Almost every one of our compatriots had a chance to try blackberries. And this forest (and sometimes cultivated) berry pleasantly surprises many with its great taste. But few decide to grow it in their garden or dacha. The fact is that the care and cultivation of blackberries, reproduction and pruning take quite a lot of time and effort. You need to know exactly what and how to do in order to be able to reap a rich harvest.
Let's start with the fact that the blackberry is a low-growing shrub, more often it is a shrub liana with a perennial root and a flexible stem. The latter is dotted with small sharp spikes. Although today, breeders, thanks to many years of work, have managed to create varieties that are devoid of thorns and at the same time are resistant to many diseases and pests, providing a stable yield. If there is a suitable support, then the stems can rise to a considerable height, up to a couple of meters.
The culture is a honey plant. Their flowers are white, large, up to about three centimeters. Flowering is observed from June to September. The fruits are juicy, black or with a bluish bloom, ripen from July to August.
If you are wondering how to grow blackberries in the country, then first of all you need to choose the right time.
Unlike many berry crops that tolerate autumn planting well, blackberries should only be planted in the spring, otherwise they will probably not take root.
The optimal landing time is the end of April or the beginning of May. However, this largely depends on the region and the weather in a particular year. It is necessary that the earth warms up completely, otherwise the plant will not take root, will not acquire a developed root system and will simply dry out.
To learn more about blackberries, how to grow and care for the crop, you also need to choose a suitable place, otherwise you should not count on a rich harvest.
Bushes need to be planted in sunny areas, as the culture needs a lot of sun. At the same time, care must be taken to ensure that the site is protected from all sides from the wind. Experts recommend growing blackberries not on a flat area, but on the southern or western slopes. In this case, the bushes will receive a lot of sun, since these slopes are illuminated for almost the entire day or at least half of the daylight hours, which contributes to a rich harvest. At the same time, the slope itself will reliably protect the bushes from the cold east and north winds. This is important both in summer and winter. The cold north wind may well freeze the bushes and even the roots if the first frosts come before the snow covers the ground with a thick layer.
Also, if you want to learn more about blackberries, care and cultivation, propagation and pruning, then you need to first deal with suitable soil, this is also very important. It grows best on light soil rich in useful microelements. Sandy loam or loamy soil is an excellent choice. But when planted on carbonate soils, the culture is unlikely to bear fruit well, the lack of magnesium and iron will affect. The optimal acidity of the soil is pH 6, that is, neutral.
Before you start growing blackberries, you need to properly prepare for this difficult job. Moreover, it is desirable to start preparation in the fall. Only in this case it is possible to achieve the best result, ensuring maximum crop yield.
Weeds must be completely removed, if any. In addition, it will not be superfluous to think about fertilizer. If nothing has been grown on this site for several years, then this stage can be skipped, because an excess of nutrients often leads to the fact that the bushes actively increase their green mass (stems and leaves), but at the same time they bring very few berries.
But if the soil is depleted, that is, some kind of crop has been actively grown on it for many years, then fertilizer is mandatory. Both organic and mineral fertilizers are suitable. In the first case, you need to take 10 kilograms of humus, manure or compost per square meter of the site. In the second - 15 grams of superphosphate and 25 grams of potassium sulfate. Fertilizers are evenly distributed over the site, after which it is dug up to the depth of a bayonet shovel. In the 7-9 months that remain before planting, fertilizers will have time to completely dissolve in the ground, increasing its fertility.
Now let's talk specifically about the cultivation of blackberries.
It all starts with the selection of suitable seedlings. If the planting material is of poor quality, then one cannot count on a good yield. It is advisable to purchase plants in good, proven nurseries. Carefully study the features of the purchased breed, the planting pattern and care in general depend on this.
It is best to choose annual seedlings with a developed root system and two stems with a thickness of at least 5 millimeters. Pay attention to the presence of a formed kidney on the roots, without this the plant will hardly be able to successfully take root.
Keep in mind that blackberry vines are actively spreading in different directions. Therefore, the site should be quite spacious, you should not hope to pick a lot of berries from five square meters. In addition, the minimum distance from the holes to buildings and other garden plants should be 100 centimeters, and even more is better.
Approach to the choice of a suitable landing scheme must be very serious. For example, if you prefer the bush planting method, then two to three seedlings are planted in the hole at once. This method is suitable for varieties with a low level of shoot formation. The distance between the holes is 180x180 centimeters. But if you have chosen a variety with enhanced shoot formation, then the planting pattern should be completely different. One shoot sits in the holes. All of them are located in the same furrow with a distance of about 100 centimeters. The distance between the furrows is about 200-250 centimeters.
The landing itself must be taken very seriously. A plant is placed in the prepared hole, after which it is necessary to carefully straighten the roots, directing them in different directions. Thanks to this, the root system will develop most actively, it will quickly be able to provide the plant with the right amount of moisture and nutrients. After that, it is advisable to fill the hole not with earth, but with a nutritious soil mixture. Good black soil, peat, compost will do. Be sure to monitor the location of the kidney located near the base of the shoot. It should be buried about two to three centimeters.
Experienced summer residents do not fill the hole completely, leaving a small hollow. Thanks to this, rainwater will accumulate here, which reduces the number of waterings. In addition, with artificial irrigation, water will not flow out of the excavation and all will go to moisten the soil near the roots of the blackberry.
Also, if you want to know more about the care and cultivation of blackberries in the open field, you need to remember that immediately after planting, the seedlings need to be shortened. They need to be cut, leaving shoots about 20 centimeters high above the ground. Fruit branches are cut off completely. This is necessary in order to reduce moisture loss and nutrient intake. If this is not done, then the plant will simply dry out. After pruning, the root system will be able to gradually take root and expand. When it becomes powerful enough, the plant will grow, new branches strewn with leaves will appear. So, during the season, the green mass will be completely restored.
If you want to get a rich harvest of berries in the fall, then you need to provide suitable conditions for blackberries. Cultivation, pruning and care are very specific.
For example, you need to provide the vines with a suitable support. Without it, they will simply crawl along the ground, taking up a huge space and making picking berries much more difficult.
The easiest way to let the bramble reach up is to install strong supports (the easiest way is to use suitable poles). Their height should be about two meters. Dig in pillars at the beginning and end of each row. If the length of the landing trench is very large, then the poles must also be installed every ten meters. Between them it is required to stretch the galvanized wire in three layers. The optimal height for the first is 50-70 centimeters. The second is already at a height of 125 centimeters. And the third is best placed no lower than 170-180 centimeters.
The stems of the second year are tied to the third wire, they will have to bear fruit in the current season. Younger shoots do not need a garter. It is enough to point them up, then they will easily grab the bottom row of wire, and then they will easily go even further. The main thing is to direct the shoots regularly, otherwise they will grow chaotically, which will lead to unnecessary inconvenience during harvesting, and simply take up extra useful space.
When growing straight-grown (it is a bush, not a creeper) blackberries, cultivation, formation and care are noticeably different. She does not need supports on which she can reach up. But it should be borne in mind that here, too, certain troubles are inevitable.
Let's start with the fact that in the first year after planting, the harvest should not be expected. To get the next year's harvest, you will have to properly tweezing. For this, young shoots, having a height of about 100-120 centimeters, are carefully shortened. The tops are cut off by about 10 centimeters. After that, they will be covered with side branches, they also need to be shortened when their length reaches 50 centimeters. Thanks to this formation, blackberry bushes look very neat and compact, and the yield does not drop at all. This completes the pruning of garden blackberries. Care is just beginning, there is still a lot of work ahead.
It will not be superfluous to pour a fresh layer of mulch in the spring, last year's one has probably already rotted and served as a good top dressing for plants. When mulching, you can use different materials: sawdust, needles, dry grass, dry manure. Thanks to this, moisture is retained on the ground much better. Warm wind will dry the top layer of mulch, leaving enough liquid in the depth.
If you study the advice of experienced gardeners on growing and caring for blackberries, you can be sure that the culture does not cause any special problems in summer.
The main thing is to water it in the first month and a half after disembarkation, of course, if at least once or twice a week there is not enough heavy rain, wetting the earth to a decent depth. After that, blackberries need to be watered only on the hottest days, accompanied by a prolonged drought. It is especially important to provide the plant with a sufficient amount of moisture during the growth and ripening of berries. The lack of moisture will lead to the fact that they will be small, inconspicuous, and maybe even sprinkled from the bushes.
We must not forget about the choice of suitable water. For example, you can not water blackberries with cold water from a well, as a sharp temperature drop will cause serious harm to it. Therefore, you need to take rainwater, tap water or well water, which has settled for a day or two in the sun and warmed up to a temperature of at least + 12 ... + 15 degrees Celsius.
Telling how to grow blackberries at home, we must not forget about soil care. Experienced summer residents are trying to plant tilled vegetables between the rows of blackberries, fortunately, there is a lot of space here. Thanks to this, you can perfectly save usable space, which is usually very limited in summer cottages. But you can grow them only in the first two years. Then it is desirable to give a year to rest, during which time the earth will be restored. To speed up the process, you can plant the land with green manure crops, for example, peas, beans. They perfectly saturate the soil with nitrogen - one of the most important elements necessary for the successful growth of any plants.
You also need to carry out loosening for a year about 5-6 times as needed. The optimal loosening depth is about 10-12 centimeters. When using mulch, the amount of loosening can be reduced, which will be a pleasant surprise for any summer resident, no one wants to do extra work, which is also quite voluminous and heavy.
Talking about the care and cultivation of garden blackberries, one cannot fail to say about top dressing. In general, the same principles remain relevant here as when fertilizing most other berry bushes.
At the beginning of the season, it is necessary to provide the plant with a large amount of nitrogen, thanks to which the green mass intensively grows, in which photosynthesis takes place, which is necessary for the formation of large, tasty and beautiful fruits.
So, at the very beginning of the season, you need to fertilize with nitrogen-containing fertilizers - mineral or organic. Suitable ammonium nitrate or urea from a consumption of 20 grams per 5 liters of water. This is enough to fertilize one blackberry bush. If you prefer to work with organic fertilizers, then spend 5 kilograms of compost or peat per square meter.
Shortly before flowering, it is better to give preference to potash fertilizers, they are needed to form a large number of buds and, accordingly, good yields. The main thing is not to use mineral fertilizers, which include chlorine. It is also absorbed by plants and is often deposited in berries, turning them into a real poison. The best choice would be potassium sulfate, 40 grams of fertilizer is consumed per square meter. You can use capsules (more durable effect) or dissolve in water and water plants with it (faster effect).
In early autumn, it will not be superfluous to feed the root system, which increases the likelihood that the blackberry will safely endure the winter frosts. To do this, enrich the earth with phosphorus. However, if you mulch the ground with manure or compost, then you can do without this step, as the mulch rots, it enriches the ground with phosphorus. Without the use of mulch, you need to make up for the lack of an important trace element on your own. Any phosphates will do - 50 grams per square meter. Feeding every year is not necessary, once every three years is enough.
Speaking about blackberries, care and cultivation, one cannot fail to mention also reproduction - a very important point that every summer resident who decides to try to grow this crop on his site should be familiar with. There may be several options, we will briefly describe each of them.
The easiest, fastest and safest way is propagation by apical layering. The best time is the end of spring, when the earth has warmed up, and the leaves and buds are actively growing on the plants.
Choose a suitable stem (long, strong, with a lot of large buds), gently bend it to the ground, bury the top with a few buds. After a few weeks, you will notice that young shoots have hatched from the dug-in place. This means that the buds that were in the ground gave rise not only to the first branches, but also to the roots. After a couple of weeks, you can safely cut off the stem from the main plant with a sharp pruner, so you get an independent bush.
Another good way, suitable for springtime, is horizontal layering. To do this, a long and strong vine must be pressed to the ground and buried along its entire length to a depth of about 3-5 centimeters. After a few weeks, you can notice that young sprouts appear above the vines. After another one to two weeks, you can cut off the vine from the main plant, and also divide it into sections between the sprouts. Now each sprout can be transplanted to a suitable place, getting 3-5 young, strong bushes at once, and sometimes more.
It is impossible to tell in detail how to grow blackberries, without mentioning the pests that pose a danger to this crop.
Quite often, mites (hairy and spider), bud moth, raspberry-strawberry weevil, nutworm, raspberry beetle appear on blackberry bushes. Sometimes gall midges, aphids and caterpillars of raspberry glass and moths cause serious problems. Alas, they will have to be fought with the involvement of very radical means - Actellik, Karbofos, Fitoverma, Akarina and other poisons. Yes, it is very unpleasant, especially for people who dream of harvesting an environmentally friendly crop. But otherwise, you can be left without berries at all.
To reduce the likelihood of fruit poisoning, you should spray the bushes at the first suspicion of the appearance of pests before the buds open or at least before flowering. In addition, if in the summer you had problems with the insects listed above, then in the fall, immediately after harvesting, it is advisable to treat the bushes with the same preparations in order to destroy the pests and their eggs.
This is where our article ends. Now you know everything you need about blackberries, propagation, care, cultivation, planting and pest control will not cause any extra trouble. So, nothing will prevent you from harvesting a rich harvest of fruits.
So that caring for the garden does not take all weekend, and visiting the cottage is a rest, you need to choose the right plants for the site. The garden blackberry is a versatile shrub that produces delicious fruit, requires little maintenance, and can become a hedge when needed. Even a novice gardener will master the agrotechnical properties of cultivation.
Garden blackberry is a semi-shrub, grows up to a maximum of 2 m, depending on the variety. In diameter, if the bush is not cut, it reaches 2-3 m. It shoots two-year-old shoots, on which, as a rule, thorns grow, but there are also thornless plant varieties - bare branches with leaves. The garden blackberry leaf is a long petiole with three branches. The inflorescences are white with rounded petals, each flower is up to 1.5-2 cm in diameter. The garden blackberry flowers are very fond of bees, it is an excellent honey plant.
The root system consists of a central root and long branches, up to 2-3 m. The berries are a collection of small juicy fruits in a single drupe located on a hard fruit bed. At the stages of ripening, the color of the berries changes - green, scarlet, brown, ripened black or yellow. Blackberries in the garden are used not only as a source of delicious berries, but also as a living, and very effective hedge. Most shoots are covered with sharp, hard spines. They are long, pliable and grow very abundantly, they are easy to put into the desired shape.
The similarity of all blackberry varieties is only in the structure of the fruit and bush, otherwise the species can differ dramatically - the size and color of the berry, the length of the shoots, the presence of thorns. Some varieties require special care conditions that may not be suitable for a particular region. The most popular and unpretentious types of garden blackberries:
Growing all varieties of garden blackberries involves the same steps. The difference can only be the warming of the bush for the winter in especially heat-loving species, or pruning at the initiative of the gardener. All popular varieties are specially bred hybrids for planting in summer cottages or household plots. Therefore, caring for them is not difficult; amateur gardeners can easily cope with it. Garden blackberries, regardless of variety, have access to all methods of reproduction characteristic of this type of plant.
Growing garden blackberries is not a complicated procedure and does not require much effort. Attention to the plant is needed mainly only at an early stage of development - after planting and during adaptation. When the bush has reached the age of two, he practically does not need care. For example, watering can be done no more than once a month. Many all types of garden blackberries are very active in root reproduction. Bushes take root in a radius of 4-5 m, in favorable places they begin to sprout from the ground. Therefore, without regular weeding, garden blackberries capture a significant part of the territory.
Flowering and fruiting in garden blackberries begins quickly, already in the second year after planting the seedling. But, only on condition that all the rules and recommendations on how to grow garden blackberries were followed. Regardless of the variety variety, blackberries bloom no earlier than June, inflorescences on some species form in early August. In fertilized soil, the bush will bud and bloom a week earlier. Due to late flowering, as for such a crop, garden blackberries bring a large and stable crop - the period bypasses spring frosts, there is no risk of bud death.
The ripening of garden blackberries occurs about a month after the start of flowering, in late August or early September. More precisely, when the garden blackberry ripens will depend on the variety. Late ripening is due to the fact that the shrub has a long growing season. In early blackberry varieties - 1.5 months, in later varieties - up to 2-2.5 months. Berries ripen gradually during the entire fruiting period. This allows you to enjoy the fruits for a long time, but complicates the harvest. Blackberries sing until the first frost, it often happens that part of the unripe, green crop cannot be harvested.
Planting and caring for garden blackberries has its own characteristics and differs from similar plants: raspberries, rose hips. For example, it is necessary to carry out special preparation of the soil. For planting, they dig a trench, and cut the seedling so that the root is 5 cm less than its depth. They lay at the bottom, place the seedlings at a certain distance and fill it with water. Then they fall asleep with pre-prepared fertilized soil. The sprout is cut so that it is no longer than 25-30 cm from the surface of the earth.
