In recent years, many gardeners have been planting ornamental trees and shrubs on their plots that are capable of bearing fruit. One of these is the Manchurian apricot. Let us consider the description of this culture in more detail.
The Latin name of the variety is Armeniaca mandschurica. Manchurian is a medium-ripening fruit crop. Ripe apricots can be picked from the tree in the second half of July or early August, depending on the place of growth. The variety does not tolerate sudden changes in temperature, so it is best to grow it in the southern and central regions. Manchurian grows well and bears fruit abundantly in the Moscow region.
The tree is large in size and durable. It lives 90-100 years. The height of the tree reaches 12-15 m. The diameter of the trunk is 35-45 cm. The crown is spreading, openwork. The bark is dark gray in color. When viewed at close range, multiple cracks are visible on it. The color of young branches is green or reddish-brown. The bark on them is smooth, without flaws.
Leaves are medium sized. Their length is 6-12 cm. The shape is lanceolate, ovoid or broadly oval. Jagged edges are visible. In spring, the leaves are light green, during fruit formation they become rich green, and in autumn they turn yellow-red. They fall very late, almost before the snow falls.
The flowers are large, light pink or pink in color, with a pleasant honey scent. They can be arranged singly or in bunches. Pedicel of small length. The flowering period, as a rule, begins in the last ten days of May and lasts for 1.5-2 weeks.
Manchurian is a self-fertile apricot. To get a good harvest, you need to plant other fruit trees and bushes next to it.
The fruits are medium in size, up to 3 cm in diameter. The peel is orange-yellow, of medium density. It has clearly visible pubescence. Since Manchurian is an ornamental tree, its fruits have a slightly specific taste. They are sweet and sour. Apricots can be eaten fresh, made into compotes and jams, or added to everyday dishes.
Fruiting begins 4-6 years after planting the seedlings. Productivity is high and stable from year to year.
Frost resistance is quite high. In the Moscow region, trees are almost never affected by frost.
For good seedling growth, you need to choose the right place to plant it. A distinctive feature of the Manchurian apricot is its unpretentiousness to the soil. It can be grown even on rocky soils. However, it is preferable to plant seedlings on fertile soil with good carrying capacity. This will ensure faster tree growth and increase disease resistance. 
To plant, dig a hole 70-80 cm deep and fertilize it with compost. When immersing seedlings in holes, you should remember that their root collars should be slightly above the soil surface.
Caring for the variety is quite simple. One of the important activities is watering. The tree must be moistened in the spring, after persistent above-zero temperatures have been established. For irrigation, water heated in the sun is used. It is advisable to carry out the procedure early in the morning or in the evening. Further hydration depends on weather conditions. Trees are watered only when there is no rain for a long time.
Fertilizers should be applied at least 2 times a year. After winter, trees are fertilized with mineral complexes. They are dissolved in water or applied directly under the plants in the form of granules. It is not necessary to fertilize trees in the summer. Fertilizing is carried out only when signs of a lack of microelements appear (yellowing or drying of leaves, crushing of fruits). In autumn, apricots are fertilized with minerals or organic matter. This is done after the leaves fall.
Another important activity is loosening the soil around the tree trunk. Such care is needed to improve oxygen access to the roots, which has a positive effect on the rate of apricot growth and fruit ripening. It is carried out every 3-4 weeks.
In addition, care includes pruning. It is done in early spring and late autumn. In both periods, old and overly actively growing branches are removed. The cut areas can be treated with garden varnish.
To protect the tree trunk from pests, it is whitewashed twice every year.
Manchurian apricot is an ideal variety for gardeners who want to have an unusual fruit-bearing crop on their plot. It's quite easy to grow. You just need to follow simple rules of agricultural technology.
Decorative trees and shrubs are the main decoration of any garden. Not only do they have a beautiful appearance, but they can also bear delicious fruit. Recently, Manchurian apricot has been gaining popularity.
Manchurian apricot has recently become increasingly popular
During its flowering, it begins to form large, delicate pink flowers that attract the attention of others and are pleasing to the eye.
Apricot Manchurian was bred in the Chinese branch of the Russian Research Center. Experts have long wanted to create a variety that would be similar to Japanese sakura.
At the beginning of 2005, this species was included in the State Register.
It is suitable for cultivation not only in the eastern part of China or the Far East; thanks to its excellent resistance to weather conditions, it can grow even in Siberia. It is used to decorate not only garden plots. The plant has a powerful root system; it is customary to plant it near bodies of water to strengthen the coastal system.
The description indicates that the Manchurian apricot has a rather tall trunk. Its height reaches 18 m, and the diameter of the trunk itself is 50 cm. The color of the bark is dark brown. It is recommended to tie branches. The leaves are large, up to 12 cm long, oval in shape. In autumn, the leaves may take on a red tint and do not fall off until frost occurs.
