Apricot Krasnoshchekiy - all you need to know about the variety

It has long been known and popular variety originating from the sunny Crimea. For a long time beloved by many, the red-cheeked apricot gave birth to its varieties and hybrids. What are they, what are good, where do they grow? How and where to plant and grow this magnificent tree? What to do so that the tree does not get sick and does not suffer from insects and rodents? - about all this further.

Old, good friend - Apricot Krasnoshchekiy

This is a southern, thermophilic variety. Pretty old and widespread. It enjoys tinned popularity due to its high consumer qualities. Bred in the Crimea in 1947. Since then, many gardeners in the south of Russia and Ukraine have been proud of this huge tree, sometimes growing up to 12 meters, with a spreading, sparse crown, strewn with beautiful, large fruits (40-60 g). And such a tree lived to a very respectable age - 40-50, and sometimes up to 60 years.

And this apricot grew almost independently, without requiring any kind of increased attention and care. Having a deep, well-developed root system, he extracted water from the depths and did not require watering, had a high drought tolerance.

Since the Red-cheeked is self-fertile, and also has a high yield (up to 10-15 buckets of berries were removed from an adult tree in a season), it was rarely possible to see more than one tree on a garden plot. The berries begin to ripen in mid-July and gradually ripen until September.

The fruits of universal use. Tasty, ripe berries can be consumed fresh. From hand-picked apricots from the lower tiers, excellent compotes are covered. Berries falling from the upper branches (immediately picked) are excellent raw materials for jams, preserves, candied fruits, dried fruits, juices.

The main disadvantage of the variety is the poor resistance to return frosts and the tendency to freeze flower buds, which is the reason for the lack of yield in some years.

What year does the red-cheeked apricot bear fruit?

The first fruits can be tasted already for 3-4 years after planting, sometimes for 5-7 years.

Popular types of apricot varieties Krasnoshchekiy

Of course, Crimean breeders were not going to stop at the results achieved. They (and not only them) continued to improve the variety and create new hybrids based on it. And, not surprisingly, they achieved good results in this field, having received new, improved varieties of Krasnoshchekoy.

Table: distinctive features of the popular types of apricot Krasnoshchek

Apricot planting, step by step instructions

The rules for planting apricot Krasnoshchekiy do not differ from the rules for planting other apricots:

1. Choosing a place to land. Since apricot is a heat-loving plant, it is desirable to plant it in a sunny place without drafts. Well, if the fence or building will protect him from the north side. The level of groundwater should not be less than 2.5 m. The soil is better than chernozem, loamy, sandy loam. Will not grow on sour and peat.
2. Choice of landing dates. Apricot planted in early spring, before budding.
3. Seedling selection. Annual seedlings with well-developed roots take root best.
4. Preparing the pit for landing. Its dimensions are 0.8 m in diameter and the same in depth. When digging, the upper, fertile layer is folded separately, then it is poured onto the bottom of the pit and nutrients are added - 2-3 buckets of compost (or humus), 1-2 liters of wood ash, 200-300 g of superphosphate. Everything is mixed. It is better if the pit is harvested in the fall.
5. Before planting, the roots of the seedling should be lowered into a mash of mullein and clay.
6. Planted on a mound of nutrient mixture, carefully spreading the roots and sprinkle with earth, evenly tamping. The root neck is buried by 5-6 cm (if on sandy soils - then by 10-12 cm).
7. An earthen roller of the near-stem circle is formed and well watered.
8. Cut the seedling at a distance of 30 cm from the ground - 3-4 buds should remain, from which skeletal branches will be laid.

How to care, features and subtleties of growing

Apricot is undemanding to care and does not take much time and effort.

Watering

Apricot does not like waterlogging, drought tolerant. However, in the first years after planting, until the root system has developed well enough, you need to ensure that the soil in the near-stem circle does not dry out, periodically watering it. After watering, the soil needs to be loosened and, preferably, mulched.

In the future, when the apricot roots grow deep enough, he will be able to take care of himself. But you should not forget about it. Watering should be 2-3 times per season, plus pre-winter water-charging irrigation.

Top dressing

Like any plant, apricot loves top dressing, especially nitrogen. But you need to be careful - it is better to underfeed than to overfeed! An overdose of nitrogen fertilizers leads to super-large growths, a delay in fruit ripening, and gumming.

The first 3 years of top dressing are not needed at all, enough nutrients laid during planting. Then, every 3-4 years, organic matter (humus, compost) is added at the rate of 4-5 kg ​​per 1 m². When fruiting begins, it is useful to add ammonium nitrate (30 g / m) in spring.²), potassium monophosphate (10-20 g / m²), in the fall under digging superphosphate (20-30 g / m²).

Pruning

Of course, Krasnoshchek can not be cut, he will grow and even give a crop. But it is better, especially in the early years, not to let this process drift. Correct, timely forming pruning will help curb the rapid growth of our giant, hold back the excessive load from the first harvests, and help the tree grow stronger. In subsequent years, only anti-aging (once every 4-5 years) and sanitary trimming will be required.

Forming Cut

If during planting the seedling was cut 30 cm from the ground, then young shoots will start to grow from the remaining buds, from which skeletal branches will form in the future.

In the first year, 2-3 thickest branches are shortened by half, the main conductor should be 25 -35 cm higher than them. The remaining branches (if any) are cut "into a ring".

Do not leave or cut anything superfluous

In the second year, another 2-3 strong branches are selected, located 25-35 cm higher than the first ones. Their length should be slightly less than the length of the branches of the first level. The central conductor is cut to a height of 40 cm above the last side branch. Shoots growing on skeletal branches are halved.

From left to right: pruning after planting; pruning for the first year; pruning for the second year; pruning for the third year

Complete the formation of the crown for the third year. In a similar way, branches of the third level are selected and cut. The central conductor is cut completely to the upper branch.