Due to the non-standard features of the plant, its abundant bushiness and long shoots with thorns, it is imperative to know how to properly plant garden blackberries. So that in the future, when the bushes grow to their maximum, their branches do not interfere with each other and do not get confused, you need to maintain the distance between the seedlings in the trench, and between the trenches themselves:
The above planting rules apply only to cases where the garden blackberry is grown exclusively for harvesting, so that it is convenient to care for it, it bears fruit well and develops fully. If the plant is planned to be planted to create a hedge and the level of its fertility does not matter, you can place the bushes closer, then their thorny branches will intertwine and form an impenetrable wall.
The soil for planting garden blackberries has been prepared since autumn: in September-October they dig trenches 25-30 cm deep. Before planting garden blackberries, it is important to clean the soil from all kinds of pests: weeds and their roots, insects. If the land is heavily littered, it will need to be treated with herbicides. The mixture is prepared at the rate of: organic fertilizers - 10 kg / m2, superphosphate - 15 g / m2, potassium sulfate - 25 g / m2.
The subsequent care of garden blackberries implies procedures standard for this type of plant: watering, fertilizing, pruning, and if necessary, treatment. The yield of the bush will depend on how correctly and regularly the procedures will be carried out. Garden blackberries grow quickly, but this does not mean that the longer the branches, the more fruits. A big harvest will be only with competent pruning of the shoots. The exception is hedges. They are usually cut only to give the desired shape.
Garden blackberry is a moisture-loving plant. The volume of the crop will depend not only on how to care for blackberries in the summer - regular watering is also necessary at other times of the year. An adult bush will survive in harsh conditions, being content with natural precipitation alone, but at the same time it will practically not develop, fruitfulness will decrease by 70-80%. Basic watering rules:
Much attention should be paid to watering in the first summer after planting. If an adult bush manages with a low yield, then a young plant will die without good watering. The seedling land in the first summer should always be damp and loosened. For mass planting (from 20 bushes), it is recommended to use drip irrigation: water will not fall locally under the trunk of the bush, but will also nourish distant roots.
Proper care of garden blackberries includes spring feeding of the plant. This procedure should be mandatory in the same way as watering the bushes, then the blackberry will grow quickly and produce a stable crop. However, it should be taken into account that they begin to feed blackberries 2-3 years after planting, provided that the planting was carried out according to the rules: the seedlings were covered with a mixture of earth and fertilizers. As a top dressing for an adult plant, it is better to use organic elements.
Care and pruning of garden blackberries depends on the purpose of the plant. If bushes are used as a fence, only the lower branches can be thinned out. In order for blackberries to bear fruit well, pruning is carried out regularly every spring until the buds swell. Remove diseased, frozen and dried branches, cut too long shoots without ovaries. Experts recommend leaving no more than 5-7 shoots on one bush in the spring. The fewer extra branches, the larger the fruits. In the summer, pinching the tops is carried out and young unnecessary branches are cut off, and brown dying ones are cut off in the fall.
Blackberries are bred by seeds, cuttings, dividing the bush and taps. Propagation of garden blackberries by seeds is relevant when breeding new varieties; cuttings are mainly used in the household. In spring or autumn, cuttings 7-10 cm long are cut, two or three buds on each. Soak overnight in water, and plant in the morning. At the end of summer, they are covered with earth for rooting, and the next year they are transplanted to a permanent place.
Diseases and their descriptions in garden blackberries are similar to raspberry ailments. They lead to a decrease in fruitfulness, cessation or deterioration of the growth of the bush. Often diseases occur from improper watering - the use of cold water contaminated with chemical or harmful organic substances of the liquid. Insects can also cause damage, they need timely treatment.
The lack of flowering can be caused by improper care or conditions. But, if all the rules were followed, and there was a sharp decrease in color, then the blackberry in the garden got sick. The most common cause is harmful insects - raspberry beetle, spider mite. They lay their eggs at the base of the future kidney, and it dies without developing. They solve the problem in the spring before the formation of the ovary: they treat the bush with a 1% solution of copper sulfate or fufanon at the rate of 10 ml per 10 liters of water.
If a bush looks healthy, but does not bear fruit initially after planting, it does not depend on how you care for garden blackberries, it is just that such a variety is not fruitful. When a decrease in fertility has occurred during the life of the plant, but there are no visible reasons for this, such as damage to the berries by insects, then there are problems with the soil. Perhaps the soil is dehydrated or the roots of the plant have reached layers that are undesirable for blackberries. In any case, this is not fatal, you need to feed the bush with iron sulfate, and add more fertilizer to the soil for the winter.
Blackberries have long been known for their beneficial properties. But harvesting this wild-growing berry is quite difficult, as the wild plant is famous for its sharp thorns. Not so long ago, breeders bred several varieties of thornless blackberries. The advantage of this culture is the absence of sharp thorns and thorns, which greatly simplifies the collection of fruits and caring for the plant. Also, the species is characterized by high yield, large size of berries (depending on the variety), good resistance to pests and diseases.
The closest relative of the blackberry is the raspberry, both of which belong to the rose family. On a large scale, the cultivation of this crop in our region has not received much distribution, but it is in great demand among summer residents.
Outwardly, the thornless blackberry resembles a small shrub with bright jagged green leaves of medium size, divided into 3 parts and “looking” down. The plant begins to bloom in the first half of June, its flowers are small, pink-purple, about 2 cm in diameter. Then, in place of the flowers, small green berries appear, which gradually change shade, becoming bright purple. This is the signal for full maturity. Ripening occurs unevenly, therefore, berries of various colors can often be present on one bush. The crop yield is quite large and can exceed several times the yield of its closest relative, raspberries.
Blackberry thornless stands out with leaves divided into 3 parts
The root system of the beautiful blackberry has a very developed, directed deep into 1.5-2 meters. Accordingly, most varieties survive dry times well.
Conventionally, breeders divide blackberry crops into three groups, depending on the growth method:
Blackberries are most often characterized by a bright dark purple hue, but varieties are also bred with yellow or red fruits. The size varies depending on the species. The structure is dense, with a sweet rich taste, the shape is elongated cone-shaped. Fruiting begins only from the second year.
Blackberries grow in almost any part of Russia: in the Voronezh, Rostov regions and even in the Moscow region. But in each region the taste of berries is different. So, in a warmer climate in the Crimea and Kuban, the berries are sweeter - a large amount of sun affects. Berries grown in the Urals and Siberia are more sour in taste. For this region, special more winter-hardy varieties are required, for example, Polar, Ruben, Agawam.
Blackberry thornless is rich in vitamins, has a beneficial effect on blood pressure, the digestive tract, the immune system, is perfect for baking, compotes, jams, marmalade.
The size of thornless blackberries is varied
Breeders have bred a variety of blackberry varieties, the proper care of which directly depends on the volume of the crop. Therefore, thornless blackberry care, cultivation, reproduction and pruning is required, while some varieties have their own specifics.
Important! The sweetness of blackberries is directly related to the illumination of the area. The more sun that hits the plant, the sweeter the taste of the fruit will be. Therefore, breeders recommend choosing places for the site where direct sunlight can freely enter.
Important! The cultivation of blackberries depends on the right time of year for planting. In the Moscow region and the Leningrad region, in the southern regions and the middle lane, planting is done in the fall, a month before the first frost. In the Urals and Siberia, we plant plants in the spring at a temperature not exceeding 15 degrees. Saplings that tolerate frost well can be planted in the fall, with low frost resistance - they need to be planted only in spring.
The soil for planting is prepared in the fall: it is dug up, while deepening at least 25 cm. In this case, the plant is planted in the spring. A soil rich in humus is preferable. You can fertilize the land yourself by sprinkling it abundantly with ash or dry lime before digging.
In order for the seedlings to take root well, it is worth giving preference to annuals with several stems, about 5-10 mm thick, and a developed root system, at least 10 cm long. Before planting a cutting, experienced gardeners recommend slightly shortening the roots, as well as removing damaged and “dead” » parts.
Seedlings should be planted in a hole with a diameter and depth of at least 0.5 meters and a distance of about a meter from each other. If a thornless climbing blackberry is planted, care for it, in order to be correct, will require at least 4-5 meters. The soil is pre-fertilized. For this, superphosphate is mixed in an amount of 100 gr. and 35 gr. potassium. As a fertilizer, you can use humus from bird droppings. It is placed at the bottom of the pit, sprinkled with earth by 10-15 cm (in this case, the depth of the mind increases by 25-30 cm so that there is no direct contact of the humus with the roots of the plant). On average, one seedling goes about a bucket of humus. You can mix the earth with ash, it will take about 80-100 gr.
blackberry sapling
The seedling is planted in such a way that the root neck deepens by no more than 1-1.5 cm. Then the seedling is abundantly watered with 4-5 liters of water, having previously made a hole. Experienced gardeners recommend after cutting the shoots so that no more than 6-8 cm remain above the ground.
It is worth considering that a properly planted plant will bear fruit for at least 10-15 years.
Breeding blackberries at home is possible in several ways:
To date, breeders have bred more than 100 varieties of blackberries, which are in great demand all over the world. We can distinguish the best and most often demanded among them:
To grow a beautiful blackberry at home, you will need simple care, including: fertilizing the soil, watering, tying, thinning, creating a support.
Every year, with the advent of warm spring days, it is recommended to fertilize the earth around the bush with humus (1/2 bucket) or saltpeter (50-60 gr.), Having dug everything with soil. In autumn, about 100 g of ash can be added to the soil. on the bush
After rain, it is recommended to loosen the soil around the bush and remove weeds, thereby enriching the roots with oxygen. But this should be done only with young shoots - in adult plants, there is a high probability of damaging the root system, which will negatively affect their growth.
Particular attention should be paid to soil moisture in June, as well as September and October, watering is required at least once a week at the rate of about 5 liters of water per bush. At other times of the year, the thornless blackberry can perfectly do without moisture.
Cultivars growing upwards require minimal care, but semi-creeping and climbing plants will require the creation of additional supports that can be made independently using pegs and wire about 4-5 meters (the wire is stretched between the pegs in 3 rows) or factory-made trellises. Fruit-bearing shoots are recommended to be tied up as much as possible, and young ones - to be fixed to the lower tier of the trellis.
Blackberry trellis tie
To increase productivity, it is recommended to cut off young shoots whose height has reached 120 cm. The tops are pinched about 20-25 cm. The procedure is best done in early May, as well as in early spring. In the autumn, after harvesting, all fruit-bearing branches are carefully cut.
You need to take care of the plant almost throughout the year. Preparation for the winter period is no exception.
Uncovered blackberry thornless does not require special preparation for winter. These varieties include remontant crops growing in the form of shrubs.
Preparation of blackberry shoots for wintering
The exception is cultures that do not tolerate cold. In this case, young shoots need to be bent to the ground and carefully covered with any white non-woven covering material (spunbond, agrofiber, agrospan). The density of the material directly depends on winter temperatures: it can be grade 60, 80, 100 or more. So, the Chester variety is famous for its abundant harvest, but it is afraid of winter frosts and requires additional care. If it is covered with agrofibre, the plant can easily endure frosts over 20 degrees.
thornless blackberry berries
Today, amateur gardeners grow a variety of blackberry varieties. When choosing the type of blackberry, it is worth considering the peculiarities of climatic conditions, this factor affects the yield of the plant. In addition, it is not enough just to plant a blackberry - it requires some care and preparation for wintering. Only compliance with all the recommendations of breeders will allow a good harvest to be achieved in a year or two.
Garden raspberries can be found in almost every household plot, and its closest relative in the family, blackberries, are grown quite rarely.
It is believed that it is more difficult to care for and harvest because of the thorns, but getting a large number of berries during the fruiting period is not difficult even for a novice gardener. The fruits of this plant are suitable for fresh consumption and canning, unlike raspberries, they retain their presentation longer.
In the article we will tell you the key features of care, cultivation, reproduction and pruning of blackberries at home.
Starting from 2-3 years of life, the blackberry bush is distinguished by its unique unpretentiousness, it can bear fruit regardless of sunlight, during frosts and droughts. To achieve this effect, the planting technology should be fully observed, as it directly affects the health of the plant and yield.
Unlike other members of the Rose family, planting blackberries is best done in the spring, after the soil has warmed up and the last frost has ended. In the regions of the middle lane, bushes are planted from late April to early May, in the north it is advisable to postpone planting until the end of May or even the beginning of June.
Today, dozens of varieties of garden blackberries have been bred, differing in yield, fruiting period, features of the bush and berries. For small household plots and industrial plantations, thornless blackberries are usually used, since this greatly simplifies the process of care and harvesting.
The most productive crop varieties are Loch Ness, Thorne Free, Black Satin and Navajo. For the northern regions, it is advisable to choose frost-resistant and unpretentious varieties of blackberries, for example, Eldorado, Erie, Snyder, Darrow and others.
Acquired planting material should preferably be planted as soon as possible. If within 5-7 days after the purchase there is no opportunity to plant, they should be removed in a dark and cool place. During the day, the seedlings must be removed from the package, the bottom part must be cleaned of the dry crust, and then soaked in water for 8-10 hours and transferred to the growth stimulator for another 4-5 hours.
The most effective means to improve rooting are Kornevin, Etamon, Zircon or Heteroauxin. Fungicide treatment is not required at this stage.
Annual seedlings are recommended to be purchased only in specialized nurseries, planting material has a developed root system and at least two stems with a thickness of 0.5 cm in diameter, there must be a formed bud on the roots.
For growing blackberries, it is advisable to choose a well-lit place, protected from strong winds. Bushes are usually planted next to fences or a blank wall of the house.
Strong gusts of wind can not only injure leaves and berries, but reduce the quality of pollination of flowers. It is not recommended to plant blackberries on a flat area, the best yield is noted on a slope. Best of all, the culture bears fruit on well-drained and light soils, the optimal solution is nutritious loamy or sandy loamy soil.
You should not plant plants on carbonate soils, as blackberries react sharply to a lack of iron and magnesium. The recommended acidity level is 6 pH. The occurrence of groundwater should be located no closer than 1.5 meters to the surface.
Crop rotation is an important requirement for growing any crop. Legumes and pumpkin plants, beets and carrots are suitable as predecessors. It is not recommended to plant a bush in a place where raspberries or other varieties of blackberries used to grow.
The site for planting blackberries should be prepared in advance. About 6 months before planting a bush, you need to completely clear the soil of weeds and dig the ground to the depth of a shovel bayonet.
In autumn, complex top dressing is applied - organic fertilizers (10 kg of mullein, bird droppings or humus per 1 m 2), as well as mineral compounds (15 g of superphosphate, 25 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m 2). If you regularly fertilize the soil, then the amount of top dressing should be halved, especially organic. Nitrogen formulations are not recommended yet, as this will enhance the growth of leaves, and not shoots and fruiting buds.
Blackberries are planted in individual pits 40 × 40 cm in size and up to 45 cm deep, which is optimal for the powerful root system of the plant. The distance between the bushes should be from 80 cm, but for some varieties with spreading shoots it can be increased to 1.5 m.
After this preparation, you can proceed directly to landing:
After planting, the soil will sag slightly, so it is worth adding a little substrate after 2-3 days so as not to expose the root part of the plant. You can not overdo it, because if planted too deep, the growth of replacement shoots slows down in blackberries, which can lead to the death of the bush.
After planting, blackberries should be watered as the top layer of soil dries out; for young bushes, the optimal amount of watering is 5-7 liters per plant. Even at the planting stage, it is recommended to carry out mulching - this facilitates the subsequent removal of weeds and loosening.
Once a season, you need to apply complex fertilizers to activate growth, it is advisable to use ready-made liquid formulations for horticultural crops, which can be found in any specialized store.
If you use single-component fertilizers, then they are applied in the following proportions:
Blackberries respond well to organic fertilizers, among which mullein is very popular. Some gardeners use it as a mulch, which simplifies the feeding process.
In the first year, treatment for diseases and pests is required only if the first signs of infection appear. However, subject to the agrotechnics of planting and quality care, blackberries rarely suffer from diseases.
Already in the first year of the life of the bush, trellises should be installed, which are important for tying fruit-bearing shoots. To do this, use strong columns up to 2 meters in height, which are dug in from both sides of the plant. Three rows of rope or galvanized wire are pulled on them - at a distance of 65, 125 and 180 cm. After that, the shoots must be constantly directed to avoid chaotic growth.
