How to grow an apricot from a stone in the country yourself
How to grow an apricot from a stone in the country - to repeat the natural method of reproduction, to accelerate it by stratification or to grow seedlings in a pot - there are several options. But the gardener's ultimate goal is to get a weather-resistant fruit tree. We offer acquaintance with classical and alternative methods, from the unrecognized in the scientific world Zhelezov V.K., who works in Khakassia.
Growing apricot from stone
The apricot kernel retains in memory not only maternal properties. In it, as in a human baby, the generic characteristics of previous generations are collected. The new tree will be special. It can give rise to a new variety, or it can be a dummy. But we will find out about this only after 6-7 years, when the apricot from the stone will bear fruit.
An apricot orchard can be planted in not only warm latitudes. The tree has adapted to the climate Moscow region, Orenburg, Khakassia, Eastern Siberia. It is noteworthy that only trees grown from seeds endure weather disasters and survive. They endure frost - 40 and + 40 heat. It is important to use seeds from the first harvest of the zoned variety. The adaptation of such a plant to the local climate is high. Consider ways how to grow apricot seeds.
You can dip a fresh seed into the hole for natural germination. But there are many hunters for the sweet nucleolus, it will be eaten by insects or carried away by rodents. Of course, you can plant it in a pot and get a houseplant. A pampered sapling planted in open ground will be weakened. Therefore, the development of apricot must take place in natural or approximate conditions. So how do you germinate an apricot kernel?
When choosing apricots to take seeds from them for propagation, you need to buy fruits of local varieties. There is no guarantee that a young plant will survive until the first harvest if seeds of Asian, imported or southern varieties are planted in the Moscow region.
Preparation of planting material
Getting apricots and their pits goes in several stages:
- The preparation of the seed begins with the choice of the planting material - ripe apricot kernels. The washed bones dry well and clean the dry, ventilated room. It is supposed to sow them in the ground with the onset of frost. During the winter, the bones in the ground will undergo natural stratification - hardening.
- How to plant an apricot from a stone if winter has already come, and the seeds are not yet in the ground? Stratification needs to be done. At the end of January, the seeds are placed in wet sand in a box with drainage holes. Place the box in a trench in the garden and cover with snow. As a last resort, lower the box into a cellar with a temperature of +2 degrees and store until April. The sand should always be moist.
- Is it possible to grow an apricot from a stone in the country if the material is dry, and it's already March outside? Put the bones in melt water for three days. Those that come up are thrown away. Change the water, avoiding acidification. Mix sawdust with river sand, periodically freeze in the freezer and keep on the fruit shelf of the refrigerator until the time of sowing in the ground.
When sowing in the ground, you need to remember that not all seeds will sprout, much less grow. It is necessary to do thickened crops.
Planting apricot seeds
Autumn planting of drupes is carried out when the first frosts fall on the ground. A fertile breathable layer consisting of humus, straw, black soil, sand is stuffed into a trench dug on a shovel bayonet. The trench is filled, the drupes are laid to a depth of 5 cm and sprinkled on top with the same mixture. Not all seeds will sprout, only the strongest.
The Siberian gardener Zhelezov claims that the depth chosen for planting the seeds is wrong. Planting should be shallow, only then will the root collar be in a comfortable environment. But it is impossible to plant it completely on the surface - birds and rodents will take it apart. He proposes to sprinkle the seed on 1 cm with earth.Such seeds will go through 7 circles of hell:
- temperature drops;
- some will die during provocative thaws;
- will be eaten by mice and birds.
The sprouts that have appeared are no longer afraid. They endure frost of 40 degrees, provocative thaws do not affect them. I spied on this method of planting practices from nature, from a local wild variety - Manchurian apricot. Of the mass of seeds lying on the surface, some of them give strong shoots.
Zhelezov's experience in planting from a stone and caring for an apricot shows that out of 1500 seeds, only 170 will sprout. With forced stratification, 900 seeds will sprout out of 1000. But there is no price for seedlings that survived despite all the troubles.
Growing seedlings
Growing an apricot from a stone after germination is not difficult. The tree can be grown as self-root, without grafting. If initially the drupe ascended in the designated place - ideal. There should be at least 2-3 trees in the garden for better pollination.
If the seedlings need to be transferred to a permanent place, a pit is prepared, into which organic matter is added, in the form of plant residues, ash, humus. A seedling is rooted in a soft litter. Water the plants infrequently, with cold water. Pitted trees rarely have a central trunk, so shaping is required. A feature of native-rooted apricots is their resistance to diseases and pests.
How to grow an apricot from a stone, to plant a seedling, or grow wild, each gardener decides for himself.
For those who do not have a summer cottage, but want to have their own apricot, you can start a house tree in a pot, it will grow up to 1.5 m. apricot not difficult - watering, transplanting and pruning. The tree leaves in winter to rest, and in the summer it can perfectly live in a room or on an open loggia. At the same time, the apricot, with proper care, will delight you with spring flowering and sunny fruits.