Northern Apricot (hybrid Of Common And Manchurian Apricot) - Propagation By Cuttings

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Northern apricot - propagation of valuable plants using micro-greenhouses

In recent decades, the winter-hardy apricot, a hybrid of the common apricot and the Manchu apricot, has emerged and has become increasingly widespread.

For the first time it was obtained in the European part of the country by A. M. Leontiev in the Darwin Reserve in the middle of the 50s of the last century. His seed offspring were preserved and propagated by V. V. Osokin in the Vologda region, from where it spread widely throughout the North-West of the country. For more details about this apricot, read the publication "Northern Apricot" in No. 12 for 2008, and also "And once again about the northern apricot" No. 3 for 2010 in the magazine "Flora Price". Initially, its reproduction proceeded mainly by seed, as a result of which the inherited properties in such plants were not constant. And they did not always retain their positive qualities. Of course, the best bred forms can be grafted on apricot seedlings, as well as on plum stocks, both of seed and coppice origin. But this is more difficult to do. Not every gardener knows how to plantand the life expectancy of such plants is usually lower. In addition, in case of accidental death of the aboveground part (scion), only the low-value rootstock will remain intact.

However, my experiments have shown that this hybrid form of apricot propagates quite successfully by cuttings. Sent to me from Vologda by S. P. Crimson cuttings of apricot from trees with a number of positive properties, were planted in a micro-cutter made from an eight-liter bottle of mineral water. The cuttings were prepared at the end of winter. It took 10-14 days from harvesting to planting (including the delivery time of the parcel). But even during this short time, callus was formed on many cuttings, and on some branches even on the upper sections. The buds blossomed during delivery and gave rise to shoots 1-1.5 cm long. When rooting, it should be borne in mind that in the greenhouse atmosphere necessary for successful engraftment, this hybrid is highly susceptible to mold damage to cuttings. Therefore, to get rid of them and prevent mold from developing,cuttings should be sprayed every 2-3 days with a weak pink solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate). This allows you to keep the situation under control. Before planting, it is very useful to put the cut cuttings in a solution of a substance that stimulates root formation, for example, heteroauxin of standard concentration, for a day. With a small amount of work, as already noted, it is very convenient to make a greenhouse from a 5–8 liter bottle of mineral water.it is very convenient to make a greenhouse from a 5-8-liter bottle of mineral water.it is very convenient to make a greenhouse from a 5-8-liter bottle of mineral water.

To do this, it is cut across, and then the lower edge of its upper half is cut with 6–8 petals, which are filled into the lower part of the bottle. If you do the opposite, then the condensate deposited on the inner surface of the greenhouse will not flow into it, but outside. As a result, moisture loss will increase, and it will be damp around the greenhouse, which, for example, is not always convenient at home - you need a pallet. It is best to root in a sphagnum moss substrate, in which the rooting processes are much more efficient than in sand, and even more so in water. To do this, the bottom of each cutting is tightly wrapped with wet moss fibers (dry ones will crumble), and then put in the lower part of the bottle, filling the gaps between them with the tissues of the same sphagnum. Its use, firstly, creates an optimal combination of water and air in the substrate,since it is hygroscopic and retains moisture well, but at the same time there is a lot of air between its stems, as well as in dead cells and intercellular spaces. And secondly, it contains the disinfectant sphagnol, which prevents the appearance of rot on the parts of cuttings immersed in the moss, and, therefore, increases the survival rate. Such a micro-greenhouse is suitable and convenient for rooting cuttings of not only northern apricot, but also any other cuttings.suitable and convenient for rooting cuttings of not only northern apricot, but also any other cuttings.suitable and convenient for rooting cuttings of not only northern apricot, but also any other cuttings.