Most varieties of garden blackberries do not produce a crop in the first year, in order to get berries in the next season, tweezing of the main young shoots that have reached a length of up to 120 cm should be carried out. They should be shortened by 10-12 cm, side branches are cut as they grow, starting from 50 cm. If the procedure is carried out correctly, at the end of summer the bush should look well-groomed and neat.
A plot with blackberry bushes should be shaded from direct sunlight, which adversely affects the formation and ripening of fruits. Abundant lighting can spoil the presentation of the berries, they will become faded and light.
To avoid this, on especially sunny days, shading nets should be pulled on the site; they can be removed at night. Shelter of bushes for the winter period is required only when grown in the northern regions, as well as when planting heat-loving varieties.
Most often, garden blackberries are propagated by the vegetative parts of the bush, but the seed method can also be used to preserve varietal characteristics or increase the planting of unique varieties. Let's take a closer look at each of them.
Suitable for varieties with long side branches and a spreading bush. Algorithm for propagation by horizontal layering:
To increase the chances of rooting, the procedure must be carried out on several bushes at once. The mother plant must be at least 2 years old.
Propagation of blackberries by apical shoots is the easiest way to increase crop planting. It is best used for breeding adults and strong bushes.
To do this, in the fall, the top of the shoot is tilted down and dug into the ground. Pruning is not required, but to improve the rooting process, the cambium should be slightly incised. In the spring, the seedling can be separated from the bush and transplanted to a permanent place.
You can also propagate a blackberry bush by root offspring. This method is not suitable for hybrid and large-fruited crop varieties.
Step-by-step instruction:
After transplanting, the plant needs to be mulched, watered and inorganic fertilizers applied, it is not recommended to use organic matter, as this leads to the appearance of rodents and pests.
Cuttings are not suitable for thornless varieties, as the daughter plant loses varietal qualities, thorns appear and yields decrease. It is advisable to transplant root cuttings in early spring or late autumn.
To do this, the bush is dug up along with the root, and then it is divided into parts, leaving up to 60 cm of the root system. Each cutting must be at least 0.5 cm thick. Subsequent planting in a permanent place occurs according to the standard scheme described above.
Propagation by green cuttings is more suitable for experienced gardeners, since it is not always possible to achieve the optimal level of rooting. To do this, in July, 1/3 of the length is cut from a green and healthy shoot, leaving at least one bud and leaf.
The branch must be treated with a growth stimulator and slightly cut the top layer of the bark. After that, the seedling is planted in an individual peat pot and covered with polyethylene. The root system is formed within 30-35 days, after which the plant is transplanted to a permanent place.
The seed propagation method of blackberries is suitable for rare varieties or hybrid varieties of the crop. It is not recommended for the northern regions, where it is more difficult to achieve rooting of planting material.
Before planting, it is required to prepare a peat container, where light and fertile soil is placed. Seeds are immersed in water for 2-3 hours, after which they are placed in a damp cloth for 3 days.
Planting material should swell slightly, after which it can be planted in a pot to a depth of 1 cm. Containers with seedlings are placed in a cool place for 2 months, and during this time moderate watering and ventilation should be carried out regularly.
After the emergence of seedlings, containers with blackberries are transferred to a warmer place. A pick to a permanent place can be carried out when 3-5 true leaves appear on the seedlings.
The formation of blackberries is an important stage of care, necessary for the process of formation of berries. The procedure is carried out only with a sharp instrument in order to avoid injury to the bush. The pruning algorithm depends on the variety of blackberry, which is divided into upright (bramble) and creeping (dewberry).
Almost all varieties of blackberries bear fruit only once - in the second year. During the first season, a bush and stems are formed, and then it begins to bloom and produce a crop.
Pruning allows you to restart the fruiting cycle, as well as improve the quality and taste of berries, and avoid crowding. Young bushes are pruned to stimulate flowering for the next season.
Pruning is carried out 3-4 times during the period of active growth. For the first time, it is advisable to carry out the procedure in the spring after the end of spring frosts. You can determine the required time by the presence of young buds actively appearing on the plant.
The next pruning is called tweezing, it is carried out when the shoots have already grown, and the last formation of the bush occurs at the end of the season - the procedure is carried out before preparing the plant for winter.
The yield of the bush, as well as the health of the plant, depends on the quality and compliance with the technique.
During this, it is advisable to observe the following recommendations:
During pruning, be sure to use trellises, which simplifies the procedure, and also allows you to determine the required length of each branch. All fruit-bearing vegetative parts of the plant are distributed evenly around the entire perimeter of the support, using a pre-stretched wire or rope for this purpose.
Growing blackberries in your backyard is a complex and exciting process. To obtain a large harvest of berries, one should take into account not only the plant variety, but also the climatic conditions, location and features of the soil on the site.
Crop care includes regular watering, loosening, pruning and installing supports. It is especially important to observe agricultural technology in the first year of a plant's life, when the formation of fruit-bearing shoots and the central stem occurs.
Blackberries are not yet very popular among gardeners in our country. This is primarily due to the fact that the culture requires special growing conditions and care. At the same time, if you carefully study the technology of cultivating the crop and pay some attention to it, blackberries will regularly delight you with rich harvests.
In this article you will find basic information about the care of blackberries in the spring, since the culture requires maximum attention during this period. You will learn how to properly plant shrub seedlings in the ground, as well as receive practical advice on caring for the most popular blackberry varieties.
Spring is the busiest time for growing blackberries. It is at this time that the shrub wakes up after winter and the gardener needs to make every effort to maintain the health and productivity of the crop.
There is a certain set of activities that must be completed in the spring:
In addition, in the spring, fertilizers can be applied under each bush, but it should be borne in mind that blackberries do not respond well to organic top dressing. To provide the shrub with the necessary nutrients, the advantage should be given to nitrogen fertilizers.
For those who are just planning to grow blackberries on the site, it is important to know information about the correct planting of the crop. In this case, many nuances should be taken into account: from the selection of a suitable site to the direct landing algorithm (Figure 1).
To plant blackberries in the spring correctly, follow these recommendations:
Figure 1. Blackberry planting technology
When the planting is completed, the soil around the seedling is compacted, watered abundantly and covered with a layer of organic mulch. Mulching will prevent weeds from growing and help retain moisture in the soil.
Pruning is one of the key activities in care, since the yield of the shrub in the future will depend on the quality of its implementation (Figure 2).
First of all, after the snow has melted, sanitary pruning should be carried out. In the process, all damaged by diseases or pests, dry or frostbitten shoots are removed. Such a cleaning must be carried out, as the shrub will try to restore the damaged shoot, and will spend too much juice on its improvement, and this, in turn, will lead to a decrease in yield.
In addition, spring is considered the best time for shaping pruning. When growing blackberries, it is important to remember that fruiting takes place only on the shoots of the second year. Branches older than this age will not produce fruits, but will only consume the juices of the plant, reducing its yield. Based on this, we can conclude that annual and biennial seedlings are practically not subjected to formative pruning. The only thing that can be done is to remove the excess growth, leaving 4 to 6 of the strongest shoots.
Figure 2. Shrub pruning technology
If your bush is older than two years old, all branches three years old and older should be removed annually. The procedure is best done in the spring, but if you did not have time to do this and the buds on the plant have awakened, it is better to postpone this procedure until spring so as not to injure the shrub.
Fertilizers also play an important role in spring. Despite the fact that under natural conditions a shrub can grow even on poor soils, in a cultivated garden, regular top dressing is a must. Not only the size and taste of the berries, but also the health of the fruiting shoots will depend on this.
It should be remembered that blackberries do not tolerate fresh organic fertilizers, so nitrogen-containing preparations should be used to feed them. It will depend on them how strong and strong the young shoots will be. However, it is also not recommended to apply too many nitrogen preparations, since an excess of nitrogen can cause too active foliage formation without the formation of ovaries and berries.
For spring top dressing, it is best to use ammonium nitrate or urea (20 grams per 1 square meter of plantings). In addition, it is recommended to additionally add phosphorus and potassium supplements, especially if the soil in your area is not very fertile.
Blackberries are represented not only by ordinary shrubs that can be found in the wild, but also by some special varieties that have been bred selectively and adapted to certain growing conditions.
Among the most popular species are the Thornfree blackberry, a thornless, climbing and remontant culture. Each of them has its own characteristics that should be taken into account when growing, so we will dwell on the care of each of the listed species in more detail.
The main feature of thornless varieties is that their branches are smooth and not covered with thorns characteristic of the culture. This greatly facilitates the care of the shrub. At the same time, the fruits are distinguished by excellent taste and a high content of vitamins and nutrients.
As with conventional varieties, thornless culture is recommended to be planted in well-lit areas. In this case, the soil should be fertile and moderately moist.
Note: When growing thornless varieties, it is important to ensure that water does not stagnate at the roots of the plant. This will reduce the quality and quantity of the crop. It is also not recommended to plant shrubs in areas with a high content of limestone in the soil, as this can provoke leaf diseases.
Planting a thornless blackberry and further care for the shrub includes the following nuances:
Of the care measures, thornless varieties, like ordinary species, require regular pruning and top dressing, which are carried out mainly in spring (Figure 3). After the snow has melted, the bushes are inspected and all branches with signs of disease or damage are removed. If the bush is older than two years of age, formative pruning is additionally carried out, removing all branches older than two years.
Figure 3. Formation of a thornless blackberry bush
The soil around the plantings is fertilized every spring with ammonium nitrate and humus, and in the fall, to provide the crops with enough nutrients for the winter, superphosphate and wood ash are added to the soil.
Otherwise, caring for thornless blackberries is not difficult. In dry summers, it is advisable to regularly water the shrubs, combining this procedure with loosening the soil and removing weeds. Adult bushes that form many young shoots should be regularly thinned out and young root shoots removed, as well as fruiting shoots should be tied to supports so that they do not break under the weight of berries.
Thornfree's thornless variety is considered one of the most popular. Since it was bred by breeders, the plants are distinguished not only by high yields, but also by comparative unpretentiousness (Figure 4).
Note: Thornfree blackberries are often grown commercially, but they are also valuable for home cultivation, as they are distinguished by large, juicy and tasty berries.
Another advantage of the Thornfree variety is its unpretentiousness. The shrub will successfully grow and bear fruit in almost any climatic conditions and on any soil. However, this does not mean that the blackberry of this species does not require the attention of the gardener at all: the culture will still need some care.
The main stages of Thornfree blackberry care include:
Figure 4. Thornfree blackberry features and care
In addition, the Thornfree variety will need some attention in the fall, after the harvest, when the crop is being prepared for winter. To do this, all the branches are untied from the supports, laid on the ground and fixed with wire hooks. Top plants sprinkled with a layer of straw.
The main difference between the remontant blackberry and other varieties of this crop is the early onset of fruiting. If other species need to be formed and wait for harvest during the year, remontant species bring a crop in the first year after planting. In addition, the remontant culture is highly winter hardy, although it will still be necessary to cover the shrubs for the winter, especially if you live in a region with harsh winters.
Caring for remontant varieties is not particularly difficult. First of all, in spring or autumn, all the shoots that brought the crop last year are removed, since they will no longer bear fruit. In addition, sanitary pruning is mandatory in the spring, which will prevent diseases and weakening of the shrub. In addition, nitrogen fertilizers should be applied in spring, but the dosage of fertilizers should not be exceeded, since an excess of nitrogen can reduce the winter hardiness of remont blackberries and make them more susceptible to rot.
Climbing (curly) blackberries are also called sundew, but caring for such crop varieties is the most difficult. Firstly, you will need a fairly spacious area, since the bushes are planted at a distance of 4 meters from each other. Secondly, difficulties will also arise during the care of plants, since their flexible shoots are tightly intertwined with each other and significantly complicate pruning.
At the same time, the advantage of a climbing crop is that with its help you can not only harvest tasty and healthy berries, but also create dense hedges around the site.
As for care, climbing varieties of culture require the same measures as other species. They include mandatory spring top dressing and sanitary pruning. In addition, fruiting shoots must be tied to supports. Not only will this make pruning easier, but it will also make harvesting easy and enjoyable. It should also be borne in mind that climbing varieties should also be covered for the winter, bending the branches to the ground and covering them with agrofiber or a layer of straw.
Features of caring for blackberries are shown in detail in the video.
Starting from 2-3 years of life, the blackberry bush is distinguished by its unique unpretentiousness, it can bear fruit regardless of sunlight, during frosts and droughts. To achieve this effect, the planting technology should be fully observed, as it directly affects the health of the plant and yield.
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Unlike other members of the Rose family, planting blackberries is best done in the spring, after the soil has warmed up and the last frost has ended. In the regions of the middle lane, bushes are planted from late April to early May, in the north it is advisable to postpone planting until the end of May or even the beginning of June.
Today, dozens of varieties of garden blackberries have been bred, differing in yield, fruiting period, features of the bush and berries. For small household plots and industrial plantations, thornless blackberries are usually used, since this greatly simplifies the process of care and harvesting.
The most productive crop varieties are Loch Ness, Thorne Free, Black Satin and Navajo. For the northern regions, it is advisable to choose frost-resistant and unpretentious varieties of blackberries, for example, Eldorado, Erie, Snyder, Darrow and others.
Acquired planting material should preferably be planted as soon as possible. If within 5-7 days after the purchase there is no opportunity to plant, they should be removed in a dark and cool place. During the day, the seedlings must be removed from the package, the bottom part must be cleaned of the dry crust, and then soaked in water for 8-10 hours and transferred to the growth stimulator for another 4-5 hours.
The most effective means to improve rooting are Kornevin, Etamon, Zircon or Heteroauxin. Fungicide treatment is not required at this stage.
Annual seedlings are recommended to be purchased only in specialized nurseries, planting material has a developed root system and at least two stems with a thickness of 0.5 cm in diameter, there must be a formed bud on the roots.
For growing blackberries, it is advisable to choose a well-lit place, protected from strong winds. Bushes are usually planted next to fences or a blank wall of the house.
Strong gusts of wind can not only injure leaves and berries, but reduce the quality of pollination of flowers. It is not recommended to plant blackberries on a flat area, the best yield is noted on a slope. Best of all, the culture bears fruit on well-drained and light soils, the optimal solution is nutritious loamy or sandy loamy soil.
You should not plant plants on carbonate soils, as blackberries react sharply to a lack of iron and magnesium. The recommended acidity level is 6 pH. The occurrence of groundwater should be located no closer than 1.5 meters to the surface.
Crop rotation is an important requirement for growing any crop. Legumes and pumpkin plants, beets and carrots are suitable as predecessors. It is not recommended to plant a bush in a place where raspberries or other varieties of blackberries used to grow.
The site for planting blackberries should be prepared in advance. About 6 months before planting a bush, you need to completely clear the soil of weeds and dig the ground to the depth of a shovel bayonet.
In autumn, complex top dressing is applied - organic fertilizers (10 kg of mullein, bird droppings or humus per 1 m 2), as well as mineral compounds (15 g of superphosphate, 25 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m 2). If you regularly fertilize the soil, then the amount of top dressing should be halved, especially organic. Nitrogen formulations are not recommended yet, as this will enhance the growth of leaves, and not shoots and fruiting buds.
Blackberries are planted in individual pits 40 × 40 cm in size and up to 45 cm deep, which is optimal for the powerful root system of the plant. The distance between the bushes should be from 80 cm, but for some varieties with spreading shoots it can be increased to 1.5 m.
After this preparation, you can proceed directly to landing:
After planting, the soil will sag slightly, so it is worth adding a little substrate after 2-3 days so as not to expose the root part of the plant. You can not overdo it, because if planted too deep, the growth of replacement shoots slows down in blackberries, which can lead to the death of the bush.
After planting, blackberries should be watered as the top layer of soil dries out; for young bushes, the optimal amount of watering is 5-7 liters per plant. Even at the planting stage, it is recommended to carry out mulching - this facilitates the subsequent removal of weeds and loosening.
Once a season, you need to apply complex fertilizers to activate growth, it is advisable to use ready-made liquid formulations for horticultural crops, which can be found in any specialized store.
If you use single-component fertilizers, then they are applied in the following proportions:
Blackberries respond well to organic fertilizers, among which mullein is very popular. Some gardeners use it as a mulch, which simplifies the feeding process.
In the first year, treatment for diseases and pests is required only if the first signs of infection appear. However, subject to the agrotechnics of planting and quality care, blackberries rarely suffer from diseases.
Already in the first year of the life of the bush, trellises should be installed, which are important for tying fruit-bearing shoots. To do this, use strong columns up to 2 meters in height, which are dug in from both sides of the plant. Three rows of rope or galvanized wire are pulled on them - at a distance of 65, 125 and 180 cm. After that, the shoots must be constantly directed to avoid chaotic growth.
