Apricot variety Black Prince: description with photos, planting, pollinators

Black apricot allegedly appeared as a result of accidental pollination of apricot with wild cherry plum in South Asia. The first fruits did not differ in good taste, but breeders became interested in the hybrid and began to work on improving its characteristics. In the apricot Black Prince, bred by Ukrainian scientists, increased winter hardiness is combined with excellent taste qualities of large fruits. The variety is one of the most popular among representatives of a hybrid culture.

The story of the apricot Black Prince

There is very little information about the origin of the Black Prince variety. It is known that apricot was bred by Ukrainian breeders at an experimental nursery station in Artyomovsk (Bakhmut) Donetsk region by crossing apricot with cherry plum. The hybrid is grown throughout Ukraine, and also feels good in the southern regions and central Russia. Apricot is not registered in the Register of Selection Achievements of the Russian Federation and the State Register of Plant Varieties of Ukraine, therefore unofficial sources will have to be used to describe it.

Description and characteristics of the variety

The tree is medium-sized, up to 3.5–4 meters high. Crohn is quite spreading, not prone to thickening. The bark has a dark green hue. At the age of 5–6, sparse spikes appear on skeletal branches, which makes it harder to care for the crown and harvest. Flowering later than ordinary apricot.

The fruits are medium-sized and large, from 40 to 80 grams. The shape is round or round-oval. The color of unripe fruits is dark red, fully ripe - dark burgundy with a purple tint. The skin is thin, with a slight pubescence.

The Black Prince is the champion of large-fruited among his brothers.

The pulp is medium density, juicy. Fruits are recommended to be removed at the stage of technical maturity. At this time, the light orange flesh has a sour-sweet taste. After several days of laying, the color becomes dark maroon, and the taste is purely sweet. It feels notes of apricot, cherry plum and nectarine. The fruits can be consumed fresh as a dessert, and also they produce excellent canned products: compotes, jams, pastille. In terms of taste, the described hybrid is superior to other varieties of aronia apricot, most of which are suitable only for processing. The bone separates poorly. The transportability of unripe fruits is good, ripe apricots do not tolerate transportation.

Ripening period is medium late: last decade of July - first half of August. Harvesting should be carried out in a timely manner, since fully ripened fruits quickly crumble. The variety is early-growing, the first apricots may appear already in the second or third year after planting. Fruiting is annual. Yields are above average, 25–35 kg of fruits are harvested from one adult tree, which is a good indicator for a compact plant.

In terms of frost resistance, the Black Prince is superior to ordinary apricot, but inferior to its own kind. The limit of its resistance to frost is considered to be a temperature of -30 ° C. Wood has a good regenerative ability. Flower buds are frost-resistant, which is important for regions with frequent return frosts. Plants have good resistance to fungal diseases.

Video: Apricot review Black Prince

How the Black Prince is pollinated

Concerning the self-pollination ability of the variety, opinions were divided. Some sources characterize the hybrid as stably self-fertile, according to other sources, it is self-fruitless. Manufacturers of planting material (in particular the company "Home and Garden") recommend as pollinators apricots Pineapple Tsyurupinsky and Triumph Severny, as they are closest in terms of flowering to the described grade. It is also noted that for pollination of the hybrid, in addition to apricot, plum, cherry plum and thorns are suitable, therefore, in the nearest environment there are always some suitable neighbors able to pollinate the apricot Black prince.

Apricot Planting Black Prince

In the southern latitudes, the Black Prince can be planted both in spring and autumn. In more northern regions, spring planting is preferred. The place for placement should meet the same requirements as when growing ordinary apricot: open, with good lighting and ventilation, and also protected from cold winds. The variety is undemanding to soil fertility, but its structure should be quite loose. Seedlings are afraid of flooding of the root system, therefore, on heavy soils, drainage is placed in the planting pits, and in the lowlands young trees are placed on artificial mounds 60–70 cm high. The distance between medium-sized trees should be about 3.5–4 m; in mass plantings between rows, leave 5–5.5 m. The rest follow the usual rules for planting apricots.

