Apricot is one of the oldest fruit crops grown by man. Over the centuries, many varieties of this garden plant have been bred. One of the most interesting and popular among summer residents is the red-cheeked apricot. The advantages of this variety have a lot, and in the care it is relatively unpretentious.
Varieties
Apricot "red-cheeked" was bred in the Crimea by Soviet breeders in 1949. In almost 70 years of cultivating the variety, many hybrids were obtained from it. At the moment, in the suburban areas you can see the apricot "red cheeked late", as well as:
"Nikolaev";
Nikitsky
"Soligarsky", etc.
All varieties of this variety are grown mainly in the southern regions of Russia. It is in a warm climate that the red-cheeked apricot shows all its best qualities. However, since this variety is resistant to low temperatures, it is allowed to grow it in Central Russia. Very often, for example, you can see the red-cheeked apricot in the suburbs, giving good yields. This variety also feels good in the Southern Urals or even in Western Siberia.
Apricot "red-cheeked": description of the variety, advantages and disadvantages
Trees of the basic variety grow quite large. Crohn’s sprawling, round, rare. The fruits of this apricot ripen in mid-July. Therefore, they attribute it to varieties of medium fruiting period. The first crop from a tree planted in a summer cottage can be harvested for 3-4 years.
The fruits of the red-cheeked apricot are quite large (30-42 g). They have a round or ovoid shape, and the color is golden orange. "Red-cheeked" this variety is named for the presence of a dim blush on the fruit. The flesh of apricots is light orange, tender and juicy. As for the taste of the fruits of the variety "red-cheeked", then summer residents speak of them very well. Apricots are very sweet, with a little acidity.
In addition to delicious fruits and endurance in terms of low temperatures, apricot “red-cheeked” has other advantages. The description of the variety given by breeders makes it possible to judge it as a drought tolerant one. Confirm the undemanding trees to moisture and gardeners. Even with minimal watering, these apricots give just excellent yields. It tolerates this variety and dry years.
The advantages of the red-cheeked apricot, therefore, are many. However, he has only one drawback - a not too high degree of resistance to such common diseases as kleasterosporiosis and moniliosis.
How to plant
How to grow apricot "red-cheeked" on its site? The description of the variety given above allows us to judge it as quite unpretentious. Therefore, care for him, even for an inexperienced summer resident, will certainly not be a particular difficulty. Apricot "red-cheeked" can be grown from seed or seedling. In the first case, the tree is likely to show all the qualities inherent in the variety. However, unfortunately, fruit-bearing trees do not always grow from the seed (in about half the cases). Therefore, most often summer residents still buy apricot seedlings "red-cheeked."
The ripe fruits of this apricot, like most other varieties, do not hold too tight on the branches. Therefore, if the summer resident does not want to harvest from the ground, place the seedling on the site should be in a place well protected from the wind. Not too fond of this variety and the close occurrence of groundwater.
April is the best time to buy seedlings of such a fruit plant as the red-cheeked apricot. Planting the latter is done in advance prepared pits 60-80 cm wide and 40-50 cm deep. The soil mix is ​​made from garden soil and a large amount of rotted manure. Mandatory add potash fertilizers. If desired, phosphorus can also be used.
After the near-stem circle is compacted, the red-cheeked apricot seedlings are carefully watered, spending at least 4 buckets of water. Next, you can slightly adjust the crown of the tree. All branches on the apricot tree in the first year of growth should be single.
How to water
Moisturize the soil under the red-cheeked apricot three times per season. It is desirable to pour water into the previously made annular grooves. The diameter of the extreme should be equal to half the diameter of the crown. For the first time, apricots are watered during flowering. In the second - at the end of May and in the third - at the beginning of July, before the fruits ripen. To apricot winter well, you can also produce late autumn watering.
You can save moisture under the trees longer by mulching the trunk circle. The earth should first be loosened. This should be done carefully, as apricots have a lot of surface roots. Loosening is not deeper than 10 cm.
How to fertilize
Apricot is also fed three times per season. In the spring, nitrogen-containing fertilizers are introduced. At the end of May, you can also feed the tree with slurry. In summer, spraying the crown with nitrogen-containing compounds. In late autumn, phosphoric and potassium fertilizers are added under the roots of apricot. You can also sprinkle the tree trunk circle with crushed chalk for the winter.