Most varieties of garden blackberries do not produce a crop in the first year, in order to get berries in the next season, tweezing of the main young shoots that have reached a length of up to 120 cm should be carried out. They should be shortened by 10-12 cm, side branches are cut as they grow, starting from 50 cm. If the procedure is carried out correctly, at the end of summer the bush should look well-groomed and neat.
A plot with blackberry bushes should be shaded from direct sunlight, which adversely affects the formation and ripening of fruits. Abundant lighting can spoil the presentation of the berries, they will become faded and light.
To avoid this, on especially sunny days, shading nets should be pulled on the site; they can be removed at night. Shelter of bushes for the winter period is required only when grown in the northern regions, as well as when planting heat-loving varieties.
Most often, garden blackberries are propagated by the vegetative parts of the bush, but the seed method can also be used to preserve varietal characteristics or increase the planting of unique varieties. Let's take a closer look at each of them.
Suitable for varieties with long side branches and a spreading bush. Algorithm for propagation by horizontal layering:
To increase the chances of rooting, the procedure must be carried out on several bushes at once. The mother plant must be at least 2 years old.
Propagation of blackberries by apical shoots is the easiest way to increase crop planting. It is best used for breeding adults and strong bushes.
To do this, in the fall, the top of the shoot is tilted down and dug into the ground. Pruning is not required, but to improve the rooting process, the cambium should be slightly incised. In the spring, the seedling can be separated from the bush and transplanted to a permanent place.
You can also propagate a blackberry bush by root offspring. This method is not suitable for hybrid and large-fruited crop varieties.
Step-by-step instruction:
After transplanting, the plant needs to be mulched, watered and inorganic fertilizers applied, it is not recommended to use organic matter, as this leads to the appearance of rodents and pests.
Cuttings are not suitable for thornless varieties, as the daughter plant loses varietal qualities, thorns appear and yields decrease. It is advisable to transplant with root cuttings.
To do this, the bush is dug up along with the root, and then it is divided into parts, leaving up to 60 cm of the root system. Each cutting must be at least 0.5 cm thick. Subsequent planting in a permanent place occurs according to the standard scheme described above.
Propagation by green cuttings is more suitable for experienced gardeners, since it is not always possible to achieve the optimal level of rooting. To do this, in July, 1/3 of the length is cut from a green and healthy shoot, leaving at least one bud and leaf.
The branch must be treated with a growth stimulator and slightly cut the top layer of the bark. After that, the seedling is planted in an individual peat pot and covered with polyethylene. The root system is formed within 30-35 days, after which the plant is transplanted to a permanent place.
The seed propagation method of blackberries is suitable for rare varieties or hybrid varieties of the crop. It is not recommended for the northern regions, where it is more difficult to achieve rooting of planting material.
Before planting, it is required to prepare a peat container, where light and fertile soil is placed. Seeds are immersed in water for 2-3 hours, after which they are placed in a damp cloth for 3 days.
Planting material should swell slightly, after which it can be planted in a pot to a depth of 1 cm. Containers with seedlings are placed in a cool place for 2 months, and during this time moderate watering and ventilation should be carried out regularly.
After the emergence of seedlings, containers with blackberries are transferred to a warmer place. A pick to a permanent place can be carried out when 3-5 true leaves appear on the seedlings.
The formation of blackberries is an important stage of care, necessary for the process of formation of berries. The procedure is carried out only with a sharp instrument in order to avoid injury to the bush. The pruning algorithm depends on the variety of blackberry, which is divided into upright (bramble) and creeping (dewberry).
Almost all varieties of blackberries bear fruit only once - in the second year. During the first season, a bush and stems are formed, and then it begins to bloom and produce a crop.
Pruning allows you to restart the fruiting cycle, as well as improve the quality and taste of berries, and avoid crowding. Young bushes are pruned to stimulate flowering for the next season.
Pruning is carried out 3-4 times during the period of active growth. For the first time, it is advisable to carry out the procedure in the spring after the end of spring frosts. You can determine the required time by the presence of young buds actively appearing on the plant.
The next pruning is called tweezing, it is carried out when the shoots have already grown, and the last formation of the bush occurs at the end of the season - the procedure is carried out before preparing the plant for winter.
The yield of the bush, as well as the health of the plant, depends on the quality and compliance with the technique.
During this, it is advisable to observe the following recommendations:
During pruning, be sure to use trellises, which simplifies the procedure, and also allows you to determine the required length of each branch. All fruit-bearing vegetative parts of the plant are distributed evenly around the entire perimeter of the support, using a pre-stretched wire or rope for this purpose.
Growing blackberries in your backyard is a complex and exciting process. To obtain a large harvest of berries, one should take into account not only the plant variety, but also the climatic conditions, location and features of the soil on the site.
Crop care includes regular watering, loosening, pruning and installing supports. It is especially important to observe agricultural technology in the first year of a plant's life, when the formation of fruit-bearing shoots and the central stem occurs.
Blackberry shrubs, although they do not need strict care, a lot of moisture and sunlight, still these factors can help increase the fruiting of shrubs. For example, when planting a plant, you need to calculate the place so that the blackberry in the end was protected from blowing. This, in turn, will not only increase the quantity of the crop and its quality, but also help the shrubs simply not die at low temperatures in winter. In areas where there is no wind, snow will not fall from the bushes, which means that they will be covered with snow cover all winter.
In addition, blackberries, like any other plant, must be pollinated, and in strong winds, bees cannot fly up and do their job. Wind gusts can even break the fragile bramble branches, especially after the winter period, when the plant has not yet gained its full strength.
As mentioned above, when planting blackberries, you can not attach importance to the amount of sunlight. Fruiting equally well occurs both in a darkened place and in an open area, but it is impossible to plant in complete darkness. If sunlight stops reaching the plant, over time the berries will become smaller, and this will negatively affect the quality and taste of the crop.
Planting blackberries in a garden plot is best produce in the spring. In the southern parts of the country, I also practice planting in the autumn period of the year, but still the best results are achieved with bushes that were planted in the spring. In this case, cuttings take root better, and there is also no chance of plant death upon the onset of a cold period.
The soil is just the very element that plays no role in the cultivation of blackberries. Usually, planting is carried out near the fence, in order not only to increase the convenience of harvesting, but also to further ennoble this part of the garden plot by hiding the fence.
The whole procedure for planting blackberry bushes can be divided into several stages. to subsequently achieve high results during the establishment of plants.
Best for growing in the garden suitable blackberry thornless. Some of the most popular varieties include:
These varieties are great for courting at their summer cottage. No spike c simplifies harvesting, and if the plant is no longer cared for, it will not grow as much as other blackberry varieties.
Although blackberries can grow on their own, the first year is the hardest for them. At this time, it is necessary to carry out all the necessary measures so that the plant takes root in a new place. This includes all basic care, pruning and watering activities. The entire cultivation procedure must be observed especially carefully in the first year, and then after the growth of the bushes, some stages of the procedure can be omitted.
First of all, you need pay enough attention to watering. In the first year, it simply does not make sense to expect a harvest, but you should not refuse to water the blackberries, because just at this time the crown and the strength of the root branches are formed. As a result, proper watering in the first year can significantly increase yields in subsequent years. Massive roots ultimately help the plant feel comfortable in dry weather. Raspberry cannot boast of such quality.
Watering in the initial stages of the growth of berry bushes should be plentiful, but still you should not overdo it. It is necessary to increase the amount of moisture as the blackberries germinate and during the beginning of the ripening of the crop. In addition, moisture should freely flow to the root system, so it is better to loosen the kidney before this procedure. Blackberry bushes don't really like it when the soil is too hard packed. In addition, with dense layers of soil, moisture simply does not reach the root system, but disperses in different directions from the shrub. Fertilization before watering is carried out exclusively in the first year after planting, and then in the summer you can do without feeding the plant.
To increase the growth activity of blackberries, fertilizers may only be needed in the spring season. Apply top dressing needed once. For this, it is best to use components such as:
In the form of additional fertilizers, phosphorus, nitrogen and potash fertilizers can be used, but there is no particular need for them. Shrubs do not require a large amount of minerals, and they receive all the main components exclusively from the composition of the soil.
Blackberry pruning is an important stage, on which it ultimately depends on how strongly and evenly the shrub will sprout, and already from these conditions the amount of crop and ease of picking berries. If you do not prune, then you can get an impenetrable jungle in your summer cottage. In order to avoid such problems, you need to trim the stems about 3-4 times during the period of active growth. Pruning should be done very often, because the growth of branches in blackberries is fast. If you do not want to spend too much time pruning, then it is best to plant thornless shrubs.
The first pruning begins after the end of winter, as soon as the temperature exceeds the limits of the beginning of the vegetative period. This time can be determined by the presence of buds that only appear on the stems of plants. You need to cut off all the stems that have been damaged during the winter or dried up. Usually, per square meter, no more than 15 shoots are left, or 8 shoots each on one of the shrubs. During the rest of the year, new shoots should be pruned so that they do not weaken the plant.
Re-pruning shoots called pinching. It is produced at a time when the shoots have already grown. Usually, each of them needs to be shortened by no more than 15 cm, but if there is no time for constant care of the bushes, then 20 cm of the shoot can be removed. Such pruning is especially important for summer residents who want to significantly increase the yield on blackberry bushes. Pinching promotes the formation of new branches, which in the future will produce an additional crop of berries. When pruning shoots, you need to leave only the strongest, and cut off all weak branches so that they do not take all the strength from the bush.
The last pruning is carried out in the autumn before the onset of winter. All weak and dry shoots are removed. Particular attention should be paid to branches that show signs of disease. The growth, on the contrary, is better to leave before the start of winter, because at the expense of it, in the spring you can see a formed and strong crown.
The question of how to care for blackberries is not too difficult to figure out, unlike the reproduction of this shrub. There are a large number of propagation methods using seeds, seedlings, or techniques that do not even require pruning of the blackberry stem in the initial stages. The most popular way to propagate blackberries among gardeners is planting a germinating stem. This method can help propagate blackberries from just one shrub.
To propagate blackberries, you will need a stem about 3 meters long from a neighboring bush. A hole 30 centimeters deep is dug and sprinkled with humus. The end of the stem is placed in the hole in a semicircle or in a full circle and sprinkled with a little earth. Immediately after this, you need to make the first watering and wait until the water is absorbed into the ground. The rest of the soil layer completely covers the hole.
With this breeding technique, it is important that the stem is buried in early August, and at the end of the autumn period it can be cut off from a neighboring shrub. The length of the sapling should be no more than one meter above the ground. This is the easiest way to propagate, which requires a minimum amount of effort, and also does not require the purchase of additional seedlings.
Blackberries, along with raspberries, are considered the most delicious berries. It can be grown by any summer resident, even without much experience, the main thing is to follow the basic recommendations. The main advantages of this variety of berry bushes are the minimum need for care, high yields, and also a way to increase the aesthetic appearance of the landscape in the garden.
Growing blackberries at home
With a bushy landing
The scheme of propagation of blackberries by horizontal layering
Propagation of garden blackberries by apical shoots
Propagation of garden blackberries by root offspring
When planting in autumn, it is undesirable to use organic fertilizers (humus, compost). It is they that feed on insects in the winter and rodents. By spring, the seedling may die.
Blackberry varieties without thorns are not propagated in this way. Otherwise, the plant will grow with thorns.
From blackberry seeds you can grow a full-fledged seedling
Normalizes the load on it, improves aging.
Do not leave extra plants, even if they are healthy. Excessive density harms the future crop.
Scheme of the formation of an upright blackberry bush
The scheme of formation of a blackberry bush of creeping varieties
Top dressing, watering, pruning, processing will allow you to get high yields and delight your family with a medicinal berry.
Home » Blackberries » When and how to prune blackberries
Raspberry is familiar to every person since childhood. Which child did not mother treat with raspberry jam in winter? And in the summer, many climbed into thorny bushes to feast on this berry. Over the past period, more and more often, a relative of raspberries, the sweet blackberry, began to appear in summer cottages.
The blackberry plant belongs to the Rosaceae family, which, in turn, belongs to the Rubus genus. It is a semi-shrub with erect or spreading stems, which are covered with a large number of thorns. Recently, several hybrids without thorns have been bred, which greatly simplifies harvesting, and pruning blackberries in the fall is much easier and more enjoyable. 
In the wild, blackberries can be found in forests, near swampy places and rivers, where damp and wet lands are. You can meet such bushes in the territories of many continents: America, Europe and Asia. Of course, blackberry pruning in autumn is carried out only in summer cottages and gardens. In nature, the branches are woven into dense growth and form large thickets. Walking through the forest, you can enjoy the wild berries of this plant.
Blackberry belongs to perennial shrubs, its height can reach 4 meters. It has a powerful root that grows deep into the ground, making the blackberry drought-resistant. The large leaf of this plant consists of 5-7 small ones connected by a common petiole. They are green on top and light on the underside. The leaves are pubescent and have small thorns. Blackberries bloom at the end of June with large white flowers, which are collected in panicles. The fruits begin to ripen by August. Since flowering lasts until the end of autumn, the collection of berries is long. When ripe, blackberries first acquire a green color, then pink, brown, and a ready-to-eat berry has a black color.
Of the large number of varieties, blackberry garden is popular. Care (pruning, watering, fertilizing, etc.) for this variety does not differ from care for other species of this plant.
Blackberry is an unpretentious plant, this is due to the fact that it was cultivated from a wild plant. In nature, it grows in humid places and, thanks to deep roots, feeds on moisture from the ground almost all summer.
However, at home, the plant still needs to be given some attention. This applies to soil, watering and reproduction. Pruning blackberries for the winter is also important. This strengthens the root of the plant and strengthens the bush. 
This blackberry care item is one of the most important. Autumn pruning of blackberries, especially a young bush, guarantees a good wintering and subsequent strong shoots in the spring. According to the type of growth, the bushes are divided into straight-growing and creeping. As a result, they require different care.
A wire is pulled near a young bush and supports are made so that the branches can be tied up. In the first year after planting, all shoots are fixed on one side, and the next - on the other. When lateral shoots appear, they are cut off, leaving 3-4 buds. Fruiting occurs on secondary branches. Pruning blackberries in the fall is to remove the branches on which the fruits were. They are cut off and carefully removed from the wire so as not to damage the rest. Such pruning of blackberries for the winter allows you to make room for new shoots, which are braided in place of the old ones.
The branches are selected according to their power, 6-8 pieces, and tied to the supports in a fan-like manner, they can also be placed close to each other. Blackberry garden, care (pruning and garter) for which occurs in this way, can densely braid the supports. It can be planted at the fence, although this reduces the amount of yield due to poor penetration of solar heat and light. It is also recommended to remove several lower buds on each branch. With the development of shoots and the ripening of fruits, they can be smeared on the ground or simply deteriorate from watering. 
Blackberry pruning is also necessary in the spring, while cutting off the upper parts of the shoots, leaving branches no more than 1.5 meters long.
For planting a bush, you can choose any soil, but it should be well warmed up by the sun, so you need to find an open place. Also, the soil must be sufficiently loose and well-drained, since the roots of blackberries die from stagnant water due to lack of oxygen.
Despite the fact that the blackberry bush is moisture resistant, it should be watered during the growth of shoots and fruit ripening. Especially if the summer is hot and dry. But it is worth making sure that moisture does not linger for a long time under the bush. Garden brambles, which are pruned correctly, create a dense shade with their branches and leaves, which retains moisture for a longer time. 
Blackberries can be propagated by suckers or by rooting green tops. These methods are easy and do not require special skills or equipment. When propagating with the help of root offspring, it is necessary to dig out a small piece of the lateral root in early spring and transfer it to a permanent place of growth. It is planted in prepared soil, where it must be placed horizontally. 
Several varieties of blackberries do not produce root shoots and can be propagated by rooting the tops. To do this, one or more branches are bent to the ground, tilting the branches in an arc, and placed in a pit, the depth of which is not more than 10 cm. The tops of the branches should remain on the surface by about 10 cm. The pit is covered with fertile soil. This process is carried out in late summer or early autumn.
The next year, by autumn, you can separate the shoots from the mother bush, after checking the presence of roots and their strength. If necessary, the process can be repeated or left to take root for another year.
Before planting the plant, it is necessary to loosen the soil well. The pit should be up to 50 cm deep. Pour humus or compost and top dressing with potassium into the bottom. It is desirable to mix fertilizers with the earth. The distance between plants in a row should be at least 1 meter, and between rows - 1.5 meters. In a row, it is necessary to plant blackberries of various varieties for good pollination and a high yield.