Features of cultivating Black Prince

Aronia apricot is quite unpretentious, so growing it is not more difficult than ordinary. In general, the rules of agricultural technology are common to both species; there are very few nuances of cultivating a hybrid.

Shaping and trimming

It is most logical to form a mid-growth tree prone to thickening of the Black Prince in the form of a cup. In this case, good ventilation and lighting of the crown will be provided, as well as a cup-shaped formation facilitates access to the branches during harvesting. A crown is formed during the first 3-4 years, then, if necessary, a regulatory (thinning) and sanitary trimming are carried out.

Watering and feeding

When conducting watering, you need to consider the following points:

• The variety is quite demanding on moisture, especially during the intensive growth of shoots, the formation of ovaries and fruit loading. During these periods, the soil is moistened to a depth of 30–40 cm.
• 3-4 weeks before harvesting, irrigation is stopped, since waterlogging during fruit ripening can provoke cracking.
• Apricot-fructified lot of moisture is not required.
• In the fall, a standard water-charging irrigation is carried out.

Plants are fed according to the usual apricot pattern. But it is important to remember that an excess of nutrients is poorly reflected in the variety, so do not exceed the dosage, especially for nitrogen-containing fertilizers. Of organics, compost and humus are most preferred. The use of chicken droppings is highly undesirable, as it contains a large amount of nitrogen.

Adverse Protection

The black prince, like other varieties of chokeberry, is resistant to common fungal diseases and pests. Standard preventive measures will be enough to avoid problems of this kind.

In cold regions, you need to help the tree winter. To protect the root system from freezing, the trunk circle is mulched with organic materials (leaves, sawdust, hay, dry peat, etc.). The trunk and skeletal branches of adult trees are wrapped with 2-3 layers of burlap or breathable covering material. Young trees can be covered completely.

Reviews about the apricot variety Black Prince

In our region (Volgograd), the Black Prince apricot is more resistant to disease and frost. It blooms late, does not fall under frost, unlike apricot. The size of the fruit is quite large, some reach 90 g., For several years we had a crop failure for apricots, and black has always been. This year, the harvest for all apricots and he also does not lag. I bought 2004. in the market as a curiosity, not knowing anything about him. Lucky, not fooled.

But they write that the Black Prince is sweet and sour? it worries me ...

Quote (07.25.2013, 7:55)

Sourness disappears when the fruit is fully ripe, but becomes not transportable. Therefore, if you carry it, you need to rip a little immature and let it settle down.

Re: Apricot Black Prince

It tastes like plum. High winter hardiness and productivity, resistance to diseases and pests. Fruits are large, the color is dark purple. Medium ripening.

The Black Prince is a late variety of apricot, plum color, small in size, tastes very sweet. This variety is considered a hybrid of common apricot with cherry plum. Such an apricot grows in my third year - there are not many fruits, and we eat them not quite ripe!

Hooray! This season on my apricot tree, varieties "Black Prince", there are 10 pieces of apricot. Of course, I did not expect that there would be fruits due to bad weather conditions, the Krasnoshcheky variety did not produce fruit from 3 trees at all. Now we will wait until ripening and try what they taste.

“The Black Prince” is liked by the fact that it is cold-resistant and disease-resistant. When frosts beat other apricot varieties, this one usually survives, because it is a hybrid of apricot and cherry plum. But the taste of apricot. And it bears fruit in August, when other apricots have already hatched. And large - up to 40-60 g. And partly self-fertile! Other varieties of black apricot are smaller. And the compote from it is cool (I don’t know the jam - I didn’t cook it).

The Black Prince is growing in my garden. The tree is undersized, susceptible to disease. The fruits are very tasty, juicy. Taste between plum and apricot. I think you can plant such a tree at home, only a little.

... in my garden the Black Prince has been growing for 5 years, the disease has not been affected taste when fully ripened crop 2017 after spring frosts and snow April 22 did not start highly.

This is not to say that black apricot grows in every garden, but lately the demand for a hardy extraordinary hybrid has begun to increase. The Black Prince advantageously differs in large-fruited and high palatability among his brothers. Its frost resistance is not as high as that of other black-fruited varieties, but it is quite enough to grow apricot in the zone of risky farming.