Almost everyone loves apricots. There is a huge variety of varieties of this fruit tree. Today we will talk about apricot, a variety of which has an interesting name – Rattle. This article will tell you about what a rattle apricot is and its virtues.
Description
The rattle is a medium-sized tree with a rounded and sparse crown. This variety is self-fertile. Rattle is a versatile variety and can be used for a variety of purposes.
The apricot was bred at the Rossoshskaya zonal experimental station. The variety has rather large fruits, the weight of which can reach 60 grams, but on average, the weight of fruits ranges from 45-50 grams. But on young trees you can expect apricots weighing up to 80 grams. In this case, the fruits are quite large. Outwardly, apricots are oval-round with slightly flattened sides. The fruits have a yellowish-greenish color. In many descriptions, it can be found that the blush on the sides of the fruit, as in a number of other varieties, is not formed. A sharp omission of the skin is characteristic. 
In general, the fruits have a fairly dense pulp, which has a yellow or orange color. The fruits have a pleasant sweet taste. Sometimes their taste is sweet and sour. A slight bitterness is also possible. It is thanks to its pleasant taste that this variety has positive reviews and is often grown in the vastness of our country.
The fruit tree has a fairly high yield. But sometimes premature shedding of fruits can occur. In any description of this variety, you can find information about the average winter hardiness of both the tree itself and its flower buds. The variety is characterized by a medium-late ripening period. Apricots usually ripen in late July or early August. The degree of ripeness of fruits can be judged by the example of separating the stone from the pulp. For ripe apricots, the pit is easily separated from the pulp. At the same time, it will “rumble” a little inside the fetus when it is tapped on various objects. It is because of this that the variety received the name Rattle. Such a sound is made by the fetus due to the fact that it is in a relatively large plane. At the same time, the kernel of the stone tastes bitter.
The description of the variety contains rather high indicators of keeping quality of fruits, as well as their transportability.
Apricot varieties can be stored fresh for a long time. Moreover, the shelf life can be significantly increased by wrapping each apricot with newsprint or any other paper.
Such a procedure will prevent the penetration of substances from fruits that have begun to deteriorate to still normal apricots. So you prevent the risk of damage to stocks in case of accidental ingestion of overripe fruit.
As for the soil, Rattle belongs to undemanding fruit trees. Since this fruit variety does not have exacting requirements for the planting site in terms of soil characteristics, it can be grown on absolutely any soil. Therefore, the choice of soil conditions for cultivation is not so scrupulous.
But, despite this, it is noted that this tree grows best on well-aerated soils, which have lime in their composition. Experts still recommend, if possible, choosing more favorable soils for planting Rattle seedlings. For planting seedlings, you should choose soils that are richer in nutrients and minerals.
In order to receive high yields from your garden every year, you need to choose the right place for planting seedlings. The choice of a place for future growth should be based on the requirement that the root system of the tree should not be blocked. This should be especially taken into account in the presence of wet soils, as well as in areas with high humidity.
Apricot planting scheme “on a cone”
When planting seedlings, light should also be taken into account, since the variety has a tendency to good light. Therefore, for planting seedlings, you should choose well-lit areas of space where the tree will not be deprived of light throughout the daylight hours.
The presence of a rounded crown makes it necessary to take into account the neighbors of apricots, since over time the fruit tree will begin to grow and can block other plants in your garden from the sun with its branches. Before planting a seedling, which is often an annual grafted tree with a developed root system, its upper part should be cut off by about 50-70 cm. This fruit crop responds well to fertilization.
The use of moss or wet peat can significantly increase the ability of a seedling to get used to a new place of growth. It is necessary to wrap the root system of the tree in it when transporting it. In addition, it will be very good if you buy a seedling grown in climatic conditions similar to the future place of growth. This will greatly increase the viability of the apricots. You also need to choose seedlings with the largest number of roots.
For the variety, in addition to high winter hardiness, excellent drought resistance is also described. As a result, for the Pogremok variety there is no need for additional measures to prepare trees for the winter period. Therefore, Rattle is now grown on the territory of Our Country, both in its northern and warm regions. This fruit tree tolerates winters normally, without any complications or difficulties.
Particular attention should be paid to the wintering of seedlings of young plants. For such trees, it is necessary to cover the lower branches for the winter. This is done in order to prevent hares and mice from eating the lower branches of young trees.
As for pruning, the variety responds well to forming pruning. Therefore, it is necessary to form a crown for trees in accordance with the requirements established for all apricots. In favorable periods for shortening, you can trim the upper branches to stimulate further branching of the plant in the future. In the process of growing a tree, special attention should be paid to adjusting its height. Pruning in this case must be done to develop the crown along, avoiding its formation upwards. So you will achieve that the plant will become more durable and strong.
Due to its characteristics, the Rattle variety is today quite popular in horticulture and is recommended by experts for planting in gardens as a horticultural crop.
Advantages
The main advantages of the Rattle variety include the following points:
- self-fertility;
- large-fruited;
- high yield;
- high rates of winter hardiness and drought resistance. With the exception of young trees and newly planted seedlings that need to cover the lower branches for the winter;
- excellent taste qualities of fruits;
- variety versatility.
Also, the advantages of this apricot include high transportable qualities of fruits and their high keeping quality. All these advantages, coupled with the undemanding nature of the tree to soil conditions, make it possible to grow apricots almost everywhere.
Using
Due to the fact that this type of apricot has excellent taste, its fruits are often consumed fresh. High keeping quality indicators allow you to eat fresh apricots even on the eve of winter. At the same time, the presence of a slight bitterness is considered by some experts as a piquant raisin Rattle.
In addition, apricots can be used to make jams, jams or compotes. They also make delicious dried fruits. Many experts recommend such apricots or dried fruits as a dietary or medicinal product.
Thus, given all the information provided regarding the Rattle apricot, we can conclude that this fruit tree will be an excellent addition to any garden. With proper planting, as well as pruning, the tree can give a fairly high yield, and the high keeping quality of the fruit will allow you to eat fresh apricots even a few months after they are harvested.
Video “Apricot Care”
In the recording, a man demonstrates how to properly carry out spring pruning of apricots.