After the blackberry bush is properly planted, fertilization is not required for 2-3 years. Starting from the fourth year, it is necessary every autumn after pruning to bring a good layer of rotted manure under the bush. Also, during the spring-summer period, feed with fertilizers containing nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. 
Blackberries, pruned and cared for according to the rules, annually please with abundant flowering and a good harvest. Berries are collected from the bush in several stages, as flowering stretches for a long period. Blackberry fruits are very useful, and the bush does not need careful care, so keeping such a plant in your area will not be a hassle. Pruning blackberries in the fall, timely watering in spring and summer - and there will always be blackberries on the table until the end of autumn.
Everyone knows this wonderful wild berry, which is distinguished by its original taste and usefulness. And also by the fact that it is not very pleasant and convenient to collect, since blackberry thickets are usually difficult to pass and very prickly. But modern breeding science does not care. And now we can already treat ourselves to garden blackberries, which are distinguished by the absence of thorns on the shoots, and its berries are large and sweet.
All blackberry varieties (over 300) are divided into 3 groups:
Since this is a rather rare plant in our garden plots, a reasonable question arises - how to care for blackberries. First, it will be very convenient to lift the blackberries up on the trellises, like grapes.
This will save space, the plant will receive enough sun and air, the berries will be able to fully ripen, and they can be easily harvested (blackberries do not bear fruit all at once, but for a month and a half), and young shoots will be able to spread freely along the ground. Often they are attached to a trellis in the form of a fan. Optionally, you can tie a bush to a pole or pipe.
The plant loves lighted areas. It also feels good in partial shade, but the ripening period of berries in this case is extended by 5-7 days, they become smaller and lose their taste.
The blackberry is drought-resistant, as its roots are located at a considerable depth.
When flowering and ripening berries require watering. But do not overdo it: excessively moist soil can cause the death of the bush.
In the spring, before the buds swell, it is necessary to do formative pruning: remove frozen, dried, diseased, underdeveloped shoots and shorten too long ones.
On one bush, 4-6 shoots should be left. It is advisable to trim the tops to form a compact bush. It is noticed that with strong pruning, the berries become larger.
In summer, pinch the tops and remove excess young shoots. In autumn, fruiting shoots are pruned.
Many gardeners are afraid of the low frost resistance of this garden crop, but if you know how to care for blackberries in the autumn-winter period, then it will delight you with a bountiful harvest.
It should be noted that the dewberry does not tolerate winter well, and the kumanika can withstand twenty-degree frosts. But still it is better to cover any blackberry for the winter.
Most varieties are bent to the ground, and if you have a straight-growing blackberry, then it is tilted gradually in the process of growth, as if accustoming. For particularly sensitive varieties, cover is used. Most often with plastic wrap, but you can use leaves or spruce branches. It is advisable to cover the top with snow. If the plant is not prepared for winter, then the adult bush will not die, but the ground part may freeze slightly, which will undoubtedly affect fruiting.
The plant propagates by seeds, green and root cuttings, rooted shoots and division of the bush.
It is advisable to plant blackberries in a place that is lit and protected from the winds. Planting is best done in the spring to prevent freezing.
The plant prefers slightly acidic or neutral soil. Do not use limestone soil for planting.
First, holes are dug to a depth of 45-50 centimeters. Fertilizers mixed with soil are placed at the bottom: rotted manure or compost (5-6 kilograms), potash fertilizers (45-50 grams) and superphosphate (130-150 grams). Then a blackberry bush is planted so that the root neck is 2-3 centimeters below the soil level. Plants are watered, mulched and cut, leaving 20-30 centimeters.
Plants are planted in rows. Upright bushes are placed at a distance of 0.9-1 meter, row spacing - up to 2 meters. Between creeping plants leave 2.5 meters of distance.
In one place, blackberries are able to bear fruit for 12-15 years.
To get a bountiful harvest of berries, the plant needs to be fed. An excellent result can be obtained with the help of early spring mulching of the soil with a layer of 5 centimeters. For mulch, take rotted manure or compost. You can also add urea or ammonium nitrate.
But keep in mind that 2-3 years after planting, blackberries are not fertilized.
Blackberries are resistant to pests and diseases. Sometimes it can be attacked by raspberry beetles. To prevent this from happening, try to pick ripe berries in time. With a lack of iron and magnesium, chlorosis develops.
Berries ripen at the end of summer. Collect them in several stages.
If you take care of the blackberry and take care of it properly, then it will certainly please you with a plentiful tasty harvest.
Cultivation and care of blackberries differ in many ways from the cultivation of raspberries, although they are the closest "relatives" in biological parameters. The choice of a blackberry propagation method depends on which seedlings you have purchased - upright or creeping. Another nuance: when caring for garden blackberries, pruning must be performed not only traditionally, but also using methods such as normalization and tweezing of shoots, as well as shortening the stems.
Blackberry is a semi-shrub plant of the Rosaceae family. It happens with erect, arcuate or creeping shoots. Under natural conditions, the aerial part of the plant dies after the second year of life, but the root system continues to live for many years and can sometimes give new shoots.
The upright blackberry is also called kumanika; in its biological characteristics, it is similar to raspberries. Forms with creeping, creeping shoots are called dewdrops.
Blackberries differ from raspberries mainly in that their berries do not separate from the fruit. Therefore, blackberries are more suitable for transportation and storage, they almost do not crumple.
Blackberry erect (cultivars) is quite demanding on the choice of location, it loves the sun, so good growth and fruiting can only be obtained in areas that are reliably protected from the wind, well lit and warmed up. In conditions of even light shading, the shoots are strongly extended, shading the fruit-bearing ones. The yield and quality of berries are sharply reduced. Plants lose resistance to pests and diseases.
The erect blackberry does not grow well in arid places. One of the conditions for growing blackberries of these varieties is high air permeability and moderate moisture. The plant prefers well-drained soil with high fertility. The most suitable soil for it is permeable light and medium loams with a thick layer of humus and good moisture. Sandy or sandy loamy soils are suitable for growing garden blackberries only with abundant organic fertilizer and watering.
Relatively hardy to drought, only some varieties of creeping blackberries, its root system penetrates much deeper into the soil, saving the plant in arid areas. Creeping blackberries can grow well in dense black soils and even in coarse, heavy loams if they contain enough humus. Only too heavy, waterlogged soils and sandstone are not suitable for growing blackberries.
Blackberry propagation is carried out by green and lignified cuttings, rooted tops, layering.
Propagation of upright blackberries. This species is propagated by lignified and green offspring, root cuttings. When propagating blackberries by cuttings, it is preferable to take young roots of a larger diameter (0.3-1.3 cm) at the age of 1-3 years. They are cut into 5-8 cm long. When planting, the cuttings are placed horizontally in a pre-prepared groove at a depth of 7-10 cm.
You can propagate erect blackberries with single-bud cuttings. They are cut from the upper third of the shoot, with the exception of the last two buds. After cutting, the cutting should consist of part of the stem, bud and leaf. Before planting, they are treated with 0.3% indolylbutyric acid. Then planted in small containers such as plastic or paper cups. Pre-fill the container with a special soil mixture of peat, perlite, sand, vermiculite (1:1:1). Containers with cuttings are placed for rooting in a greenhouse.
Reproduction of the creeping blackberry. Creeping blackberries are propagated by rooted tops or green cuttings. In mother bushes that have risen to a height of 60-90 cm, the replacement shoots are pinched. After that, 3-5 buds awaken on it, from which lateral shoots grow. The ends of these shoots in August acquire a peculiar appearance - they thin out, stretch out, the leaves on them become small. Finally, thickenings form at the very top. It is these shoots that, when propagating blackberries, are slightly buried in the tops of the soil and watered.
Most likely, already in the same year he will release the roots, and the next year the above-ground shoot will grow. This is how an independent plant is formed, which can then be separated from the mother bush.
Propagation of blackberries by layering. In July, shoots that have reached 1.5-2.5 m in height are laid out in grooves 8-10 cm deep, previously dug around the bush. When propagating blackberries by layering, they are not separated from the mother plant. With a razor, several superficial notches are made under each kidney. Then the grooves are covered with soil so that the leaves and tops of the shoot are on the surface. The soil near the layers is constantly maintained in a loose and moist state.
Over time, a thickening will appear at the top of the shoot, which is sprinkled with soil to obtain a seedling. As a rule, in the first year or the next season, on a stem laid in a groove, roots appear under each bud in the places of notches, the bud itself gives an above-ground shoot. In autumn, between adjacent young shoots, they feel for an old stem in the soil and cut it with a pruner. Then the layers are carefully separated from the old stem along with a clod of earth and transplanted to a permanent place. In a new place, they take root well and quickly grow, begin to bear fruit. Thus, with the help of layering, you can get a lot of planting material from each bush - up to a dozen young plants.
The Blackberry Propagation video will help you better understand the process technology:
When is the best time to plant blackberries so that the shrubs take root better? In the northern zone of central Russia, blackberries are best planted in spring. A long and wet spring helps planted plants to take root well. The result during the autumn planting may be unsuccessful, as the plants freeze out if the snow cover does not fall in a timely manner.
In the middle zone of central Russia, blackberries are planted both in autumn and in spring. But here autumn planting is more profitable, its period is longer. With timely autumn planting, no later than the first half of October, the blackberry will get stronger by winter. Freezing of a plant planted in autumn can only happen if planted too late, if severe frosts occur before the formation of a normal snow cover.
How to plant blackberries for optimal shrub growth and maximum fruiting? Plants are planted with an interval of 3-3.5 m between seedlings. More vigorous varieties - at a distance of 4.5 m between the bushes.
Preparing the soil and fertilizing the site for blackberries is almost the same as preparing the soil for raspberries. The depth and width of the seats depends on the type of planting material.
Upright blackberries in harsh climates are usually grown in rows with trellis fastening. A distance of 90 cm is maintained between plants in a row, and row spacings should be 120-180 cm wide. For vigorous forms, the recommended distance between plants is 1.5-2 m or more.
Before planting and caring for blackberries, approximately 2-3 kg of humus per 1 m2 is applied to the soil, then the soil is dug up. For planting seedlings, dig holes up to 40 cm deep and up to 50 cm in diameter.
The seedlings are placed on the bottom of the hole, the roots are straightened and covered with soil so that the bud at the base of the stem is 2-3 cm below ground level. Saplings water and mulch the soil with any loosening materials. In dry weather, repeat watering.
In spring, 5 to 8 kg of humus and 50-60 g of mineral fertilizers are applied annually for each adult plant to feed blackberries.
At the beginning of summer, annually, 10 liters of mullein diluted with water (1: 5) are poured. At the end of summer, 0.5 l of wood ash and 100 g of superphosphate (after fruiting) are added for each adult plant.
The soil under the blackberry should be kept loose, cleared of weeds, regularly tilled to a depth of 5-10 cm.
In dry times, the plant must be watered. Under normal climatic conditions, this is done immediately after flowering.
After loosening the soil and carrying out irrigation, the surface under the blackberry is mulched with any loosening materials to retain moisture and protect against weeds.
Saplings of moderately growing varieties in the first year after planting are shortened to about 25 cm from the soil level. As soon as young shoots appear, they are sent along a trellis or column. It is important to prune garden blackberries in the right direction from the beginning so that the plant does not get used to growing freely. At the end of the growing season, all weak tops of carefully tied up young stems are cut off.
In the summer of the second year, blackberries will bear fruit on lateral shoots. At the same time, new powerful shoots grow from the base of the bush, which form as they grow, tying them to the trellis in the right direction: either in one direction, or lifted vertically, and then sent along the upper wire in both directions.
Before pruning blackberries, fruiting stems are always separated from young shoots. Old ones are completely removed after fruiting, new shoots are placed in their place, cutting off only weak tops from them. Further pruning consists of yearly removal of fruit-bearing stems and their replacement with young shoots.
Watch the Blackberry Pruning video, which shows how to perform this operation correctly:
The powerful stems of winter-hardy varieties left for fruiting, which overwinter in an open state, are shortened in the fall, pruning at the same height of 1.6-1.8 m. This work can be done in the spring at the same time as tying the stems to the support. It is carried out taking into account the condition of the plants after wintering, the degree of damage to the lower buds by fungal diseases.
Many of the buds often die in winter at a height of 0.7-1 m from the base of the bush, so shortening the stems at the same height (1.6-1.8 m) is not always rational. In this case, the fruiting zone is sharply reduced.
It is more expedient to shorten the stems above the first bud from above, which is well formed and overwintered normally. If a significant part is frozen to the level of snow, then pruning is carried out so that it is convenient to tie the stems to the support. If you shorten the shoots to the first living bud, you will have to lower the wire to the appropriate height. Completely frozen stems are removed to the very base.
Stems of varieties with drooping tops are shortened at the point of inflection to increase their resistance to lodging, as well as to produce larger berries.
Simultaneously with the spring shortening of the stems of winter-hardy varieties, their final normalization is carried out. On each bush, 4-6 healthy stems are left for fruiting.
Newly growing shoots can be normalized in May-June, cutting them off when they reach a height of 8-10 cm. How to cut blackberries correctly using the shoot normalization method? In this case, the bush is formed from thin shoots of the second wave of growth. They are usually less affected by purple blotch or gall midge. By the end of the growing season, these shoots reach a height of 1.6-1.8 m, so they are not shortened. It is more convenient to bend them down for the winter, but next spring and summer they will need support during fruiting. These shoots are one-dimensional, the crop on them ripens more amicably.
Gardeners often prefer the first shoots, which are located closer to the uterine part of the plant. When they grow up to 40-45 cm, 6-8 of them are left per bush, cutting off all the less developed ones just below the soil level. The first shoots develop rapidly, they can be powerful, tall, but they are more prone to diseases and are affected by pests. They are poorly fastened to the rhizome at the base, easily break under the influence of wind, rain or at the moment of bending down. Often outwardly viable shoots are useless for the plant.
In seedlings of the first year of development, one replacement shoot grows on each bush, which indicates a low yield in the next year.
To increase the future fruiting zone, shoots are pinched in early June, removing the top 3-5 cm long. As a result, lateral buds awaken, new branches form. Inflorescences will grow from the buds of the side branches next spring. You should not hesitate to carry out tweezing, otherwise the grown shoots will not have time to prepare for wintering.
This procedure is a must when cultivating straight blackberries. When is garden blackberry pruned by tweezing shoots? The first time it is carried out when the shoots reach a height of 60-90 cm, cutting off a 5-centimeter top. The second time - when the side shoots grow to a height of 60 cm, they are shortened to 40 cm. This technique will help to form a miniature tree from each shoot. It is better to transfer the second tweezing to the next year of the life of the shoot, leaving 8-12 buds on each side branch. Having thus prepared the plants, they are tied to a trellis wire.
How to prune a blackberry bush? In this video, I show you how to prune a fruit-bearing blackberry bush.
I cut blackberries in the spring, when the situation as a whole is clear to me.
1. In autumn, you can cut out all the shoots that bear fruit.
2. In the spring, we cut out those branches that:
Were damaged by rodents
Poorly overwintered (frozen out)
There is nothing here to complicate the process of pruning blackberries.
In early June, cut off (pinch off) the top of the head. Lateral branches will go, which will be full of berries.
Forgive me for my imbecile humor, but when I read How to Crop Properly. then the foreskin itself was added. ahahah Malysheva to help you with blackberries.))))
Blackberry loves care
How to plant, cut blackberries. Blackberry planting care. Detailed instructions for planting, pruning blackberry bushes. … Initial pruning. In the first summer after planting, young shoots are formed. Attach them securely to the bottom wires.
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In the first summer after planting, young shoots are formed. Attach them securely to the lower wires using the weaving method. In the second summer, these shoots will produce flowers and berries. At the same time, new shoots will rise at the base of the plant. They should be formed according to the chosen method.
When fruiting is complete, untwist the old branches and cut them to the base. With a fan system and when weaving, new branches should be sent in place of the old ones. With a one-way direction system, new branches have already been formed by this point and will bear fruit next year.
And I have many fruits at the ends of long branches. I know that blackberries, like raspberries, have a two-year cycle. Maybe cut off the ends of the branches in the spring so that the whole branch begins to bear fruit?
Depending on the ultimate goal and taking into account the age of fruit trees, 4 types of pruning are distinguished. Formative- aimed at creating a crown of a certain type and size. Regulatory- ensuring the preservation of the specified parameters of the crown and the most favorable ratio between the growth and fruiting of the tree. Anti-aging- aimed at stimulating the growth of branches in aging and old trees. Restorative- the purpose of this pruning is to restore the ability to grow and bear fruit of neglected or affected plants.