Apricot Manchurian has pink flowers. It is believed that they harvest the earliest honey harvest. Their main feature is that their aroma resembles the smell of honey. The flowers are small in size, their diameter is 2.5 cm. They are located on a stalk of small height and can be grouped into inflorescences. Apricot flowering occurs every year and is observed in early April.
When considering the description and characteristics of the variety, the following can be noted:
Fruit ripening occurs in early July. Their taste is sour, so they may be slightly inferior in sweetness to their counterparts from the southern regions. Jams, jams and compotes are made from them.
The fruits of the Manchurian variety are used to make jam
The description indicates that Manchurian apricot has the following positive qualities:
The disadvantage is that the taste of the fruit is sour with notes of bitterness. Many people try to avoid planting this crop on their plots, but most grow the plant for beauty.
To a large extent, apricot trees are planted using an internal pit. The Manchurian variety was no exception. The seeds can retain their quality throughout the year. If you plant a seed in the fall, then next year it will produce a young plant with a 90% chance. It is recommended to place the seeds in a bowl of water. Any that float can be thrown away.
Planting material must be placed in the soil to a depth of at least 1.5 cm. After a few years, the resulting seedling can be transplanted to a permanent growing location.
The plant does not require any special care. Timely watering, loosening the soil, removing weeds and mulching are important.
Manchurian apricot needs periodic removal of old, dry and diseased branches
You can get rid of spider mites using special insecticides “Regent” or “Taboo”. You can fight cherry elephant with a manganese solution. Aphids are removed with copper-containing preparations.
Among the diseases, the main enemies are verticellosis and spotting. To get rid of verticellosis forever, you can use a soap solution. It is possible to combat spotting with the help of the drug “Hom”.
The tree does not begin to bear fruit immediately, but only 5 years after planting. The variety has received many favorable reviews and is recommended for cultivation.
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Apricot Manchurian - photo on the left ( Prunus mandschurica, Armeniaca mandschurica) . This is a deciduous tree growing in Eastern Siberia, northeast China, and the Far East. Its maximum height is 10 - 15 meters. Manchurian apricot is grown not only as a fruit tree, but also as an ornamental one.
Manchurian apricot as an ornamental tree. It has a spectacular appearance in single and group plantings. Good for creating hedges. Wind-, smoke-, gas-resistant. Combines when planted in a group with conifers, birch, and oak. Thanks to its deep root system, it can be used to secure slopes and the banks of reservoirs.
Manchurian apricot as a fruit tree. The fruits are edible, but slightly sour and medium-juicy, so they are used to prepare desserts and are almost never consumed fresh. They ripen in the summer: July - August.
The fruits themselves have a flattened oval shape, small size (about 2.5 cm), orange-yellow color and pronounced pubescence. The kernels are used as an almond substitute. Frost-resistant fruit varieties are hybrids.
There are fruit varieties of Manchurian apricot, or rather hybrids of Manchurian and ordinary apricot, which have increased frost resistance, thanks to which they can be grown in the middle zone, in Siberia and the Urals; they can also be large-fruited or small-fruited. In particular, a hybrid of the Manchurian apricot and the common apricot is the East Siberian apricot with very tasty aromatic fruits, in no way inferior in taste to the southern species.
Toothed leaves of various shapes, lighter below, give the crown an openwork and decorative appearance. The shape of the leaves ranges from elongated-pointed to ovoid, broadly oval. Wider leaves are located on growth shoots. The leaves are red in autumn and remain on the tree for a long time (until severe frosts). The bark is dark gray, with deep cracks.
Manchurian apricot blossoms. Apricot blossoms are very decorative. The tree usually blooms at the end of May for 10 days. The flowers are pinkish-white or pink, have five petals and appear before the leaves, in groups or solitary. During flowering and fruit ripening, Manchurian apricot looks good next to coniferous trees, also in group plantings with birch and oak. The flowers emit a honey smell, and the tree belongs to the group of early honey plants. The flowering period coincides with the flowering of forsythia, Daurian rhododendron, and low almond.
Apricot Manchurian:frost resistance, planting,care, use.
It is one of the most frost-resistant apricot species. Suitable for growing in central Russia, and in the conditions of St. Petersburg it can freeze slightly in harsh winters.
Care. Manchurian apricot is not difficult to care for. In central Russia, a tree can be watered in May - June, and then only in drought conditions. Prolonged drought causes slower growth and later ripening of fruits. Whitewashing the trunk can be done twice a year: in late autumn and early spring.
In principle, such care is recommended for all fruit trees.
