How can you propagate apricot with green cuttings at home, planting methods

The apricot tree attracts the attention of gardeners due to its ease of care, resistance to environmental changes, high yield and taste of ripe fruits, which are popular both fresh and processed. How to properly propagate apricots in your own garden, and how to care for established cuttings? Let's deal with everything in order.

Reproduction methods

Apricot trees can be propagated in three ways: by pitting, cuttings or grafting. However, for any of them it is necessary to adhere to some recommendations and follow an algorithm that simplifies the process as much as possible.

Growing from seed

This method is considered time-consuming, but the most reliable. Growing from the seed of a local tree guarantees high adaptation of the future apricot to the climate conditions of a particular region.

First of all, you need to choose a suitable material for planting - a ripe fruit seed. The apricot kernel retains all its maternal properties, so you need to choose the largest and juiciest fruit, making sure that the tree does not suffer from diseases characteristic of garden crops.

It is best to take several seedlings in order to subsequently select the strongest ones, since apricot trees are not famous for their high survival rate.

The following is the standard landing algorithm:

1. The bones are soaked for a day in warm running water. Floating seedlings are considered bad and are rejected.
2. Landing in progress:

• in autumn (September-early October). With the onset of November, there is a possibility that the seedlings will be stolen by rodents. Therefore, it is better to postpone late sowing and wait until spring;
• spring (early April). Apricot kernels collected in the fall overwinter in a cool, dark place until March. Spring planting is good because it allows you to harden the seeds. The process is called stratification and is carried out by soaking them in cool water for 5-7 days. At the same time, the water is periodically renewed in order to prevent it from warming to room temperature.

3. The apricot pit is placed in a prepared hole (up to 10 centimeters deep) and sprinkled with humus.
4. Sufficient care rules include regular watering, loosening the soil, and mulching with peat.
5. Formed apricot trees are transplanted to a permanent place in the fall, at the age of 2 years. Thus, the seedlings will be able to overwinter and produce good growth in the spring. After another couple of years, the first harvest appears.

Apricot propagation by cuttings

Like all plants, over time the apricot ages and loses its ability to bear fruit. Is it possible to grow a new apricot tree of the same species as the old one if it is not possible to obtain seedling material from its fruit? There is such a method, and it is called cuttings.

It can be done in several ways:

1. Green shoots. To successfully propagate an apricot, part of the branch with leaves is separated from the middle part of the shoot. An ideal cutting should have three leaves and be cut in the morning so that the branches are saturated with moisture. After cutting, the green shoots are dipped for 10-15 hours in a solution that stimulates the growth of the root system (Kornevin, Heteroauxin, Zircon).

We figured out how to propagate apricots, but how to grow them? For germination, finished cuttings are planted in open ground, where fertilizers are applied and soil moisture is maintained. Such conditions allow callus to appear as early as 10-15 days, and after another month you can see a healthy root system.

2. Lignified cuttings. To grow a healthy apricot, propagated in this way, it is necessary to harvest cuttings during the dormant period (after leaf fall and until early spring). The average length of planting material is 30 centimeters. Shoots cut in autumn are stored in a cool place until spring, when they are planted in a box or open ground saturated with peat.
3. Air layering. This method of vegetative propagation is effective, but undeservedly forgotten by modern gardeners.In summer, a branch is selected with an annual growth that is significantly different from earlier sections of the plant. Make 2 circular cuts on it, removing the bark between them. The damage is treated with a growth-stimulating solution and wrapped in a plastic bag so that there is room for soil. In this way, you can grow cuttings, which, when ripe, are separated from the branch and planted separately.

Reproduction by grafting

This method is most preferred by gardeners, as it allows you to experiment by crossing varieties. As a rootstock for grafting, seedlings of not only apricot, but also almond, peach, plum, and mirabelle are used. However, good compatibility does not always happen. Through trial and error, you will have to select a rootstock that is suitable for the climatic conditions and taste preferences of the gardener.

The preparation for grafting is done in the fall. A strong, healthy, one-year-old shoot is selected as a cutting, and its upper part is cut off with an oblique cut. The shoots are stored in the refrigerator or a bucket of cool water until the scion.

The vaccination is done in the spring, at the beginning of May. This time is considered successful due to the active movement of juices throughout the plant, which improves fusion. The cutting is attached to the scion, on which the same vertical oblique cut is made. The cuts should be beveled at the same angle and have the same diameter. The joint seam is coated with garden varnish and secured with electrical tape.

The cuttings quickly take root on the new plant; within a month you can notice the appearance of new leaves.

Helpful advice: before the growing season, the grafted rootstock is cut back by 1-2 centimeters. Such actions will help the apricot to correctly distribute forces between old and newly acquired shoots.

How to care for an established cutting?

Self-grown apricot tree seedlings adapt perfectly to growing conditions. Care comes down to the following points:

1. Crown formation. The tree grows upward and is not able to form on its own. Side branches are pruned annually to maintain the quality and duration of the yield.
2. Soil selection. The best soil for planting apricot seeds is loamy or slightly loamy. The only condition is that the soil must have high drainage properties and be sprinkled with humus on top.
3. Feeding. It comes in two types:

• root (fertilizer is applied to special circles around the trunk). Root fertilizers are applied before and after flowering. Nitrogen-containing substances and organic fertilizers sold in specialized stores are excellent for this. Before the wintering period, the soil is saturated with potassium and phosphorus;
• foliar (liquid fertilizers are sprayed on stems and leaves). Mainly used in summer. The crown is sprayed with complex fertilizer solutions.

4. Abundant watering. Trees are watered in the tree trunk circle 4 times a year - during flowering, fruit ripening, hardening of seeds and before the hibernation period.
5. Protection of sprouts from mechanical damage and pests. To do this, the young plant is covered with a two-liter plastic bottle with the bottom or neck cut off.