Pruning trees after planting - even autumn - is carried out mainly in the spring. Shorten all the skeletal branches that will later set the shape of the crown. The main rule: powerful branches are shortened by a third, weak ones - by half. All unnecessary branches located below the future crown are cut at the very base into a ring.
Pruning a tree in the first years after planting is aimed at the formation of large skeletal branches and the first fruit branches. Remove any upright, inward-growing shoots and shorten the skeletal branches again so that the crown has a pyramidal shape.
As long as the tree bears fruit regularly, pruning ensures a harmonious balance between fruit formation and growth. Still remove all strictly vertical growing tops and competing branches on the central conductor. Also prune old, heavily branched side branches that bear little or no fruit.
With anti-aging pruning in the spring, the crown is strongly thinned out and the outer old fruit-bearing branches are removed. You can return to regular pruning next year.
Pruning fruit crops is quite different from pruning ornamental trees and shrubs discussed in previous articles. Although apple trees, pears, cherries, currants and other fruit plants delight in the spring with magnificent flowering, they, of course, are grown primarily in order to harvest a rich harvest of healthy fragrant fruits. With the most important basic knowledge of pruning these crops and having studied the specialized literature in advance, blunders can be avoided.
When cutting plants yourself, remember: each pruning contributes to the formation of shoots. If it is carried out incorrectly, the crowns of the plants will most likely need to be adjusted again.
How hard to cut. depends on the type of fruit crop, the age of the tree or shrub, as well as on the rootstock. It often "gets" from hardy wild relatives and forms the root system of the tree. A so-called cultivated variety is grafted onto it, which has certain characteristics for flowering and fruiting.
Trees on strong and medium-sized rootstocks with a strong root system form a wide crown and, with good care, can reach the age of 30 years. Varietal plants on low-growing rootstocks are shorter and live less, but at the same time they begin to bear fruit earlier - already in the third year after planting. In the garden, they are grown in the form of trees with a spherical crown, reaching 3-5 m in height. If there is very little space for planting, trees on low-growing rootstocks are grown in the form of a spindle-shaped shrub or, as it is also called, “slender spindle”. Such a narrow low crown shape is especially good for growing apple trees. Pears of most varieties have a pyramidal crown shape, which does not require active intervention to adjust it. But all pears have one drawback: the appearance of a large number of tops (strong, vertically growing fat shoots). All tops that are unsuccessfully located and clearly thickening the crown must be removed, and the rest should be turned into overgrown fruit-bearing branches by pruning. The crown of stone fruit trees begins to form in young, two to four year old plants. It is impossible to delay this, since adult cherries, cherries and plums are difficult to reshape the crown and react painfully to cutting large branches into a ring.
Among the berry bushes a distinction is made between true shrubs, such as currants and gooseberries, and semi-shrubs, such as raspberries and blackberries. The latter bear fruit on one- and two-year-old basal replacement shoots and often need support. Currants, gooseberries and garden blueberries form skeletal branches and are traditionally grown as free-growing shrubs or stem plants. The advantages of shrubs are that they are much more durable than semi-shrubs and give almost twice as many fruits from year to year.
Apple trees and pears on tall and medium-sized rootstocks, they are traditionally pruned in winter or early spring. In apple trees planted close to each other, having a “slender spindle” crown and reaching a height of no more than 2.5 m, summer pruning is also carried out. Important: if new shoots grow densely or reach more than 50 cm in length, this indicates their growth is too strong, which pruning in the summer will help to restrain. At the same time, remove all those long shoots that obscure the inside of the crown. Leave about a third of these branches, because after too much pruning - especially in plants grafted onto vigorous rootstocks - new shoots appear even more actively. In adult apple and pear trees, most fruits are formed on spears up to 20 cm long and on annulus 2-5 cm long. drooping fruit branches. apple trees bear fruit on three- or four-year-old kolchatka, and some varieties also bear fruit on two-year-old fruit twigs and spears. To stimulate the emergence of new side shoots, 5-6 years after planting, the old fruit branches must be removed. summer pruning aims to ensure that the fruits ripening in the middle of the crown receive enough light.
Cherry most often give a spherical crown shape. After a period of completion of the formation of the crown, it is enough to thin it out annually. In adult trees, you can carefully reduce the height to 2-2.5 m. Plum it is also necessary to trim regularly, but moderately (it is better not to trim too much). But peach, apricot and cherry quickly grow old, therefore, in order for them to form new fruit shoots, they need to be cut off strongly. Pruning during the formation of the crown is carried out in the spring, shortly before flowering. Regulatory pruning is carried out in the summer.
Cherries carefree. After the completion of the crown formation period, it is cut off only slightly. At the end of summer, simply remove old fruiting branches or entire skeletal, very old branches. Vertical shoots, as usual, are removed completely.
Peach blooms and bears fruit on annual branches 20-60 cm long. Older branches quickly become bare, so they are greatly shortened annually. During summer pruning, remove most of the branch to the last leaf and competing shoots at the base of the branch. The distance between still young, nut-sized fruits should be about 10 cm.
Regular or summer raspberries. for example, 'Meeker' and 'Schonemann' varieties are planted in one row and tied to a wire support. Fruiting occurs on biennial branches - replacement shoots of the previous year. After harvesting, all fertile biennial branches, as well as weak annual replacement shoots, are cut at their very base at the level of the soil surface - in return, 8-12 new powerful shoots grow from the roots, on which berries will appear next year. After pruning, renew a layer of mulch, compost, or manure under the bushes so that the soil under the plants remains evenly moist for a long time.
summer raspberry ripens in June-August, depending on the variety. Young replacement shoots are tied to a wire support in summer.
Raspberry remontant varieties. such as 'Autumn Bliss' and 'Aroma Queen' produce flowers and fruits on current year's replacement shoots. The first berries ripen from the end of August, you can harvest until the end of autumn. After harvesting the last berries, cut off all basal offspring at the level of the soil surface. Advice: remontant raspberries are almost not susceptible to diseases that affect root shoots, so cut shoots can be crushed and used to mulch the soil in flower beds for the winter. However, if an infection is suspected (leaf discoloration, small crumbling berries), cut stems should be destroyed.
Gooseberry can be grown as a traditional shrub or clearstem tree, the clearstem plant needs stable support up to the middle of the canopy. In any form of growth, the main branches aged 3-4 years are completely removed or cut off above the downward side branch. Densely growing side shoots on the bushes are also completely removed. In a standard plant, they are shortened, leaving a stump of 1 cm.
From the fourth year after planting red and white currant it is necessary to rejuvenate annually. After harvesting, the 2-3 oldest branches (they can be identified by the dark brown rough bark) are completely cut out. They are left to replace the same number of new strong root shoots. All weak young shoots are removed. Then cut everything side branches that bear fruit. leaving stumps of 2 cm. New fruit shoots will grow from them, which will yield a crop in 1-2 years. Newly formed fruit shoots on the branches are thinned out only if they grow too close to each other. The ideal distance between them is 10 cm. At standard currant leave 5 skeletal branches. Lateral branches are cut in the same way as in bush-shaped plants. At the red currant the largest brushes are on annual lateral growths that appear on two- and three-year-old branches.
Per blackberry it is much easier to care for and harvest berries if the fruiting branches and young shoots are constantly separated from each other. Direct all last year's branches, on which berries appeared this year, in one direction. Leave the other half of the trellis for young root shoots that will APPEAR in the spring and bear fruit next year. Remove all weak young shoots, and attach 5-10 strongest ones to a support. Important: in the end, shorten all side shoots on new root offspring by 2-3 leaves. After harvesting or at the end of autumn, fruiting branches are cut as close to the soil as possible.
Also, you can always use the services of our company. Experts will correctly trim trees and shrubs in your garden. The cost of tree pruning services can be found in the "Garden Maintenance" section.
Our climate allows us to successfully grow such berries as garden blackberries. What kind of culture this is, the photo demonstrates well. Conditions for it are favorable in most regions of Russia. It has high taste qualities and contains trace elements necessary for humans. Its cultivation does not present any particular difficulties, and as a hedge, it reliably protects the site.
Blackberries are often confused with another member of the same family (Rosaceae) - raspberries. In recent years, many varieties and hybrids have appeared, some of which are derived from raspberries, so it is not surprising that an ignorant person can make a mistake in identifying a plant.
A semi-shrub with juicy and tasty berries is not too picky about the soil, but it needs lighting. Blackberries should be planted in sunny areas. Plant care consists of three main activities:
In one place, the bush can bear fruit for up to 15 years. Reproduction occurs by cuttings and root offspring.
There are two types of blackberries. This division is conditional and is based on how the shoots behave. If the blackberry is in the shape of a bush with erect stems. that is - kumanika. Plant with creeping stems - dewdrop. As a result of crossing these two types, semi-creeping varieties are bred. Upright varieties do not differ in large berries, while in dewberries, the weight of a berry can reach 15 g.
Growing blackberries is no more difficult than other berry bushes. Nevertheless, it is not often possible to meet her on the sites of our summer residents. If raspberries, gooseberries and currants are found in almost every garden, then real enthusiasts start this culture. In terms of yield, it surpasses popular shrubs. Blackberries begin to bloom in May. Depending on the variety, ripening can be expected by early August.
The stages of planting and forming a bush have much in common with raspberry farming, but here it must be understood that different types require different care. First, let's talk about general recommendations for planting and care, and then we will dwell on the features of reproduction of each form.
Planting blackberries begins in mid-spring. It depends on the geographic location and weather conditions. In some regions, it is better to postpone planting until the end of May. Regardless of the form Blackberries love two things: moisture and warmth.. therefore, it is planted where there is the most sun. The site must be protected from the influence of winds.
Among shrubs, this culture is considered a long-liver. With good agricultural technology, it can bear fruit for more than 15 years. Amateur gardeners who share their experience on how to grow blackberries say that 20 years is not the limit for her. If everything is done correctly, a responsible approach to the choice of a place for a plantation, and all necessary measures are taken on time, the blackberry crop will grow from year to year.
The correct landing pattern is to arrange the rows in a sunny area in a north-south direction. This will provide good lighting throughout the bush throughout the day. It is desirable to put trellises along the rows of blackberries. To facilitate watering and root dressing, trenches are prepared for seedlings. In such small recesses, they will feel good.
The width of the groove for planting blackberries should be at least 0.4 m. The depth is the same. The distances between plants and between rows are made taking into account the length of the shoots of one or another form of blackberry. For dewberries, it will be at least 3 m, for kumaniki a little less - about 2 m.
If you plan to use drip irrigation, then you need to lay the hoses just at the stage of planting the bushes. In areas with stagnant water, drainage is poured onto the bottom of the prepared trench. It can be sand or fine gravel. To increase fertility, add humus to the soil.
All berry crops respond well to horse manure. When adding it to the soil, pay attention to the fact that it must be rotted. From the side of the trellis, a small comb should be poured along the edge of the groove. We put seedlings or cuttings so that they lie on this ridge. Gently straighten the roots and cover the seedling with earth.
Recommended before boarding treat blackberry roots with a stimulant such as Kornevin or Epin. If the spring promises to be cold, the soil is covered with a film. It will keep the roots warm. In dry May, the task is different - to cover the seedlings from the sun. To do this, use the mulching material. It is better to plant blackberries on a non-hot cloudy day.
Despite the fact that the culture is demanding on moisture, excessive moisture is no less dangerous for it than lack of watering. Blackberries should be watered regularly. Usually weekly watering is sufficient. Several buckets of water are poured into the groove or the irrigation system laid down during planting is connected.
Mulching significantly reduces the frequency of watering. For blackberries, this agricultural technique is almost mandatory. In dry regions, mulch is the only way to avoid moisture loss. As a mulching material when caring for blackberries, you can use straw, last year's hay or sawdust.
Growing blackberries on trellises makes maintenance easier behind it and allows the crop to ripen without loss. It is especially important that with this method the north-south row arrangement rule is observed.
To stimulate the growth of new shoots, fertilizing is done with fertilizers, which include nitrogen and phosphates. Spring application of 50 g of ammonium nitrate under the bush, as well as natural fertilizer in the form of compost or humus, will increase the yield of the berry bush. Planting and caring for blackberries without thorns is done in exactly the same way.
During the period of fruit set, that is, from June to the end of July, nitrogen fertilizers are excluded, and the amount of phosphates is increased. As in spring, potash fertilizers are used to a minimum. At the end of summer, the bush begins to prepare for winter, so nitrogen fertilizers are not applied. New shoots are not needed now. In autumn, organic matter, superphosphate and potassium salt are added under blackberries.
Without pruning, the length of the lashes inherent in the type and variety can greatly exceed the capacity of your site. Uncontrollably, the lashes grow up to 5 meters or more, so the blackberry bush must be formed, but this must be done correctly, otherwise you may not wait for the berries.
The basic principle of pruning is that the berries are tied on the last year's shoots, so there should always be young and lignified lashes on the bush. Young shoots gain strength during the season, and berries are tied on old (last year's) shoots. So that the yield does not decrease from year to year, be sure to you need to remove all whips that are more than 2 years old. It is easy to identify those - they just had berries this season, and they should be cut out in the fall.
Creeping and erect forms of blackberries reproduce in different ways. Rosyanika does not give offspring. It is propagated by dropping lashes. After they take root, the young plant is separated from the mother and transplanted to a permanent place. Another way is cuttings.
Kumanika is easily propagated by offspring from the roots. It can also be propagated by shoots and cuttings. With sufficient watering, a lot of planting material is obtained, there is nothing complicated in its preparation.
It is not recommended to dig the ground under bushes with blackberries. For weeding and loosening, it is better to use a flat cutter so as not to cut the roots. For the plant, damage to the roots is not dangerous. The fact is that overgrowth will grow at the site of the cuts, unauthorized reproduction will begin, and it will be extremely difficult to remove the blackberry that is spreading in all directions from the site.
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Blackberries are in many ways similar to their close relative raspberries. But in our country it is not popular. This berry grows mostly in natural nature, only a few gardeners specially breed it. But lately, blackberries have been gaining more and more fans. 
Blackberries respond to spring frosts and low temperatures. The landing site should be chosen without access to cold winds. The best option may be the western and southern parts of the house. For upright varieties, light loams are suitable, and heavy loams for climbing species. The plant does well in sandy soil. Temporary flooding has a detrimental effect on young shoots. To plant fruitful blackberry bushes in the country, it is undesirable to plant the crop on carbonate soils, as the plants will be deficient in iron and magnesium.
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We must not forget about the previous culture. Legumes, table beets, carrots, cucumbers, and zucchini are considered favorable for blackberries in a personal plot. The site is prepared several years in advance for planting, and is left fallow. Removes weeds and pathogens. Six months before planting, in the fall, apply organic and mineral fertilizers to the ground. If the earth is saturated with nutrients, then organic matter can be excluded.
The entire procedure for planting blackberry bushes can be divided into several stages in order to subsequently achieve high results during plant establishment.
Blackberry thornless is best suited for growing in the garden. Of the most popular varieties, one can distinguish such as agave, abundant, darrow. These varieties are great for courting at their summer cottage. The absence of thorns simplifies harvesting, and if the plant is no longer cared for, it will not grow as much as other blackberry varieties.
Now you know how to plant blackberries, and if you get seedlings, you can plant them correctly. If a garden blackberry has already been planted in the garden, grow and care for it in terms of watering and fertilizing by analogy with raspberries. In all other respects, the agricultural technology of this berry differs sharply from what gardeners in temperate climates are used to.
In fact, blackberries are the same raspberries, only growing more aggressively. For this reason, if blackberries are already growing in some corner of the garden, it is absolutely impossible to plant raspberries nearby. Firstly, these crops have common diseases, and secondly, blackberries will simply “suffocate” raspberries underground with roots, preventing them from growing, even if there is a small distance between plants on the soil surface.
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If you like thornless blackberries, planting and caring for them will require knowledge and some experience. Growing this crop is not easy. Those gardeners who have experience in growing grapes will best "cope" with garden hybrid blackberries, since the agricultural technology of these crops is similar.
The lashes of the hybrid thornless blackberry do not grow by the clock, and the problem quickly arises of where to place them. Blackberries, like raspberries, bear fruit on biennial shoots. Therefore, it is most reasonable to install tapestries on both sides of the row and wind fruit-bearing branches on one side, and on the other - only young ones that grow this year. 
The trellises must be installed thoroughly, since the vine, along with the side shoots, will grow to an impressive size. And when the crop begins to ripen on it, its mass will increase many times over. Every two meters of a row, strong supports 180-200 cm high are dug in, between which galvanized wire is pulled at a height of 50, 100 and 170 cm.
