What tree can you plant an apricot on and when is it better to do it
Apricots are grown without problems only in the southern regions, where the spring is early and warm. In the central strip and to the north, grafting helps to preserve the future harvest. Knowing which tree the apricot can be grafted onto, it is possible to increase its frost resistance, as well as preserve varietal characteristics. In addition, grafting helps to increase yields and improve disease resistance. It is also a great way to rejuvenate an old tree that has stopped bearing fruit.
An apricot grown from a stone begins to bear fruit only after 8 years. The grafted branch will tie the fruit for 3 years of life.
What tree can you plant an apricot on
- Cherry plum. The most optimal option due to the high frost resistance of the stock. There are almost no problems with acclimatization, all cuttings quickly grow together with cherry plum. The fruits of apricots are slightly sour.
- Plum... It is better to use semi-wild, which has a higher frost resistance. Plum grafting also allows you to bring fruiting closer.
- Almond. If you want to preserve the endangered variety of Royal or Lewisette apricots, you can graft them on almonds growing in the garden. The rest of the apricot varieties take root on almonds poorly.
- Tern. Such grafting allows several times to increase resistance to freezing, but it is necessary to use cultivated varieties of rootstock - hardy. And so that there is not a lot of overgrowth, the vaccination should be done as low as possible.
From stone fruit plants, it is theoretically possible to graft an apricot on cherries and cherries. But the survival rate of cuttings is low, moreover, the fragile shoots of these crops cannot withstand the weight of the apricot and break.
The rootstock can also be the apricot itself. For example, if a favorite variety is growing in the garden, but the tree is already old, it can be rejuvenated. Almost any varieties are suitable as a scion, for example, Apricot Lyubimy, Krasnoshekiy, Alyosha, Honey.
When to vaccinate
Many gardeners do vaccinations during the winter when there is not much work to do. But for apricots, this is not the most suitable period due to their heat-loving nature. It is not advisable to vaccinate in the fall, because the cuttings may not have time to take root until the first frost and will die. The optimal time for grafting apricots is early spring (March) and early summer.