Apricots grow quite poorly in orchards throughout Russia, with the exception of its southern regions, where the climate is exceptionally mild. But the idea of growing tasty and fragrant fruits does not leave the minds of gardeners. In fact, you have only two options. The first is to build a greenhouse in which the apricot will feel its best. The second option is to find a stock that is well adapted to local conditions and take a cultural vaccination on it. Today we will focus on the technical side of this issue. We will talk about what you can plant an apricot, as well as how to care for a tree so that it will delight the sunny fruits.
Unsuccessful attempts
Surely they are familiar to you too. Buying rosy apricots, you involuntarily think that it’s nice to plant a seed. And suddenly it will grow ... Some time passes and a tiny sprout appears on the surface of the earth. This is the first victory, but it’s too early to rejoice, because on his own roots he will not survive on your site. I must say that it is also not suitable for growing as a houseplant. For this, special varieties are separately bred. However, while the seedling is gaining strength, there is time to think about what you can plant an apricot on.
Why is this procedure needed?
If you have so far used only ready-made seedlings to propagate fruit trees, then it's time to study in detail what the scion and rootstock mean, and boldly take up the pruning shears. What does the summer resident get in this case? It combines a tree with an excellent root system, which is not afraid of frost and drought, and also displays a cultivar that is distinguished by high productivity and quality of fruits. As a result, the root system of the “parent” provides rapid growth and development of the scion. Let's look at the benefits that lie behind this.
Seven troubles - one answer
Below we will consider in detail what can be planted apricot, but for now let's talk about the benefits that the gardener using this technique gets.
- The waiting time for the first harvest is greatly reduced. If you try to grow a tree from seeds, then the fruits will appear very soon. And in some cases it takes at least 8 years to wait. At the same time, a branch grafted onto an adult tree will bear fruit in 2-3 years. Agree, this is very attractive. It remains to find out what you can plant apricot on and go on to practice.
- Vaccination is a great way to get a new variety at minimal cost. For example, a neighbor treated you to apricot grown on his own plot. Therefore, just ask him for a small twig, this will eliminate the need to look for a similar option in the market.
- If you have a small garden plot, then using the vaccination technique will save the territory and significantly diversify fruit crops. Several varieties of cherry plum, plum, petiole and apricot can grow on one tree at a time.
- Vaccination allows you to quickly replace a failed or outdated variety.
- With it, you can save a plant injured by rodents.
- And finally, the main thing. You can plant the apricot on a plum tree and collect the delicate southern fruits in a region that is completely unsuitable for this.
Apricot compatibility with other crops
An experienced gardener knows well that if a luxurious shoot has appeared on its site, which is liked by giving stone fruit, then you should not get rid of it. Within a few years, each of these plants will turn into a young tree, strong and strong. And now you might think what you would like to see on your site. Large cherries, sweet prunes, sunny apricots? Any of these cultures does not tolerate cold climates and harsh winters, and on foreign roots will feel very good.
So, on which tree can apricot be planted? Let's look at all the options in order.
- Plum. This tree is common in garden plots, frost-resistant varieties of which are an excellent option for use as a stock. The compatibility of these breeds is high, so you can not even worry about the result. But there is one rule: the more tender the scion, the more wild and strong the roots of the stock should be. Sometimes a gardener has to experiment.
- Cherry plum is the most preferred stock for apricot, strong and very good. Cuttings take root simply by themselves, and the fruits grow large and sweet.
- Turn It is theoretically possible. However, wild stock is not recommended. Better to take more cultured sting. It is characterized by a large number of shoots. To avoid its occurrence, the vaccine is made lower.
- Often gardeners ask, can I plant apricots on cherries or not? This is not surprising, because it is precisely these trees that are usually abundant in any suburban area. However, such a procedure is far from always possible. Only a few varieties of stock are suitable for these purposes, and the reason is the fragility of the branches.
Choose a time
In order for your vaccinations to take root well and start growing fast enough, it is extremely important to choose the optimal season for the procedure. You need to choose dry, not too hot and sunny weather, when it is cloudy, but no rain is expected. Experienced gardeners recommend that beginners conduct their own experiments and thus understand when to plant apricot. In spring, tree sap circulates as intensely as possible, which increases the likelihood of fusion of scion and stock. There is another argument that speaks for the early start of the vaccination season. In case of failure, you will have enough time until the end of the warm period to try again.
Based on this, the first stage of vaccination can be described as the end of April - beginning of May. Of course, if the street is warm. For some regions, this time may shift. Sometimes gardeners decide to get vaccinated in the summer. This is also a good option. By next year, the first fruits are already tied to them, but they are removed so that the branch develops more.
The last chance is given to you at the beginning of autumn, while there are warm, nice days. But here it is important not to be late, because if the temperature drops too early, the cuttings will die, and not having time to settle down.
What is better not to do
Beginning gardeners sometimes do not think too much about the methodological platform and act in a scientific poke way. Therefore, questions such as whether it is possible to plant an apricot on a pear are also common. These plants belong to different species, so the experiment will fail. In rare cases, the graft can start to grow, but with the onset of fruiting it will be torn away. Therefore, do not waste time in vain. Stone fruit, which includes apricot, plum, cherry and the like, can be used as scion and stock only relative to each other.
Mastering the technique
Experienced gardeners know many ways to get vaccinated. However, not all are applicable to apricots. In addition to the variety of wood, you need to take into account its individual characteristics, size and age. Two main options are offered:
- In the cleavage. An incision is made at the site of vaccination, and in its center a split to a shallow depth. It should include the handle. However, it is inserted into the butt, and not freely.
- Copulation. This vaccination technique is not particularly different from the one described above. In this case, the young stalk is connected to a branch and attached tightly. On both, an oblique cut is preliminarily made. In this case, it is better if the diameter is the same so that they become a single whole.
What can be grafted on wild apricot
This is the last issue we would like to consider. In fact, apricot can also be used as a stock, and plum, cherry plum, cherry and much more can be planted on it. But you need to consider that in a cold climate, you should not expect that he will survive the next winter. Therefore, if you planted 30-40 sprouted apricot seeds, and one of the trees still survived and was not wild, then it is not recommended to vaccinate on it. Any winter that is more severe will ruin both the stock and the cultural branches growing on it.
Instead of a conclusion
Apricot can be grown even in harsh climates if good stock is used. Such can be any tree of the stone fruit family. That is, cherry and plum, cherry plum and thorns. If you have several trees on the plot with tasteless fruits, but adapted to any conditions, then this is not a reason to get rid of them. It will be enough to replace the crown with a more cultured, and maintain a powerful root system to provide the new tree with nutrients. In just a couple of years, young branches will begin to produce beautiful fruits, and you yourself will forget that this plant was something else.