Siberian apricot

1 Aliases mountain apricot, sweet plum

2 Growth habits Cold-tolerant, drought-tolerant, highly adaptable, not demanding about soil or climate, can be cultivated in mountain areas and flat land alike, but sunny, well-drained plots are best,

and it dislikes waterlogging.

3 Cultivation and propagation Can be propagated by seed or grafting. For seed propagation, sow in autumn; for grafting, young trees of plum, apricot or peach can be used as rootstock, bud grafting in August,

and after 1-2 years of growing they can be transplanted.

4 Cultivation management The Siberian apricot likes light and warmth, is cold-tolerant and drought-tolerant, but not tolerant of wet conditions, and requires fertile, well-drained, neutral or slightly alkaline sandy loam soil. Planting is best done before bud break in early spring or after leaf fall in autumn; its root system is relatively shallow but well developed, with many fibrous roots, so it should not be planted too deep, and cultivation in low-lying, waterlogged spots should be avoided. Apply sufficient base fertilizer in the planting hole; seedlings can be transplanted bare-root dipped in muddy water, while large saplings, large trees or valuable varieties must be transplanted with a soil ball. The tree is generally kept at 4-6 m through shaping and pruning; in areas planted in large blocks, a simple pruning should be done every 2-3 years, balancing large and small branches evenly to control the crown shape; where conditions permit, timely pruning should be done after flowering each year, leaving only 2-3 buds at the base of flowered branches and cutting off the rest, and thinning out overly dense, weak branches and crossing branches. In summer, pinch the tips to encourage flower bud formation.