Crown formation
Apricot "red-cheeked", the characteristic of which makes it possible to judge it as one of the best varieties, it is advisable to cut it periodically. Experienced summer residents recommend performing this procedure in the spring or summer. If you remove the extra branches in the fall, the tree can go into the winter weakened.
In spring, pruning is done before the sap flow, in March. In trees from two years old and older, annual growth is shortened. At the very beginning of June (1-4 numbers) do tweezers. At the same time, pinch all the shoots of the current year with a length of more than 20 cm. A week after this procedure, the red-cheeked apricot, as a rule, forms a large number of young strong shoots, on which the crop will be formed in the future. Such pruning, however, is recommended only if the tree grows on nutritious soil and is adequately provided with water.
When forming the crown of an apricot, it should be borne in mind that the branches of this fruit tree are not attached to the central conductor too firmly. Therefore, when pruning, be sure to lay single branches with a large angle of departure.
How to deal with claustosporiosis
Apricot is "red-cheeked", planting and care of which are very simple procedures, however, under adverse conditions it can get sick. Not too resistant, for example, this variety to klyasterosporioz. Therefore, gardeners who planted a “red-cheeked” in their garden should know how to deal with this infection. The main signs of clastosporiosis are:
the appearance of rusty spots on the leaves with the subsequent formation of holes;
the appearance on the fruits of small purple depressed spots that increase in size over time;
the formation on the branches of round and elongated cracking spots oozing with gum;
the death of the buds and drying of the flowers.
Before starting treatment for kleasterosporiosis, all diseased branches and fruits should be removed from the tree. They usually fight this disease with a solution of copper sulfate or Bordeaux fluid (1%). Spraying can be done at any time, but no later than 3 weeks before harvesting.
Moniliosis Treatment
The first sign of this disease, which also often affects the red-cheeked apricot, is the darkening of the flower petals. After a while, they begin to dry out. Further, the same thing happens with leaves and young shoots. With a serious development of the disease, whole branches die in the plant. After a certain time, if you do not take appropriate measures, the tree dies entirely.
In order to treat sick apricots, closer to autumn they can be treated with 1% solution of copper sulfate or Bordeaux liquid. It is worth using other fungicides. It can be, for example, copper oxychloride (for 5 liters of water 40 g). Trees should be treated before and after flowering. In this case, it is desirable to use different fungicides. In addition to the crown, you need to shed fungicide and the trunk circle.
Disease prevention
It is quite difficult to cure apricot fungal diseases such as moniliosis and kleasterosporiosis. It’s easier to try to prevent them. For prevention:
trees are planted at a sufficient distance for good ventilation from each other;
perform anti-aging light pruning;
all removed branches, as well as weeds and dried leaves from the trunk circle are removed and burned.
When caring for trees should be as careful as possible. Apricot bark must not be damaged. When trimming, use only well-sanitized tools.
Collection and storage
The ripened fruits of a plant such as “red-cheeked” apricot, whose summer cottagers' reviews are very good in taste, are considered after they take on a rich yellow-orange color with a red blush. The ripeness also indicates their pleasant aroma. Green fruits are not recommended. Of course, during storage and transportation they will ripen. However, their taste will not change - it will remain sour and tart. In this case, the fruit will not smell at all.
Harvesting from a plant such as the red-cheeked apricot, whose height is significant (up to 3 m), is possible with the help of a stepladder. If the fruit is intended for processing, the tree is allowed to simply shake.
Shelf life of fresh apricots are very short. They can be kept in the refrigerator for no more than 2 weeks. Therefore, fruits not used for processing into jam or compote are simply dried. In the latter case, they can be stored in the refrigerator all winter.
Apricots intended for drying are left on the tree longer. After they are torn, they should be treated with a solution of SO 2 . For drying, the fruits are laid out on paper or fabric in one layer and placed in a sunny place.
Apricot "red-cheeked": reviews of gardeners
Most summer residents consider this variety one of the best of all available to date. With proper care, no problems usually arise with it. You don’t need to spend too much water on it. Winters he also tolerates well. Many people think that even forming the crown of this tree is not necessary (except for anti-aging spring pruning). Thus, the care of apricot (“red-cheeked”) comes down to a large extent to the prevention of fungal diseases and infrequent watering.
Thus, we found out what apricot is “red-cheeked”. The description of the variety, as well as the rules for caring for it, were considered in detail in the article. This variety is best suited for cultivation in the southern regions. But you can try to plant this variety with sweet, juicy fruits in Central Russia.