Image: Antonio Bayer
And off! The Scharten is blooming again. As of today, the first apricot trees are in full bloom, and in the coming weeks thousands, yes, thousands upon thousands of trees will gradually follow in the region of the Obst-Hügel-Land nature park – from cherries to plums to apples. Gradually, the trees adorn their sparse branches with billions of white and pink blossoms. A natural spectacle that amazes thousands of visitors every year during the blossom weeks and the cherry blossom hike presented by the OÖN – this year on April 16th.
Even if Scharten is primarily known for the cherry trees, the apricot is now also native here. The first cherry trees were planted here in the early 1900s, but 100 years later, almost 20 years ago, climate change prompted local farmers to also cultivate apricots. And it is she that outstrips all other fruit trees today – at least when they are in bloom.
“Don’t underestimate the danger”
“It’s very early this year,” says Rudolf Wiesmayr from Meindlhumerhof in Scharten. “A good week earlier than the average of recent years.” The sight of the blossoms makes him happy, but – in view of the frosty nights ahead – it also brings beads of sweat to his forehead.
Rainer Silber, Managing Director of the Obst-Hügel-Land Nature Park, is also a little suspicious but confident about the weather forecast. “We hope that the next few days and weeks won’t be too cold, because the risk of the flowers freezing, being damaged or stunted in their development should not be underestimated,” says Leondinger. There have been years in which there was a total failure of the harvest. After all, the apricot is quite susceptible. While rain is normal and important for growth, too much can cause fungal diseases. There is also the danger of a “blow hit”, an apoplexy. The trees die overnight – a phenomenon that hobby gardeners are also familiar with.
Apricot and climate change
The fact that apricots thrive in Upper Austria at all is due to climate change. Because up until two or three decades ago, every farmer in Upper Austria would have been laughed at if he had planted an apricot. “There were also concerns,” says Silber. “And it was certainly a borderline case. But in the meantime there have been many very successful years.”
The yield that Wiesmayr had a few weeks ago at the Ab-Hof-Messe in Wieselburg also testifies to a successful apricot year and reward for courage: With his apricot jam he became the national winner, ending up ahead of jams from the “apricot motherland” Wachau. However, the farmer points out that climate change will still pose major challenges for his profession and our livelihoods. Field work, he says, has now been moved forward by a month. Maize is no longer grown in early May, but in early April.
Back to the apricot blossom, which in the Obst-Hügel-Land nature park only marks the start of the blossom weeks. In the next six to eight weeks, trees will bloom continuously in “Upper Austria’s fruit shop” and attract countless hikers – the cherry blossom is expected to begin in mid-April. During the flowering weeks there is also the opportunity to stop off at one or the other farmer. The highlight is of course the cherry blossom hike on April 16th.
You can find more about hikes and events in the nature park communities of Scharten and St. Marienkirchen an der Polsenz at: obsthuegelland.at
Tip from organic gardeners: The problem with an apoplexy
Karl Ploberger: “The trees affected can no longer be healed by pruning. The problem has already happened in the years before: Young trees overexert themselves and produce too many fruits, the year after they die. Therefore, break – until the When the tree is about six to eight years old – the small fruits spread so far that there is about four fingers between the individual apricots. Later, even when the tree is very old, the space between the fruits is reduced to two fingers.”
Source: Nachrichten
