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Planting seedlings of apricot stone
Growing apricot seedlings from a stone and getting a full-fledged fruiting tree, adapted to local climatic conditions, is a feasible task. To do this, you need to know the features of planting seeds and growing a delicate plant.
Selection and preparation of seeds for planting
For planting, it is better to select apricots with an easily separable stone. Ideal if it is a tree with tasty fruits, also grown from a seed. The kernel should not taste bitter. From such seeds, you can get healthy seedlings that surpass the parent plant in winter hardiness, disease resistance, size and taste of the fruit.
Apricot seedlings from stone are rarely sick and resistant to cold
There is a risk that a wild game will grow, but it is many times less than when growing an apple tree from seed. In addition, the resulting winter-hardy seedling can be used as a stock and get an unpretentious, frost-resistant and abundantly fruiting tree.
Having selected the seeds, they are cleaned of pulp and dried on paper. They are planted in the ground in November before frost. Before planting, the bones are placed in water for 20-30 minutes so that they swell, and the floating ones are discarded. The remaining seeds are planted densely in shallow trenches to a depth of 1-2 cm, sprinkled with earth.
To plant seeds in the spring, they are subjected to stratification – artificial hardening
First, the planting material is placed in water for 3 days, changing it every day. For stratification, drowned bones are left and kept for 1-1,5 months. on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator in a drawer of wet sand. They are planted in the ground in April.
During the winter, the apricot pits will undergo natural hardening, and in the spring the strongest sprouts will hatch. Here you need to pay attention to the leaves. If they are thorny, small, then this is most likely a wild game. An apricot tree with glossy large leaves may turn out to be exactly the seedling that will perfectly bear fruit on local soils.
Planting apricot seedlings in a permanent place
In spring and summer, seedlings are protected from rodents, remove weeds, loosen the soil, water. At the end of summer, mature apricot seedlings can already be transplanted to a permanent place. For a good harvest, 2-4 apricot trees should grow on the site. The place is chosen sunny, where the ground warms up, where there are no gusty winds. Lowlands and areas with high groundwater are not suitable.
Planting holes for seedlings are prepared in advance with a depth twice the length of the root. A mixture of humus, ash, leafy earth is placed on the bottom. The earth is poured on top, the seedling is rooted and the hole is covered with earth. In the spring and early summer, the apricot needs abundant watering so that the buds are tied. Towards autumn, watering is moderate. Trees need shaping because they don’t always have a central trunk.
A pitted apricot tree is the experience of creating an enhanced fruit tree for your region.