In preparation for wintering, the lashes are removed from the trellis, wound into a ring and laid on the ground. From above they are pressed down with a board and covered with non-woven material.
Care for blackberries in the spring consists in getting lashes from under the shelters and throwing them on the trellis. Live green leaves should be preserved on the lashes. It is on these overwintered shoots that berries will appear this year.
Hybrid garden blackberries yield 5 times more yield per unit area than raspberries.
During the summer, when the plant blooms and the crop ripens, the crop needs watering, weeding and top dressing. The plant quickly develops a gigantic vegetative mass and removes many nutrients from the soil, which must be replaced.
When blackberries have just been planted on the site, spring care for young plantings consists only in abundant watering. Fruiting bushes are fed with urea in the spring. A tablespoon of fertilizer is dissolved in a bucket of water and poured into each well in a bucket of such a solution.
Cold well water cannot be used for irrigation and preparation of fertilizer solutions. It is best to install a container on the site to collect rainfall or heat well water in the sun.
Pruning blackberries is a troublesome undertaking, but it must be done regularly. The processing of blackberry bushes with secateurs is carried out in spring, and in summer, and in autumn. The blackberry is divided into straight-growing, which is called kumanika, and creeping - dewberry. Kumanika shoots reach a height of three meters or even more, it forms many replacement shoots, like raspberries, straight blackberry bears fruit on two-year-old shoots. Most of the dewberry varieties do not give root shoots, their shoots look like lashes with a large number of fruit twigs. In the spring, even before the awakening of the buds, the blackberries are cut off dry and broken stems after wintering, as well as frost-bitten tops of the shoots to the first healthy bud. The bushes of the first year of growth are subjected to double pruning: to stimulate the growth of lateral shoots in May, the tops of the branches are shortened by 5-7 cm, and in July the tops of those lateral shoots that have reached half a meter in length are cut off by 7-10 cm, in addition, only 6-8 of the strongest, and the rest to be removed. In mature bushes, in addition to frozen and broken branches, all weak shoots are removed in spring, leaving only 4-10 strong branches on the bush, lateral branches are shortened to 20-40 cm so that 8-12 buds remain on them. During the growing season, remove the root shoots that appear in the summer, leaving only those that have grown since the spring - it is they who will bear fruit next year. These spring shoots in autumn should be cut at a height of 1.7-2 m. In addition, remove all weak branches and, most importantly, cut all the shoots of the second year at the root immediately after they have ceased to bear fruit - they will no longer give berries, so in vain the plant does not need to spend food and strength on them.
The process of propagation of blackberries is carried out in three ways - by seeds, dividing the bush and vegetatively. Almost all blackberry varieties retain the properties of their parent bushes. We must stratify the seeds, soak them in melted or rain water for several hours and sow them in a greenhouse. We plant seedlings in open ground when 4 leaves are formed. It is also possible to reproduce and apical layering. The method consists in deepening the top of the shoot into the groove. This method is very simple. The cutting takes root in a month. It is better to transplant it next year in the spring. Reproduction by cuttings is as follows. We dig up two- or three-year-old roots, cut them into cuttings of 6-8 cm each. In winter, we store planting material in wet sand in the basement. We plant in early spring in grooves 20 cm deep. Reproduction is also possible with green cuttings. Closer to the middle of summer, we cut off the cuttings with buds, treat them with indolebutyric acid, and then plant them in small cups with soil. By dividing the bush, the blackberry propagates by dividing the bushes into parts, trying to leave several strong shoots on each unit.
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An amazing blackberry grows in the wild. Healing properties are superior to raspberries, but they are not grown on a large scale in Russia.. And in the garden, blackberries are becoming increasingly popular. Let's look at a detailed description and instructions for proper care, cultivation, propagation and pruning of blackberry bushes at home, which will be useful to both experienced and novice gardeners.
Blackberries respond to spring frosts and low temperatures. The landing site should be chosen without access to cold winds. The best option may be the western and southern parts of the house.
For upright varieties, light loams are suitable, and heavy loams for climbing species. The plant does well in sandy soil.. Temporary flooding has a detrimental effect on young shoots. To plant fruitful blackberry bushes in the country, it is undesirable to plant the crop on carbonate soils, as the plants will be deficient in iron and magnesium.
We must not forget about the previous culture. Favorable for blackberries in the garden are considered legumes, table beets, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini.
The site is prepared in a few years for planting, and left fallow. Removes weeds and pathogens. Six months before planting, in the fall, apply organic and mineral fertilizers to the ground. If the earth is saturated with nutrients, then organic matter can be excluded.
First of all, it is necessary to decide on the blackberry variety, paying attention to the climatic conditions of the place of growth: the Moscow region, Siberia or central Russia. Planting material should be chosen with a developed root system, which is best purchased in nurseries. The seedling should have 2 stems and a developed bud near the roots.
The distance between blackberry seedlings depends on the variety's shoot formation.
Maintain a distance of 1 meter between planting material, 2 meters in rows. This method is called tape. and is suitable for varieties with a high level of shoot formation.
With a bushy landing a scheme of 1.8x1.8 (m) is used, 2 seedlings are planted in each hole and are acceptable for varieties with low shoot formation.
Planting material is lowered into the groove and the roots are carefully straightened. Soil with fertilizer is poured from above, the root bud is covered up to 3 cm below the soil. The top layer of the bush is mulched, compacted and watered. Under each bush you need to pour from 3 to 6 liters of water. The last step is to cut the seedling to 20 cm and remove the fruit stem.
You don’t need special knowledge on caring for blackberries to grow a healthy bush, it’s enough to fulfill the following requirements:
In the garden, blackberries propagate vegetatively (layers, offspring, cuttings). This crop can also be propagated by seed.. It is used to preserve the varietal characteristics of the crop.
Hybrids and large-fruited blackberries do not produce offspring. Therefore, this method of reproduction is unacceptable for them.
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Blackberry bushes bear fruit only once. If the first year is spent on its full-fledged cultivation to lignified stems, then in the second year of life it blooms and bears fruit. This completes her breeding cycle. Therefore, two-year-old specimens should be disposed of and the bush should be properly formed. Because:
Young specimens should also be pruned to encourage flowering for the next season. Pruning in the fall helps to strengthen the bush, normalizes the load on it, improves aging.
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Selected location and proper blackberry care: top dressing, watering, pruning, processing will allow you to get high yields and delight your family with a medicinal berry.
The garden blackberry belongs to the genus Robus, which belongs to the Rosaceae family. In our climatic conditions, gray blackberries and bushy blackberries are usually grown.
This perennial plant is a shrub with flexible branches covered with thorns. To date, through the efforts of scientists, a thornless blackberry has been bred. Its foliage, slightly covered with down, is serrated. The flowers are white, small, thanks to them the blackberry is a good honey plant.
It is quite difficult to classify blackberry varieties, due to the abundance of hybrid and varietal varieties. Here are some examples of varieties:
Thornfree - a hybrid that does not have thorns. Differs in early maturing of fruits and big crops. In general, it is quite unpretentious and tolerates winters normally.
Polar - also frost-resistant variety. The bushes are small, but have a high yield.
Black satin - tall thornless variety that can grow up to 6 m tall. Despite the strong growth of the bush, root shoots are quite rare for him. The berries are slightly elongated.
Chester - has a strongly branching shoot, due to which many medium-sized sweet fruits are formed on it.
Navajo - a thornless variety with a not very large bush size, but high yield. The berries are sweet, medium in size, with few visible seeds.
Kiev - a plant with large berries that are slightly crumpled and therefore good for transportation. Fruiting is long and at the same time the fruits retain their taste qualities for a long time.
Giant - gives very large yields due to its huge berries. It bears fruit for a very long time and has high frost resistance.
triple crown - the branches of these plants are straight, grow quite strongly. The fruits are medium, but their number and size are larger than those of the common Thornfree.
Repair blackberry is still a novelty, but many of its varieties have already appeared. It is characterized by long fruiting until cold weather.
Black Magic - one of the remontant varieties, which generally tolerates the conditions of our belt well and can form a fruit ovary during dry summers. It has oblong fruits of medium size with a short shelf life.
Ruben - another remontant variety, which is quite early, but does not withstand too much frost and does not bear fruit if there is a severe drought in summer.
Growing blackberries in your garden is not an easy task. Despite the fact that this genus belongs to the Rosaceae, it is better to plant it in the spring, and not in the autumn. The best time for planting is May, when the frosts have passed. Choose a site that is well lit and not blown by the winds, because drafts can damage pollination.
It is desirable that the soil be drained, or at least water does not stagnate in it for too long. Light loams or sandy loams are well suited, soil acidity is close to 6 pH.
Before planting, it is necessary to dig up a site in the fall and disinfect it in order to get rid of weeds and pests.
If the soil is nutritious, then preliminary fertilization is not required. Otherwise, organics should be added - 10 kg per m 2 - and minerals - 15 g of superphosphate and 25 potassium also per m 2.
When buying material, you should first of all pay attention to one-year-old seedlings, since they take root best of all. The roots of the seedling must be developed, have a pair of stems extending from them, and be sure to have a well-formed bud.
Choose the size of the planting hole based on the size of your seedling, and the distance from other plants, as well as buildings, should be at least 1 m.
The spacing between bushes depends on how much branching your species has. If the branching is low, then the bush method is used, which involves planting a pair of seedlings in one hole, and the gap between the holes is 180 cm.
The second way is tape. It is used when planting varieties with a strong formation of shoots. In this case, young plants are planted in a row in a furrow, keeping 1 m between specimens and 2 m between rows.
When planting, the rhizome must be straightened and the hole filled with soil so that the bud at the base of the shoot is a couple of centimeters above the substrate. You also need to fill the pit not to form a slide, but vice versa - so that you get a hollow.
After planting, abundant watering is carried out - 4 liters under the plant - and the area is covered with manure. At the end of all these procedures, the stems are shortened to 20 cm, and all fruit buds are cut off.
Blackberry care begins with the installation of supports, preferably trellises. Only the oldest stems are tied to them, while the young ones already cling to the supports. Try to point the branches in the right direction, otherwise they will be more difficult to care for.
Species with straight shoots do not bear fruit in the first year, and in order to have berries in the second year, all branches that have reached a meter must be shortened by 10 cm, and the side branches should also be cut a little when they grow to half a meter.
After planting, the bushes should not be forgotten to be watered for a month and a half. Also, watering is required during the heat and when the crop ripens. For irrigation, you need to take rain or settled water, you can not water the plants with cold water.
This culture has such a feature: during the time when the crop is ripening, it must be shaded, since the bright sun can adversely affect the crop.
Another representative of the Pink family is raspberry, it is easily grown during planting and care in the open field, it is a very useful berry. You can find recommendations for growing, caring for, pruning and much more about raspberries in this article.
Top dressing is applied with the same calculation as for similar berry crops.
Fertilizers with a high nitrogen content are applied at the beginning of the period of active growth of green mass. It can be urea (20 g per square meter) or organic (4 kg per square meter).
Every year, fertilizing with potassium (40 g per square meter) is applied to the soil, but make sure that they are without chlorine. When mulching the site with manure, the introduction of phosphate fertilizers is not required. Otherwise, 50 g of phosphorus per square meter is added every 3 years.
With the arrival of autumn, preparations for winter begin. To begin with, pruning should be performed, but in general, this procedure should be carried out not only in the fall, but throughout the year.
Spring pruning is carried out even before the juices begin to move and the buds swell. At this time, sanitary cleaning is performed, removing dry, diseased and shortening frostbitten branches.
Young plants are stimulated to grow by cutting them 5 cm in May. In July, their lateral branches, which have grown to 50 cm, are cut 10 cm, as mentioned above. If the young bush has a lot of side shoots, and most likely it will, then some of them are removed, leaving only 8 pieces of the strongest.
Mature bushes are pruned, leaving up to 10 strongest branches, and side branches are cut to 30 cm, so that each has about 10 buds.
Of the root shoots, only the one that appeared in the spring is left, and all that has grown in the rest of the growing season is cut off. Young stems that appeared in spring are cut to 170 cm in autumn, and second-year stems are cut to the root, since they will no longer bear fruit next year.
The next step in preparing for winter, after pruning, will be mulching the site with peat, and disinfecting the soil and bushes with Bordeaux mixture. In warm winters, when the thermometer does not fall below -10 ° C, plants can not be covered.
If the winters are colder, then shelter should be made. To do this, remove the supports, put the branches on the ground and cover them with hay or dried corn leaves. After that, the area is covered with oilcloth.
Bending the stems of species that have straight stems into the soil is a bit of a problem, so you need to do it carefully so as not to break it. We do not recommend using dry leaves from trees as shelter and in general it is impossible for any foliage to remain on the site for the winter. Another alternative is to take straw or sawdust for shelter.
Propagation of blackberries is not a difficult task. Creeping species reproduce well by layering, and those with straight shoots, by cuttings and dividing the bush.
Using top layers is the easiest way. To do this, you need to bend any branch to the soil and sprinkle it with earth. Roots appear quickly and when they develop, it will be possible to separate the branch from the parent.
Horizontal layering involves the complete falling asleep of the branch. Thus, several bushes appear and all of them can be transplanted by dividing the parent. Naturally, it is better to resort to layering in the spring.
Root shoots, which appear in most varieties every year, are also a pretty good way to propagate species with straight stems. You can plant those shoots that have grown up to 10 cm. It is better to do this at the beginning of summer so that they have time to take root and get comfortable before the autumn cold snap.
If the variety does not expel new stems in the spring, then in this case they resort to dividing the bush.
This is a simple procedure, the main condition of which is the division of the root into sufficiently developed parts that can take root. Old roots unsuitable for propagation are destroyed after the operation.
Cuttings are used to preserve valuable varieties. At the beginning of summer, material is cut from the upper part of the shoots, on which there should be a kidney, a leaf and part of the shoot.
The cut should be treated with a substance that enhances the formation of roots, and after that the cuttings are planted in containers with peat mixed with sand.
Rooting requires high humidity, so the cuttings must be kept in a greenhouse. It will take about 30 days before rooting, after which it will be possible to plant the material in open soil.
Very rarely they resort to other methods of reproduction, for example, seed, since they are more complicated than those described above and less often give a result.
Among the blackberry diseases, the following are quite common:
Anthracnose - appears with an excess of moisture, most often with prolonged rains and dampness. Purple spots and cankers appear on young stems, and in winter, the affected stems die.
To prevent the onset of the disease, you should get rid of weeds and mulch with manure. It is treated with fungicides, including Bordeaux mixture.
white spotting looks like slightly brownish white spots. It is treated with copper-containing preparations.
Didimella leads to the drying of the foliage, the death of the kidneys and the drying of the entire bush. The onset of the disease can be determined by brown-purple spots on the shoots.
Gradually, the buds begin to turn black, and the foliage becomes covered with spots, breaks and dries. To protect yourself from this disease, you need to fertilize in time and disinfect the kidneys with Bordeaux liquid in the spring.
Botrytis affects berries, covers them with gray rot. To prevent this from happening, dense thickets should not be allowed in which the berries can begin to rot.
powdery mildew the most common disease. It covers all parts of the plant with a whitish bloom. Treatment is usually done with copper-containing substances.
Among the pests may appear ticks , raspberry bud moth , weevils , aphid , caterpillars other. Usually, in order to destroy these pests, it is necessary to treat them with insecticides, for example, Actellik or Fitoverm. Acaricides help against ticks.
The fruits and foliage of blackberries, like raspberries, which is its close relative, include vitamins, including A, C, E, K. It is rich in trace elements, fiber, and acids.
The berries of this culture have a good effect on metabolism, help reduce high temperatures, and strengthen the body's immune forces. They have a good effect on the digestive tract, and also help with sore throats.
This plant has no clearly expressed contraindications, the only exception to this is individual intolerance.
Since blackberries have a high palatability, they can be used to prepare various dishes and preserves.
To make blackberry pie you will need:
To start, mix flour, salt and baking powder together.
Add the berries and mix again carefully so as not to crush them too much.
The cake is baked in the oven at 180 degrees for 40 minutes, readiness to check with a match.
To make jam for the winter, take 2.5 kilograms of blackberries, 1.5 kilograms of sugar (if you like it sweeter, you can do more) and a pack of gelling mixture (you can do without it, but then it will take longer to cook).
We mix blackberries and sugar and leave it to let the juice flow. Next, put on medium heat and wait until it boils. After that, cook for half an hour, stirring occasionally and removing the foam.
After this time, add the gelling mixture and cook for another 5 minutes. After that, roll up in banks.
