Apricot Lel: Variety and photo description

Apricot is an unusually tasty, juicy, fragrant and very useful fruit. Culture requires care, timely watering and feeding.

Description of apricot

Apricot - fruit tree from the family Pink, genus Plum. Russia is brought from warm lands. In the southern strip of the country begins to blossom in mid-April, in the eastern part it dissolves in early May.

The tree blooms predominantly with white, red and pink flowers, exuding a very delicate aroma, but the flowers are dumped fairly quickly, on average for 8-10 days. The height of the apricot tree can reach up to 8 meters, the crown is dense branched. The leaves have a light green or emerald green color, the shape is oval, round or in the form of hearts. With proper care and top dressing, the life span of an apricot can reach 100 years. Fruiting begins after 3 years of life.

Ah, this apricot! Grade Lel

This variety was bred in 1986 on the basis of the Moscow Botanical Garden. NV Tsitsin RAS by breeders AK Skvortsov and LA Kramarenko. In 2004 he was included in the State Register of Selection Plants of the Russian Federation.

Despite the moderate productivity, the apricot Lel, reviews of which are only the best, is successfully grown in collective gardens and in private plots. Excellent appearance and sour-sweet taste of its fruits quite make up for this deficiency. About how to properly grow apricot Lel (description of the variety is presented in the article) read on.

Appearance

The tree is a medium-sized tree, reaching a height of 3 m, the crown is fairly neat and compact. One-year shoots are weakly branched. This variety is characterized by a moderate, rather restrained growth.

The leaves are dark green, shiny, ovoid in shape, with small denticles, smooth and soft to the touch. In autumn they are painted in different shades of red.

White-pink solitary flowers of medium size, each with five rounded petals, can withstand a temperature drop of -1.5 degrees. Flowering period - from late April to early May.

Apricot Lel: description of fruits

The fruits of this variety are very beautiful and shiny, round in shape, slightly flattened from the sides, about 20 g. The skin is orange, almost not pubescent, without blush. Flesh is orange, dense and very tender. Bone is perfectly separated. Maturation early. The yield is average, sometimes high. The fruits are delicious both fresh and conserved. Good quality.

The fruits of the apricot are delicious, nutritious and aromatic. Contain a significant amount of sugar, pectin, organic acids, carotene, as well as malic and citric acid. An important role is played by the mineral and vitamin composition - the presence of vitamins B, C, P, PP, H, E, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iodine, iron, folic acid, etc.

Consumption of apricots helps maintain health and prevent the development of many diseases. Caloric content of 100 g of fruits is 44 kcal.

Landing

For planting apricot Lel, you need to choose a well-ventilated and illuminated garden area, preferably on the south side of the fences or buildings. Culture loves fertile, potassium-rich soils with a deep bed of groundwater. Suitable for planting are autumn and spring months. In this case, you need to pay attention to the state of the soil (it must be loose, crumbling) and the temperature of the air, which at night should not fall below +10 degrees.

Apricot Lel is undemanding to the soil, it can grow successfully even on stony ground. The occurrence of groundwater should not be more than 2-3 m.

When planting a tree in the spring, a pit is prepared for him from the autumn. On the size it should be not less than 1,5 m on the basic parameters. Drainage is poured into the bottom of the landing pit, and on top soil mixed with humus, superphosphate, potassium salt and lime. At a distance of about 10-15 cm from the stem of the seedlings, a wooden stake 1.7 m high is inserted and a tree is tied to it. Sprinkle apricot 10 liters of water. Mulch moist soil with dry grass or sawdust with a layer of 10-15 cm.

Care

For the normal development, growth and stable harvest, timely implementation of agricultural activities is necessary.

Apricot Lel is a drought-resistant tree that requires moderate watering. During the season it is watered three times: in the middle of spring, at the end of May and a few weeks before the ripening of the fruit. In addition, another watering is required - in autumn, when preparing the apricot for wintering.

