Apricot trees produce sweet and tart fruit in the taste. The fruits of the apricot tree have velvety orange skin. The inner part of the fruit is red in color. Apricot trees propagate in early spring and produce beautiful pinkish-white flowers.
If you want to grow apricot by seeds then you have to wait for a long time to get its fruits.
How to Start an Apricot Tree from a Pit?
To grow an apricot tree with seeds, firstly you need a good quality mid-to-late type of apricot fruit for seeds. And then, bring out the pits from apricot and put them in a dry place for three hours.
You should use tools like a hammer and nutcracker to break the pit of the apricot. You should be very careful when you separate the seeds from the pit. You can sow the seeds with a pit but they will take more time for germination.
When you get seeds then put them in a dry sheet-like newspaper for a few hours. Stratifying the seeds is necessary when you take seeds from farmers’ markets or get them directly from the apricot trees.
To stratify the seeds, you should keep them in jars or plastic bags and put them in cold places for 60 days. And when you purchase the seeds from grocery stores, there is no need to stratify the seeds because they are already prepared.
If you don’t want to stratify the seeds, you should put them in moist places and wrap them with a wet paper towel. Change the paper towel when mildew is beginning to grow.
Apricot Seed Planting:
When the pit produces small roots. It is time to plant them. You will require pot or containers filled with fertile soil, put the seed in it 4 inches deep, and cover them slightly with the same soil.
Give a little amount of water and put them in a bright light window or in the greenhouse. Apricot trees give fruits after 3 to 5 years.
Watering Apricot Trees:
Every plant needs water for its growth and maintenance. You should give water to the apricot seedlings in a moderate amount when they start their germination. Be careful when you give them water, if you throw water on their leaves, they will catch a disease or fungal infection.
So give water only to their roots. When Apricot trees are mature then they need water only in hot seasons like summers.
If you grow the apricot plant in a container then you should give water in high quantities. When the topsoil of the container is dry give the plant water.
Temperature and Humidity:
When the apricot plant is immature then it needs more light and temperature. Naturally, apricot trees thrive in high temperatures. The apricot trees can also survive in 5-8 zones.
They also propagate in those areas where the temperature of winter and spring are little change. You should grow the apricot plant in the upper areas where microclimates are present. In microclimates, the apricot tree can thrive easily.
Read More
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Fertilizer:
Fertilizer help the plants to produce their yield. Apricot trees need more fertilizer when starting to produce fruits and flowers. Apricot trees use less amount of nitrogen so gave them low nitrogen-containing fertilizers.
Watering:
The sequence of watering is very important for the growth of every plant. Apricot trees need more water when they produce their new roots, flower, and fruits. Avoid giving more water when the soil is already moist. You should give one inch of water weekly when they bloom and produce their fruits.
Light:
Apricot tree use more light for germination. They easily thrive in full sunlight. In the presence of sunlight, they produce sweet and more yield.
Soil:
Apricot trees grow in neutral and slightly alkaline soil. They propagate in fertile, loamy, and well-draining soil.
Harvesting Apricots:
It is the best time for harvesting when the fruits are hard and ripe. Carefully cut the fruit from its branch. You should put the unripe apricots in the frozen box to ripe them. You can use ripe apricots in any dish and eat them in any time.
