Thanks to the Manchurian variety, gardeners and landscape decorators have the opportunity to create a hedge that separates the garden plot from natural bodies of water. The powerful root system of the Manchurian apricot not only is not afraid of large amounts of water, it is capable of strengthening the coastline. The winter-hardy variety is a rootstock for many northern varieties of apricots.
Description of the variety
Despite all the advantages of Manchurian, I would like to start describing the variety with its decorative qualities. During flowering, the tree looks more like sakura than a traditional apricot, which was the goal of the breeders. The crown resembles a white and pink ball, consisting of inflorescences of large white and pink buds (up to 2.5 cm in diameter). During the fruiting period, the color of the tree appears yellow due to the large number of fruits, and in the fall it turns purple. Reddened leaves (5-12 cm in size) remain on the branches until late autumn.
Inconvenient for the gardener is the tall dark brown trunk of the tree, reaching 15 meters in height, which is not typical for varietal fruit trees. The trunk of an adult plant is 50 cm in diameter, the bark on it is similar in characteristics to a cork tree, deep cracks are not a disease, but a feature of the species. The endurance and strength of the root system, which extends several meters underground, suggests planting away from buildings.
Apricot Manchurian can live for more than a hundred years, all this time the root system will develop and strengthen, capable of destroying a concrete foundation.
Attention! Apricots do not tolerate proximity to currant and raspberry bushes. All other plants cannot grow next to the giant, which depletes and dehydrates the earth.
Despite these features of the root system, when transplanting, the Manchurian apricot seedling is buried so that the root collar rises 2-3 cm above the ground.
Fruit:
- oval shape;
- slightly flattened laterally;
- length 4-5 cm;
- weight 20 g;
- light orange color;
- the skin is velvety.
The tree bears fruit abundantly, but the taste of its fruit is called specific.Sweet and sour fruits are perfect for eating raw and for preparing winter preparations - compotes, jams, confitures, preserves.
History of selection
Work on improving the Manchurian variety has been going on for a long time at the Chinese branch of the Russian Research Center. The main task of the scientists was to create a decorative apricot with characteristics of Japanese sakura for central Russia. The goal was achieved, as evidenced by the inclusion of the plant in the state register in 2005. Fruiting was not a priority.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Unpretentiousness, ease of care, high decorative characteristics, powerful root system are the undeniable advantages of the variety. As a rootstock, Manchurian apricot is used to improve the quality of other varieties of winter-hardy apricots. The disadvantages include the height of the tree, which complicates harvesting and pruning the crown. The bitter taste reduces the tasting characteristics of the fruit.
Characteristics
The characteristics of the Manchurian variety, which served Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin as a rootstock for his experiments, differ significantly from those of the plant of the same name, adapted for temperate regions.
Drought resistance, winter hardiness
Due to the peculiarities of the bark, Manchurian apricot easily tolerates frosts down to -30 °C. An adult plant is more resistant to drought than a young one. Every year the roots go deeper into the soil, where they are able to independently obtain the moisture necessary for a large plant. During dry seasons, young trees need to be provided with systematic watering.
Pollination, flowering period and ripening time
Vigorous flowering continues for 12 days. In some regions it begins in early April.In more northern regions, this moment occurs after the snow melts. The flowers attract bees and wasps with their honey scent. They are the pollinators of the Manchurian apricot.
Productivity, fruiting
Already at the beginning of June, an apricot tree of this variety pleases gardeners with ripe, but medium-sized fruits. The number of fruits is directly proportional to the size of the crown, the branches of which are covered. Despite the fact that the fruit is not large, the harvest from an adult tree can be generously shared with neighbors.
A gardener from the Moscow region shared his achievement by removing 25 10-liter buckets of apricots from one mature tree. Seedlings begin to bear fruit in the 5th year after planting on the site.
Resistance to diseases and pests
The winter-hardy apricot variety has quite high immunity to viral and fungal infections. Its main enemies are insects; fighting them does not require much effort, but the sprayer should always be at hand:
- Spider mites are afraid of insecticides - “Regent”, “Taboo”.
- To the cherry elephant I don’t like the potassium permanganate solution.
- Copper-containing preparations are used against aphids.
Verticellosis is terrible for all apricot trees; a soap solution helps against it; spotting is treated with the drug “Hom”.
Features of planting and care
To grow Manchurian apricot, fertile soil is required, but it does not matter at all whether the food source is silt, sandy loam or rocky soil. Planting for plants of this type is preferable in the spring, then the seedling grown in greenhouse conditions or in another region will have time to adapt to the climatic conditions of the area.
Standard annual care:
- If there is a long absence of rain in the summer, the tree must be watered abundantly with water warmed in the sun.
- Mulch - mown grass, straw, hay - will help retain moisture in the soil at the roots.
- Root feeding is done twice a year.
- Loosening the soil within a radius of 2-2.5 meters from the trunk.
- In spring and autumn, branches with damage, old and fast-growing ones, which take away the plant’s strength for fruiting, are removed.
- The cutting areas are treated with garden varnish.
- Whitewashing of the trunk is also carried out in autumn and spring.
Attention! When planting seedlings near water, it is necessary to create a 20 cm drainage layer of crushed stone.
Every gardener carries out the same care measures with apple, pear, cherry, plum and other fruit trees. This may seem difficult only to a novice gardener. Over time, this becomes natural and inevitable. Compliance with the treatment time against pests, fungi, and infectious diseases is the key to tree health and a high yield.
