Features and description of the Lel apricot variety

Description

Apricot Lel is a seedling in the second - third generation, which was obtained by specialists L.A. Kramarenko and A.K.Skvortsov from free pollination in 1986. The originator of this apricot variety is the Main Botanical Garden. For the first time in documents, this wonderful variety has been found since 2004 - in the State Register for the Central District. If we talk about the description of the trees of this variety, then they are of average size, capable of reaching a height of three meters.

Also, an apricot of the excellent Lel variety has a beautiful compact crown. Moderate, unhurried growth is characteristic of the tree of this variety. This apricot has one-year weakly branched shoots, and its flowers are small, can reach 3 cm in diameter. In the autumn season, Lel apricot leaves acquire a beautiful red color and its various shades.
The variety has round, slightly pressed on both sides, fruits that can weigh about 20 g. According to the description, the fruits of these fruits have an orange peel, they have no blush and edge, they have a nice shine. Also, an apricot variety called Lel is distinguished by a sufficiently dense and elastic pulp, which is also orange in color.

The fruits of the Lel variety are very tasty and juicy, they have a harmonious combination of sugar and acid, for which the variety received a high expert assessment during tasting - 5 points.

The chemical composition of apricots is as follows - 16.8% dry matter, 8.6% sugars, 2.8% titratable acids. The potassium content in the fruits of this variety is 417 mg per 100 grams. The bone tends to separate well from the pulp. The variety of this apricot, like the fruit of the Alyosha variety, has a large stone, which makes up about 10 - 12% of the total fruit, which is almost the only obvious drawback of this variety.
This wonderful variety of apricot is distinguished by an early ripening period of fruits, but still they appear on the trees much later than in the Alyosha or Iceberg varieties.

It has an average, sometimes high, yield, which can by no means be called excessive. In general, this apricot variety can be called stable and moderate in all its characteristics. Also, the fruits are well preserved under certain conditions. This excellent variety of fruit tree has good winter hardiness and tolerates frost normally. Fruiting occurs on all types of shoots. The grafted plants of the Lel variety begin to bear fruit three years after grafting.

Taste and application

This apricot variety will give its owner delicious juicy sweet fruits. Although the fruits themselves have a very modest size and a very large pit, they are ready to forgive these features for their refined taste. In small graceful apricots there is a huge benefit for the body - they are able to stimulate the appetite, act refreshingly, have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system and much more. Their dry extract is used in the form of granules and dragees - they help with anemia.To do this, they are soaked in distilled water at a temperature of about zero, after which the extract itself is separated and processed.

Apricot juice is useful for liver diseases and hypertension. Diet canned food for children is also prepared from the fruits. The composition contains fatty oils that are used for the manufacture of cosmetics and in terms of quality they are not inferior to peach and almond oil. Raw apricots should be consumed by everyone with hypovitaminosis, disorders of the nervous system, and so on. At home, compotes, preserves, jams are made from them, they are used to make delicious baked goods.

Growing features

So, you have already read the reviews of experienced gardeners on specialized sites and purchased this particular variety of apricot tree. But how to properly plant and grow it in your garden? The place for planting your fruit tree should not only be sufficiently sunny and open, but also high - since it is in the lowlands that cold air accumulates. Take care of a suitable soil - it should have good breathability.

Even short-term flooding of the root system with water can be detrimental to the culture. Clay soils are not suitable for the tree, on non-irrigated chernozem crops they give a poor harvest, on sandy soil they can get burns in summer and age early. Therefore, it is best to plant apricots on loamy, sandy loam, light loamy or neutral ground.

It is necessary to plant a fruit tree in the spring, after which watering is required in an amount of about 20 - 30 liters. Thus, favorable conditions for growth and development are created for culture. From above, the seedling should be mulched with sawdust, peat chips or other materials. For the full development of the tree, regular watering is also extremely necessary. Especially in May, when it has a period of intense growth. You also need to water the apricot a couple of weeks before the fruit ripens.

There is no need to make a shelter for the culture for the winter. To protect against rodents, it is advised to tie spruce branches to the trunks with needles down. In the fall, after a rainy season, be sure to whitewash the tree trunk and large branches. Whitewashing will protect against sunburn. Sodium sulfate is recommended from top dressing, and the culture also strongly needs the elements of iron, boron, manganese. It is not advised to make a lot of nitrogen-containing dressings for young trees, especially in the second half of summer. In order to prevent the long growth of shoots during a prolonged warm autumn, from August the trees should be watered with an ash solution - usually about 5 - 10 buckets are enough.

You cannot dig deep into the soil in the near-trunk circle, as this can cause irreparable harm to the root system. Today, black fallow is considered the best soil maintenance system; from time to time it is permissible to use green manure crops. It is also important to prune the shoots of the fruit crop on time and form the plant correctly at a young age, which will be the key to its successful cultivation. For this, a sparse-tiered formation system is used.

Video "Planting an apricot"

The video shows the process of planting an apricot seedling in the ground from "A" to "Z".