In the presence of damage and wounds, the trunk is first cleaned to an area of healthy tissue and smeared with garden varnish.
For the correct formation of the tree crown and better yield, apricot needs pruning, which it tolerates well. Also, it should be remembered that Manchurian apricot is not a self-fertile tree, and therefore requires cross-pollination to obtain a good harvest. Therefore, there should be several additional varieties of apricot on the site, ideally 3 - 4 trees. The first fruiting is observed at 5 - 6 years of life, and with careful care and the absence of transplants - at 3 - 4 years. Fruiting occurs annually.
Usage . Manchurian apricot is decorative during the flowering and fruiting period. It invariably decorates gardens, city parks, and public gardens. Looks good both in single and alley and group plantings (next to conifers, Mongolian oak, Manchurian birch, Amur linden, Amur velvet, etc.). Manchurian apricot can be planted along reservoirs to strengthen coastal soils, as well as slope soils, which it reliably protects from landslides. The fruits of this type of apricot are rarely eaten raw, but they are used to make aromatic jam, preserves or compote.
Armeniaca mandshurica (Maxim.) V. Skvortsov In Russia, it is found only in the south of the Primorsky Territory on the Khanka Plain, the spurs of the East Manchurian Mountains and in the very south of the Sikhote-Alin in the Oktyabrsky, Ussuriysky, Pogranichny, Mikhailovsky, Khankaysky, Khorolsky, Spassky, Chernigovsky, Shkotovsky and Partizansky districts. The main part of the range is located in the first five districts. It is less common in other areas. The northernmost points of growth of the species are the southwestern environs of the village. Novokachalinsk, Khanka district (north-west tip of Lake Khanka) and the southern outskirts of the city of Spassk-Dalniy. The easternmost populations of the species are located on the left bank of the river. Partisan between ss. Novitskoe and Vodopadnoe Partizansky district. Outside Russia, it is found in northeastern China and the north of the Korean Peninsula (1, 3).
Features of ecology and phytocenology. It grows in dry and periodically dry oak forests, as well as as part of tree and shrub thickets on steep sunny (southern, southwestern and southeastern) rocky slopes facing vast flat areas: wide river valleys, lake plains. Sometimes, under the same conditions, it forms almost pure groves surrounded by oak or pine forests, but such areas are very rare and in extremely limited areas, not exceeding 1-2 hectares. The upper limit of apricot distribution is limited to an altitude of 300-450 m above sea level. ur. m. (2,3,4). Xeromesophyte. Very photophilous. Heat-loving, but frost-resistant. Undemanding to soil. Facultative petrophyte.
Number. The number of apricot trunks usually does not exceed 100 copies. per 1 hectare, less often - up to 200 or more (3). State of populations. Manchurian apricot communities are systematically affected by forest fires. Repeated fires lead to the formation of coppice trees and shrubs with a small participation of apricot. In recent years, apricot regeneration occurs more often by vegetative means (shoots from a stump). Natural regeneration in all types of forests involving the species can be considered insufficient. Due to excessive grazing of livestock, in some areas the apricot has disappeared completely, in others it is found only sporadically, with severely mutilated shoots (3).
Limiting factors. Decorative and fruit. Populations of wild apricot are located in the most densely populated areas. Grazing and eating shoots by livestock, economic development of the territory, systematic forest fires. The regeneration of apricot is prevented by the massive consumption of fruits by mouse-like rodents (2, 3). Trees are damaged by stem pests - borers (3).
Security measures taken. It was included in the Red Book of the RSFSR (1988). The species is included in the List of objects... included in the Red Book of Primorsky Territory (2002). It is protected in the Khankaisky, Ussuriysky and Lazovsky nature reserves (5-7), however, the populations of the species in them are small. The species is also protected on the territory of botanical natural monuments - the Novogeorgievskaya and Chernyatinskaya apricot groves in the Oktyabrsky district (3,4,8).
Necessary security measures. Organization of 00PT in the middle reaches of the river. Komissarovki Pogranichny district, in the vicinity. With. Vassianivka, Chernigov district, env. With. Krounovka Ussuriysk district, as well as in 69 sq. Reshetnikovsky forestry of the Pogranichny forestry enterprise (3). Monitoring the state of populations.
Cultivation possibilities. Widely known in culture. Cultivated in 31 botanical gardens in Russia. It is used, although not enough, in landscaping in the Primorsky Territory.
Information sources. 1. Vorobyov, 1968; 2. Kurentsova, 1962,1968, 1973; 3. Epifanova, 2004; 4. Krestov, Verkholat, 2003; 5. Belaya, Morozov, 1985; b. Barkalov V.Yu., personal communication; 7. Taran, 1990; 8. Seledets, 1993. Compiled by: S.V. Prokopenko.