It is important to remember that apricot tree is sensitive enough to waterlogging the soil, its waterlogging can lead to rotting of the roots.

Trimming

The compact crown of apricot Lel, as a rule, does not cause horticulturists special hassle. Pruning wood is produced annually. In the spring, the branches frozen after winter are removed. It is in the spring period that pruning is considered to be the most effective. Summer pruning is done at the end of August. In the autumn, trees are cut to prepare them for the winter period and increase winter hardiness.

Preparing for winter

Adult apricot Lel is able to tolerate a low air temperature. Its preparation for the winter includes winding the burlap of the trunk and hilling the near-bottom zone with snow. Young seedlings need more thorough care. A small structure is constructed of wooden pegs and is covered with a film, the ground is topped with dirt.

The most dangerous time for apricot trees are winter thaws, when the temperature decreases after warming. During this period, the cracking of the stem or the freezing of flower buds may occur. Most often this applies to young trees, which have not yet managed to grow enough wood.

Fertilizer and fertilizing

During the first five years of life of the apricot tree, fertilizers can be introduced into the near-well zone. Further, the coverage of soil for fertilizer application should increase every year.

In spring, the soil is fertilized by applying 4 kg of humus mixed with 5 g of phosphorus, 6 g of nitrogen, 8 g of potassium per square meter.

Also, for a good yield of apricot trees, mineral dressings are necessary:

• 2-3 years after planting, superphosphate (0.13 kg), ammonium nitrate (0.06 kg) and potassium chloride (0.04 kg) should be added;
• Superphosphate (0.2 kg), potassium chloride (0.06 kg) and ammonium nitrate (0.1 kg) are added to the 4-5th year;
• For 6, 7 and 8 years - superphosphate (0.31 kg), ammonium nitrate (0.21 kg) and potassium chloride (0.14 kg).

Subsequently superphosphate (0.88 kg), ammonium nitrate (0.37 kg) and potassium chloride (0.25 kg) are annually added.

Reproduction

Apricot Lel is propagated in a vegetative manner (ie, by inoculation), by cuttings or grown from seeds.

The latter option is used to obtain new varieties. Apricots, which are grown from bone, have high survival rate and frost resistance. For planting, seeds from the ripe fruits are selected, then a test is carried out for their quality. Bones are lowered into a container of water. Those of them that will come up to the landing are unsuitable. Then a stratification procedure is performed, based on temperature differences. Seeds are planted in a pot and are waiting for germination. When the seedlings get stronger, they are planted in the ground, taking into account all the requirements for planting this tree.

Cutting is an extremely ineffective way of propagating apricot. Cuttings, as a rule, do not take root, and green yields very insignificant results. In addition, the apricot grown in this way is endowed with low viability.

Vaccination is considered the most popular method of propagation of apricot. It perfectly suits on the seedlings of cherries, plums, peaches, etc. Not bad results can be achieved by grafting the cuttings by the method of improved copulation or under the bark, which gives the highest percentage of survival. The most favorable time for such manipulations is at the beginning of May.

Diseases and pests

Among the diseases that affect the apricot Lel (photo attached), you can isolate the Valsa fungus, moniliosis, bacterial spotting, cytosporosis, verticillosis, gum aperture and perforated spotting. The ways to combat them are different. It is necessary to remove the affected fruits and leaves. Wood to process Bordeaux mixture, copper sulfate or other fungicidal agents.

Of insects, aphicosis is represented by aphids, leafworms and stems, which can be removed from insecticides and herbal infusions.

Reviews

As a rule, apricot ( Lel variety ) reviews gardeners gets positive. The fruits, although not large, are juicy enough. Dense pulp has an excellent sweet taste with a slight sourness.

Many gardeners note that the planted saplings are well established, grow normally and perfectly winter. Only it is necessary to carry out preventive measures against pests and diseases in time.

Almost all without exception recommend protecting apricot trees from the cold wind, as they are afraid of them. Therefore, for planting it is necessary to choose a sunny and quiet part of the garden.