By four to five years, the apricot crown is fully formed

Formative pruning, as a rule, is carried out in early spring before buds open.

Sanitary and maintenance pruning

Spend it at the end of October-November, before the onset of frost. Dry, damaged and diseased branches are removed. All remaining (except skeletal) are shortened by 20-30%. If the autumn was rainy and before the onset of frost it was not possible to carry out pruning, it is transferred to spring.

Anti-aging pruning

It consists in a phased replacement of skeletal branches. In the spring, 2-4 branches are selected, which are cut off, leaving 20-30 cm from the trunk. The next time others shorten, and so, gradually, replace the entire skeleton.

To stimulate fruiting in the inner part of the crown, skeletal branches are completely exposed in the spring. After this, by the summer, new, young, fruitful shoots will appear.

Cropping Rules

It should not be forgotten that any pruning is a surgical operation and for a tree it is not painless. Therefore, you need to observe elementary rules:

• Tools (secateurs, garden hacksaws, delimbers, knives) must be sharpened and sanitized.
• The branches are cut at a right angle so that the cut area is minimal.
• You can not leave hemp near the trunk or above the growth buds. At the trunk, the branch is cut "into a ring", 1-2 cm above the growth buds.
• Thick branches are cut in two steps (or more, according to the situation). If you cut the branch immediately, there is a big risk that it will split the left part when it falls, remove part of the bark from the trunk or damage neighboring branches.
• After trimming, the surface of the cut is cleaned (if necessary) with a sharp knife, disinfected with a 1% solution of copper or iron sulfate, and then treated with garden varnish or putty.

When choosing a garden flower, it is important to avoid one that includes refined products (gasoline, kerosene, solid oil, etc.). Preference should be given to formulations based on natural components - beeswax, lanolin, etc.

Video: Apricot Pruning Workshop

Diseases and pests: prevention and treatment

Apricot Krasnoshchekiy is quite resistant to diseases and, as a rule, does not cause trouble in this regard. Often enough of the usual preventive and sanitary measures that are common to the entire garden and are carried out simultaneously.

• In early spring (if this is not done in the fall), sanitary pruning is performed with the removal and destruction of diseased branches, as well as fallen leaves, in which pests and pathogens can winter.
• Before the onset of sap flow, the crown is treated with fungicides (antifungal agents) and insecticides (insect killers). These are drugs such as:
  • Decis.
  • BOTTOM.
  • Nitrafen.
  • Copper sulfate.
  • Inkstone.
  • Bordeaux mixture, etc.
• After flowering and before harvest (3-20 days, depending on the product chosen), if necessary, periodically (especially after rains) are treated with biofungicides, such as:
  • Horus.
  • Quadris.
  • Fufanon et al.
• During the season, weeds are removed, the signs of possible diseases are monitored, and if detected, adequate measures are taken.
• In the fall, they again carry out sanitary measures - collecting and destroying fallen leaves, pruning dry branches. And also, with the onset of cold weather, digging of tree trunks is carried out in order to raise pests that have settled down to winter on the surface.
• In autumn, whitewash of the stem and skeletal branches with lime is also performed. This will scare away the crawling insects, the mice also do not like lime. In addition, you need to wrap trunks and lower branches with roofing material to protect against hares.

Sometimes the Red-cheeked apricot can still be exposed to disease and pest attack. The risk is especially great while the tree is young (up to 7-8 years). The main diseases are fungal:

• Kleasterosporiosis.
• Moniliosis.
• Cytosporosis.
• Fusarium and others.

Photo Gallery: Apricot Fungal Disease

The main pests:

• Weevil.
• Khrushchev.
• Moths.
• Leafworms, etc.

Photo Gallery: Apricot Pests

When signs of disease or pest attacks appear, they take measures to eliminate a specific problem. Although, as mentioned earlier, with regular prevention, this should not happen.

Reviews of the Red-Cheeked and the Son of the Red-cheeked

Saplings of the varieties Son Krasnoshchekogo were purchased in the spring with an open root system. We planted them at the fence so that the vaccination was on the south side. Then the seedlings were poured with water, and subsequently their care was minimal. Since they grew far from the water supply, we did not water them very often. For the winter they didn’t shelter or cut anything. Also, during this time, apricot trees have never been fed. This year they bought and planted another seedling. The tree of this variety is tall, sprawling and prickly. Located on a long trunk, short branches are sharp as thorns. The tree grows very quickly, and takes up a lot of space, so when planting an apricot, this point must be taken into account. Seedlings have never been sick, perhaps because in our area there are no pests that are in the south. Only once it is not clear why one seedling suddenly burned out. But after a while, higher branches began to grow on it. And this year we removed sweet apricots from this tree. Therefore, in my review I want to say that gardeners are not afraid to plant apricots in the suburbs. They are growing very well here.

Irina

luchshie-sorta-abrikosov-dlya-podmoskovya-nazvanie-opisanie-otzyvy.html

I have several apricot trees growing on my site. I grew two from seeds, and one tree of the Krasnoshcheky variety was grafted. The most unpretentious were those grown from seeds. They have, oddly enough, large fruits. The only problem is that apricots grow on one tree, the seed of which does not want to separate from the fruit. The grafted seedling will fall ill with something, then it will freeze. The fruits on it are tasty, beautiful and large, but very few

Helena

luchshie-sorta-abrikosov-dlya-podmoskovya-nazvanie-opisanie-otzyvy.html

Apricot Krasnoshchekiy is a high-yielding, time-tested variety. The main point in growing is the correct formation of the crown from planting to 4-5 years of age. And then, with minimal care, which does not require special labor costs, this tree will delight you and your children and your grandchildren with its large, sweet berries.