Siberian apricot

Photo: Аркадий Зарубин — CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Survives zone 2 through 6

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

The flesh is thin, dry, and sour to the point of being barely palatable fresh, so the species is grown mainly for its almond-flavored kernel, pressed for oil, and as extremely cold-hardy apricot breeding stock — ⚠ kernels are bitter and cyanogenic if eaten raw in quantity.

Hardiness

Zone 2–6

Habit

Tree

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Summer–autumn

Mature size

Shrub or small tree 2–5 m

Light

Full sun

Soil pH

6.0–7.0 (near-neutral)

Environment

Boreal

Native range

Mountains and forest steppe of northeastern and northern China, Mongolia, eastern Siberia, and the Russian Far East (Maritime Territory).

Status

Both wild and cultivated

Years to fruit

2–4 yrs

Growth speed

Moderate

Spacing

400 cm (157 in) apart — about 16 m² (172 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Broadly ovate to nearly circular leaves 5–10 cm long with a pointed tip and finely serrated margins, glossy green at maturity.

Root system

Worth knowing that in cultivation this is usually the rootstock's root system, not the species' — most Prunus are sold grafted, and vigour, suckering and soil tolerance follow the stock rather than the top. On its own roots the species is shallow-rooted, with the bulk in the top 40–60 cm spreading well beyond the canopy, so it dislikes cultivation underneath and competes badly with grass.

Fruit description

Small globose drupes about 2.5 cm across, yellow to orange-red with a red-blushed cheek; the thin flesh separates easily from the stone, which holds an oil-rich, almond-flavored kernel.

Propagation

Propagated by seed after 2–3 months of cold stratification, or grafted onto plum or apricot rootstock — in breeding programs, using purple-leaf plum as an interstock has given over 80% graft-survival rates.

Pollination

Self-incompatible — an outcrossing species that needs a second, genetically distinct tree for fruit set

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.