If the gelling mixture was not added, then cook until cooked, which can be determined by dropping the jam on the nail - it will become thick and will not spread well.
Blackberries make excellent wine. To do this, take 1.5 kilograms of ripe berries, 1 kilogram of sugar and a liter of water.
Syrup is made from water and sugar, which is poured into mashed berries. Everything is mixed and poured into a glass bottle for fermentation. Do not fill the container to the top, as the liquid will rise during fermentation.
The bottle must be well closed, make a water seal, otherwise the wort will turn sour. It is best to leave the wort container in a room with a temperature of 20 ° C or even a little lower.
Blackberries are a tasty berry that is increasingly grown in gardens. Blackberries are not only very tasty, but also have a number of unique medicinal properties. In addition, planting and caring for garden blackberries is not at all difficult, even a novice gardening enthusiast can handle this task. Learn how to care for blackberries, how to propagate a shrub, how a berry is useful, get acquainted with popular varieties.
Blackberries are perennial shrubs cultivated in one place for 15-20 years or more. The world's blackberry cultivation area is the same as that of raspberries, except in cooler climates. Most of the landings are in North America, Chile and New Zealand. The largest European producers of blackberries are Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria. We have a blackberry is widely known as a wild plant, in this form it is usually prickly. Collection of fruits from such plants is limited and rather complicated. On personal plots, dachas, garden blackberries are grown - without thorns.
The underground part of the plant consists of the root system and the root collar, the above-ground part is replaced on average every 2 years. In the first year, shoots grow, on which lateral fruit-bearing branches appear the next year. Shoots can live longer than 2 years if the bushes are grown in warm climates. There are species with and without spikes.
In varieties with rising stems, their length reaches 2-3 meters, creeping blackberry shoots reach a length of 10 meters. The fruits ripen in mid-summer. In many regions, the cultivation of blackberries is not very popular due to the average frost resistance, but the constant selection of new varieties gives hope for a wider distribution of the berry.
Blackberry is one of the most interesting and at the same time the most popular shrubs grown in our gardens. There are several types of blackberries. The most common:
Bushy blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) - a species created by crossing several wild varieties. As a result of breeding, the resulting blackberry varieties have a more ordered shape, do not have thorns, so they are excellent even for small gardens. Growing blackberries in the garden is not at all troublesome, the berries will become a special delicacy.
A characteristic feature of these exceptional plants is strong, even shoots, completely devoid of thorns. The stems can have different lengths - in some varieties up to 5 meters, more often 3 meters. In May, the shrub blooms with small, not very attractive flowers that do not have decorative value, but attract many flying insects to the garden.
Growing blackberries in the garden is more focused on the delicious berries that appear in July. The mass harvest appears at the turn of August - September, when they are the sweetest. Blackberries are usually black or dark blue and resemble raspberries in shape. The berries have a slightly sour, unique taste, difficult to separate from the peduncle. Their dark red juice is very coloring. Blackberry leaf has a unique shape, dark green color, consists of 5-7 leaves.
The bushy blackberry is not the only species to invite into the garden. Also good for growing gray and folded. They are easy to distinguish from bushy by the presence of thorns, but there are other differences. The gray and folded species are considered medicinal plants.
Sizaya is a small shrub that reaches a height of 110 cm and gives numerous strongly curved shoots that do not rise too high. The species is common, distributed in forests, produces more acidic fruits than bushy blackberries.
Folded - undersized shrub, less common.
Growing blackberries in the garden is possible thanks to the efforts of breeders who annually introduce more resistant, valuable varieties. Most varieties were created as a result of breeding work and only a few were selected from the natural environment. There are varieties with raised and lying, creeping shoots, with and without thorns.
Zoned blackberry varieties available for cultivation in all regions of Russia
| Variety name | Ripening period | Bush | Berries | Productivity, c/ha | Peculiarities |
| Thornfree | Late | Undersized, semi-creeping, without thorns | Weight - 4.5-5.0 g, black, sweet | 77,8 | Frost resistance is weak, resistant to heat, drought. May be affected by gray mold. |
| Agawam | Early | Srednerosly, slightly sprawling, with thorns | Weight - 4.5-5.0 g, black, sweet and sour | 99,8 | Tolerates frost down to -25-30 °C. Does not tolerate heat well. May be affected by gray mold. |
| agate | Average | The bush is strong, without thorns | Weight - 4.8-6.3 g, black, sweet and sour | 20,9 | Resistant to heat, drought, frost down to -24 °C. |
There are many other varieties available on the market. The remaining varieties are not released because they may not be hardy enough. However, due to the taste of the berries, they are sometimes chosen, especially in the warmer regions of the country. It is worth carefully protecting them from frost in winter, optimally with an agrotextile hood.
Popular American varieties - "Thornfree" (Thornfree), "Black Satin» (Black Satin) - on hard shoots, without thorns, not giving root shoots.
Variety "Thornfree" - photo
Variety "Black Satin" - photo
These varieties can be planted in regions with the mildest climate, because under variable conditions (periods of winter warming and subsequent frosts), the bushes are easily damaged by frost. In the Thornfri variety, freezing of the kidneys is observed at -10 ° C. The American 'Evergreen', a thornless, long shoot variety, is also prone to freezing and is grown in warmer regions.
Variety "Evergreen" - photo
Popular Polish variety "Orkan" (Orkan) - without thorns, with strong growth, not forming root shoots. The fruits are large (up to 5.7 g) with a sour taste. A variety with an average ripening time - a 50% harvest is collected by mid-August. On average, 3.5 kg of berries are harvested from a plant. The variety is recommended for quiet places, cultivation in high tunnels.
In 2003, the Polish variety "Gazda" (Gazda) appeared, forming shoots with a small number of thorns. Easily propagated by root layers, grows up to 2.5 m in height, forms strong arched shoots. Gives fruits in August-September on two-year-old shoots. The berries are medium in size, fragrant, very tasty. The collection is carried out every 3-5 days. Shoots are less susceptible to freezing.
Are there blackberry cultivars that are completely frost tolerant?
Unfortunately, the answer to this question is no. Even the most frost-tolerant blackberry varieties are only partially resistant. In practice, this means that at low temperatures down to -20 ° C and the accompanying intense winds, we cannot be sure of the fate of the bush. Often cultivars considered hardy are exposed to harsh weather conditions and produce smaller, lower quality fruits in their second year.
In addition to the unusual taste, blackberries have other benefits. It is a unique source of unusual ingredients with beneficial healing properties. Berries can be used for various diseases. Blackberry leaf is a raw material for making a decoction that can be drunk during a cold, as it has a diaphoretic and antipyretic effect.
Blackberry fruits contain a lot of pectin, easily digestible sugars, organic acids (including ellagic acid), vitamins, minerals. The content of anthocyanins is higher than in raspberries. Blackberry fruits have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral effects.
Useful properties of blackberries:
Just 1 glass a day will satisfy the body's needs for ascorbic acid - this is a rich source of vitamin C. Preparations can be prepared from berries and leaves.
Caring for blackberries is not much different from raspberries that bear fruit in summer.
Growing garden blackberries requires finding the right position. Only in full sun will blackberries be sweet, tasty. The shrub can be planted in a semi-shady place or even in deep shade (on the north side), but then it grows worse, the crop ripens later.
Bushes need to be well protected from gusty winds that can damage the shoots. This is especially true when fruiting begins, the berries can be damaged, especially if it rains. It used to be thought that it was best to grow blackberries in gardens located next to the forest, but this is not so - new varieties will be accepted everywhere.
Blackberries have an average sensitivity to frost, some varieties cannot survive in our conditions, so they should be covered before the onset of winter (plants tolerate frosts down to -15 ° C). It is advisable to plant a shrub against a wall in a sunny place or cover it. In cold regions, it is recommended to grow blackberries under cover. This minimizes losses due to adverse weather conditions and extends the harvest period.
Because these plants can be infected by the same pathogens and pests.
The soil in which blackberry seedlings should be planted should be moist, but not waterlogged, as this can threaten the occurrence of fungal diseases.
Blackberries grow well in fertile, light soils. The soil must be permeable, dry quickly, and drain water. However, young seedlings do not tolerate even temporary drought; if necessary, regular watering is necessary.
Soil acidity:
The landing site must be thoroughly weeded.
Blackberries rarely produce root shoots, depending on the species and variety. The plant usually propagates by rooting the tops of the current year's shoots by tilting and attaching them to the ground - this is a relatively simple procedure. If there is a healthy shrub, it is worth propagating it yourself. In addition, propagating blackberries is a great way to rejuvenate a plant that is about to be repotted.
This is the simplest and most commonly used blackberry propagation method among gardeners. The best time for layering is spring. Shoots are selected that have reached a length of 70-150 cm. The shoot is bent to the surface of the earth, fixed with brackets. A fragment of the shoot below the top is covered with humus soil, pouring a mound 7-10 cm high (leaving the top of the shoot uncovered).
The dug part should take root before autumn. Then you can cut it off from the mother plant. At the end of autumn or next spring, the blackberry seedling can be transplanted to another place.
The method is based on the rooting of the tops of the shoots, carried out from the end of June to August. It is necessary to cut off the young, non-lignified upper part of the shoot of the current year, along with several leaves (6-10 cm long). The lower leaves (2-3 leaves) are removed, the cutting is immersed in the rooter and planted in a permeable, sandy substrate.
The substrate must be constantly moistened. Cuttings should be well lit. It is better to cover the seedlings with glass. To avoid fungal disease, it is useful to spray the seedlings with a fungicide once a week.
After 5-8 weeks, rooted cuttings are prepared for transplanting into large pots - gradual hardening is carried out. The following spring, seedlings can be planted in open ground.
The method is often used in gardening. Cooked seedlings are definitely less susceptible to water loss than green cuttings and require less care. Lignified cuttings are cut in late autumn, when the plants finish their growing season. Annual shoots are cut to a length of 10-20 cm (the procedure is best done with a sharp knife, since the secateurs can “crush” the shoot). The cuttings are immersed in a rooter, then planted vertically in a permeable sandy substrate.
The cuttings are stored in the basement until spring (protecting them from freezing if necessary). The substrate should remain slightly damp. In the spring, rooted cuttings are transplanted into pots and slowly hardened. Seedlings are planted in open ground in autumn.
It is necessary to carefully dig up the root layer, separate it from the mother plant. Layers are planted in open ground to a depth of 5 cm. In the spring, shoots should grow from sleeping buds.
It is recommended to buy seedlings in specialized nurseries. Blackberries are often grown in 1-2 copies in gardens near the house or in a summer cottage. When planning larger plantings, it is necessary to find the appropriate area and determine the distance between plants. The distance depends on the condition of the shrubs, their type of growth (raised stems or recumbent) and technology. Usually blackberry bushes are planted at a distance of 1.5-2 meters from each other, because they grow quickly and require a lot of space.
Optimal distance:
Landing steps:
Blackberries can be planted in spring or autumn, grown in containers - throughout the growing season. The shoots are carried out along the horizontal wires of the trellis, separately - the shoots of the current year and separately fruiting. You can grow blackberries on stakes 1.5 meters high. Shoots are tied in several places to a peg.
Blackberries grown on stakes are easier to protect in cold winters, and this form is recommended for low frost-tolerant varieties.
To successfully grow blackberries, the soil must be rich in organic matter, so it is advisable to enrich it with compost, manure or multi-component fertilizers before planting. Thanks to fertilizers, seedlings will be better accepted. Before planting, manure is applied at a dose of 400 kg / weave and the soil is dug up.
Doses of mineral fertilizers are determined on the basis of a chemical analysis of the soil. The averages are as follows:
Do not use too much nitrogen, as this will increase the blackberry's susceptibility to fungal diseases.
The amount of precipitation falling in most regions is sufficient for the proper development of plants. Blackberries, thanks to their deep root system (much deeper than raspberries), cope well with temporary water shortages. During periods of drought, watering is necessary.
Growing blackberries requires mulching to keep the soil moist and prevent weed growth.
Growing garden blackberries is quite demanding, especially in the beginning. Young plants need to be watered frequently, because even a temporary lack of water is harmful. At a later stage, you don't have to worry so much about watering, the plants are only irrigated on warm, hot days, during the standard watering of the garden.
In spring, it is advisable to fertilize blackberries regularly every few weeks, preferably using complex formulations such as NPK, that is, containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which maintain an appropriate soil pH and make the plant strong.
Fertilization of young plants is not required if the site is prepared with manure or compost.
Garden blackberry care necessarily includes pruning, thanks to which the bushes quickly thicken and bear fruit. In the first year, pruning garden blackberries is not needed.
In the second year, the first pruning is carried out after harvest.
Some varieties of blackberries tolerate cold well, but they should be protected from frost. Shoots are laid on the ground and covered with leaves, branches of coniferous trees, burlap or high-quality winter agrotextiles. You can make small earthen mounds around the root collar - thanks to this, the roots of the plant will be better protected. This is important because in the event of a very cold winter, the plant may die.
Frozen, dead two-year-old shoot - photo
Frozen two-year-old shoot - photo
The fruits are harvested at full maturity. From one bush you can get a crop of 5-10 kg. Harvesting is carried out daily, taking into account the collective maturity of the berries for 3-6 days, depending on the weather and variety. The berries are not pulled like raspberries, but are cut from the bush. Berries usually ripen in mid-summer.
Unfortunately, blackberries can be affected by diseases and pests.
Shrubs can affect diseases:
The most common pests:
Prevention and control measures:
Gardeners are surprised that red berries appear on the bushes, which never turn black. The cause of the phenomenon is a blackberry mite. This happens with varying intensity every year.
The blackberry mite (Acelitus essigi) is one of the smallest pests of the four-legged superfamily. The body of the tick is white, spindle-shaped, with two pairs of legs. Adults are 0.16-0.18 mm long, eggs are small with a diameter of about 0.03 mm. In winter, pests can be found on blackberry shoots, as well as in mummified fruits damaged in the previous season that remain on the bushes. In the spring, when the blackberry vegetation begins, the mites gradually leave their wintering grounds and migrate to the underside of the developing young leaves, where they begin to feed. Females lay their eggs on leaves, where the hatched larvae then feed. Later, the larvae migrate to the emerging flower buds. They feed on flowers and developing fruits. At the end of summer and autumn, they gather inside the buds at the growing points. The larvae can easily hibernate, and resume feeding in the spring.
The tick sucks plant juices, the greatest damage is caused by the introduction of toxic compounds with saliva into the tissues of the fruit buds, which causes disturbances in the process of fruit ripening. Blackberry mite is the cause of unripe blackberries (photo).
Fruits (or parts thereof) damaged by mites are hard, bright red, sour and remain so until winter. Healthy fruits change color to dark, become soft, turning into full-fledged dessert berries. The first crop has fewer damaged berries than the next. The most damaged berries are observed in the last harvests. Losses depend on the number of mites on the bushes, which is influenced by weather conditions, temperature (usually a temperature of about 20 ° C is suitable for mites), which determines the time of development of individual stages of the pest.
In new plantations, mites are transferred along with cuttings (this is the main source of pests on young plants). During the growing season, they are spread by wind, rain, and can be transmitted by insects and other types of mites that pass from infected plants to healthy ones.
Control measures
The basic rule is to use healthy cuttings. If there are mite-infested bushes growing nearby, it is best to dig them up and burn them so that they are not a source of infection for young, healthy bushes. After harvesting the fruits, cut and burn the old shoots. Do not leave infected fruits on the bushes for the winter. These methods can significantly reduce the source of spread of ticks on the site.
Sometimes it is necessary to apply chemical control measures. It is not easy, it is difficult to achieve high efficiency of treatment. Chemical treatment of blackberries can be carried out in the spring, when the pest leaves winter shelters and begins to feed on leaves. It should be fought before flowering and, if necessary, at the beginning of flowering and after flowering. It is very important to prevent the pest from feeding on flowers and fruit buds.
Reducing the number of mites is achieved by spraying with acaricides - Omite 30 WP (0.2-0.23%), Torque 50 WP (0.12%), Magus 200 SC (0.09%), Ortus 05 SC (0.1- 0.15%). The treatment should be carried out carefully so that the liquid with the drug reaches the underside of the leaves, the corners of the leaves and flower buds where the mites hide. Before spraying, carefully read the instructions for use of the drug, paying special attention to toxicity, and observe the waiting period for people. The mentioned acaricides simultaneously fight the spider mite.
Growing blackberries is very easy. The shrub will not take up too much space in the garden and will produce many tasty and healthy berries that can be frozen, canned, added to desserts, or eaten straight from the bush.
