassium and others
The combination of such components very well affects the functioning of the heart apparatus. It is also recommended to eat apricot for people with amnesia. Apricot kernel is used for cosmetic purposes.
Who should not eat apricot?
But you need to know that in addition to the beneficial properties, the apricot tree also has contraindications. For example, you can’t eat this fruit to those who are overweight or have diabetes. With a small calorie content (about 45 Kcal per hundred grams), the fruit has a lot of sugar. Another important point is that it is not recommended to eat apricot on an empty stomach because of the large number and variety of acids. It irritates the walls of the stomach and can cause diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Application methods
The options for using this fruit are quite diverse. In cooking, it is used in dried form, in the form of jam, in raw form. And in each form the fruit is incomparable in taste.
In medicine, apricot is used both for prevention and for the treatment of diseases. For example, it is recommended to eat for people with low vision. Moreover, they talk about the ability of the fetus to prevent the development of cancer. Three hundred grams of fruit give a person the necessary daily amount of a very necessary element - beta-carotene. It is recommended for use by pregnant women.
Landing
The rules for planting a tree are simple, so they do not cause difficulties. To begin with - a few words about how to grow an apricot tree from seed. You can grow both immediately in the ground, and in pots. If you plant immediately in the ground, then you need to take a ripe fruit, pull out a stone and soak it in water for a day. After that, you need to land the bones at a distance of about ten centimeters, at a depth of six centimeters. It is recommended to plant about ten seeds, since not all will sprout. Make sure that the place where you plant them is protected from draft.
You can also grow seedlings in a pot. Before you start planting a seedling in the ground, you have to go through the following steps:
- the selected bones must be washed in warm water, and then soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate for 24 hours;
- those that float to the surface should be thrown away;
- remove the bones from the solution and soak simply in water for another ten days;
- place the bones in a pot of river sand;
- cover the pot with foil and put it in a place where the temperature will be about 3 degrees above zero;
- maintain the humidity of the sand for three months, after which you will receive sprouted bones;
- Then we take care of the small trees until planting in open ground, while watering as necessary, putting them in a place where there is no direct sunlight.
Now let's talk about landing in the ground. It is necessary to dig a hole in the selected place, taking into account the growth of the future crown. We lay the bottom of the pit with gravel or gravel. Then comes a layer of fertilizer mixed with earth. Then sprinkle with clean earth, and on top we place a seedling. Sprinkle the ground with a hole and water the new tree with water.
Crown pruning
Apricot trees are pruned mainly at the initial stage. An adult tree does not like injuring branches, so the main work on forming a crown needs to be done while it is young. The main task of the owner is to ensure that all branches grow correctly, so that several main branches do not grow from one place in the trunk. If this happens, then you need to delete all but one. The correct crown is needed for uniform growth of the tree, as well as for direct sunlight to all branches and leaves.
Tree care
Apricot tree does not require special care. All that is needed is to water, periodically feed and trim the crown in time. Watering should take place in the morning or after sunset. They recommend feeding every three years, and preferably annually. Most often, the soil is rather weakened, and there are few components useful to the tree. In this case, every autumn and spring you need to nourish the apricot root system. Do not forget to also form a crown, which facilitates harvesting, and also allows the tree to develop correctly. So that the tree does not die from the attack of various diseases, you need to monitor its condition and respond in time to changes in the appearance of the leaves, fruit or trunk. And there are a lot of possible diseases:
- moniliosis;
- verticillosis;
- kleasterosporiosis;
- bacterial cancer;
- cytosporosis;
- curl of leaves;
- scab;
- phylostictosis;
- ring pox;
- brown spotting.
Each of these diseases can be defeated by numerous drugs that are sold in specialized stores. You can also not wait for the attack, but carry out preventive measures by spraying trees in the spring. There are also insects that can love your tree:
- goose;
- codling moth;
- moth;
- aphid;
- the mole.
These pests can also be killed by treating the trees with appropriate drugs.