A unique American hybrid of blackberries and raspberries, called Cumberland black raspberries, is a rare culture in domestic gardens, but very promising for cultivation.
High winter hardiness, excellent survival and adaptation to the harsh conditions of temperate Russian latitudes, as well as the excellent taste of large glossy black berries - this is an incomplete list of advantages that characterize the black raspberry hybrid. What is good Cumberland variety? Let's talk about this plant, its features, the difficulties of cultivation and agricultural practices that allow you to get high yields.
Raspberry Black Cumberland: Description
Planting, care and concern for the development of this interesting culture are almost no different from garden manipulations, which are required by red and yellow raspberry. The appearance of Cumberland is very similar to a blackberry, only its berries are slightly smaller and can be easily removed from the stalk, although they do not crumble from the bushes and are stored well.
The high frost resistance of Cumberland is amazing, because even in very severe and snowless winters the bushes do without special shelters. Despite the fact that the fruits of black raspberries are very sweet, birds do not attempt to land, and traditional pests bypass this variety of raspberries.
It should be noted that there are certain difficulties in caring for a culture such as Cumberland black raspberries. Planting and care sometimes cause troubles in the form of scratches and abrasions due to the numerous sharp spikes that cover the stems. Therefore, protective measures must be observed.
Berries: taste and benefits
The fruits of this American curiosity are a rounded multi-shoot of saturated black color with various burgundy or blue shades (depending on the degree of maturity) weighing up to 5 g, with tender flesh and large bones. With the correct formation of the bush, the yields are very impressive - 5-6 kg per bush.
Berries have a very sweet taste and pleasant aroma. They are an excellent delicacy, and are used fresh or processed into various dessert dishes. In addition, according to American scientists, the unique compounds of vitamins, minerals and fruit saturation with antioxidants contribute to the suppression of the development of cancer cells, activating human immunity. All of these arguments emphasize the benefits of breeding a crop such as black raspberry Cumberland. Description, planting, care and watering - this information and the stages of cultivation are presented in the article.
Choose a place to land
The area for planting black raspberries is better to choose sunny, flat or at a slight slope. It can be planted on the northern or northwestern gentle slope. Demanding on soil structure, black raspberry prefers fertile loam or sandy loam.
It is undesirable to plant it in areas where red raspberries, apple trees or nightshade used to grow. She does not get along with blackberries either: when they are nearby, these cultures begin to oppress each other. The best predecessors are row crops - carrots, onions, herbs or siderates, which increase the fertility of the soil, and, therefore, increase the survival rate of a crop such as black raspberries of the Cumberland variety. Planting can be done in early spring or autumn. Plants purchased in containers can be planted throughout the summer season by transshipment, as a protected root system allows this. The soil on the landing site is pre-prepared by digging in advance and applying 15-20 kg of rotted manure or high-quality compost per square meter.
We prepare seedlings from apical shoots
It is still rare to meet ready-made planting stock in Russia for sale. It is easier to find it at gardeners involved in the cultivation of black raspberries. Propagate the culture by apical and horizontal layers. Root raspberries black Cumberland (cultivation, care of the culture confirm) almost does not. This variety compares favorably with red raspberries precisely in that its offspring do not spread throughout the garden, appearing in the most unexpected places. Saplings from layering are obtained as follows: at the end of summer, tops of shoots are pinned to the ground, arranging them in prepared small grooves, and sprinkled with earth. Moderate watering is necessary so that each bud, sprinkled with earth, has time to form subordinate roots before the cold weather. For a successful wintering, layering is covered with humus, peat or fir spruce branches.
In the spring, after thawing the land, layering (already well-rooted) is separated from the mother plant and either left to grow or planted in a permanent place.
Saplings from horizontal layering
To obtain planting material from horizontal layering in early spring, select several stems and shorten them to 10-15 cm above the ground. During the summer season, strong young shoots are formed, which at the end of summer are pinned into grooves and sprinkled with soil, leaving the tops of the shoots open with buds and leaves on them. Like apical, horizontal layers are watered so that they can successfully take root. Shelters for the winter are also necessary for such layering. Full-grown seedlings from them are obtained by the fall of next year, when they are separated from the mother bush and planted.
Black Raspberry Cumberland: Planting and Care
In the prepared area, black raspberries are planted, observing an interval between plants of at least 1.5 m. Planting pits are prepared, adhering to standard sizes in all dimensions - 0.4-0.5 m.
Each half is covered with a mixture of fertile topsoil with a bucket of humus and 0.6 kg of wood ash. This composition does not need additional mineral additives. The pit is well shed with water and a seedling is placed in it, carefully spreading the roots so that they do not bend up. The seedling is covered with the remaining soil, carefully watching to prevent air pockets from forming near the roots, which can provoke their drying or decay. Then, the soil around the young plant is compacted, but not trampled, since it destructively affects brittle roots. Once again, water the plant well. So the black raspberries of Cumberland are cultivated. Planting and care, reproduction and other manipulations are quite simple operations that a novice gardener can perform by force.
Mulching
The best way to create comfortable conditions in the further development of the seedling is to mulch the plantings with humus, peat, rotted sawdust, straw or chopped tree bark. Mulch with a thickness of 8-10 cm stabilizes air exchange and soil temperature, the rotting bottom layer attracts earthworms that produce humus, which is necessary for young plants. The mulch layer “shrinks” over time, so it is periodically restored. In addition, the use of this method frees gardeners from the need for loosening, weeding and frequent watering. This approach is optimal not only in relation to such a plant as black raspberry. Growing and caring in a similar vein give a guaranteed harvest of any garden berry.
Caring events
Not differing in any special preferences, the culture requires regular moderate watering during fruit formation and subsequent ripening of berries. This is the main condition that makes the black raspberries Cumberland. Planting and care, consisting in periodic watering and weeding, when properly carried out, give amazing results. Since a distinctive feature of the variety is the abundance of ovaries, the culture is necessarily fed during the growing season . To facilitate care, Cumberland is grown on a trellis, with which it is removed for the winter and bent to the ground, if necessary, pinning the stems to the ground. In the spring, the bushes are examined, removing diseased and broken shoots, and again fix the stems on the trellis.
Caring for black raspberries does not take much time, but, providing the culture comfortable conditions for high-quality fruiting, you can pick magnificent berries for 20-30 days.
Top dressing
A biological feature characteristic of culture is late flowering. This explains the abundance of ovaries, since the flowers do not die from frost, but bloom on all shoots, turning into many ovaries. For their quality development during the season, plants need to be fed:
• The first time after shedding color with a solution of mullein infusion (1/7 l) mixed with 1 l of ash and 100 g of superphosphate. The fertilizer rate under the bush is 5 liters. After feeding, the bush is shed with three buckets of water.
• The second time the culture is fed when berries are poured with the same solution and in the same amount.
• The third top dressing with a similar composition is carried out after the first collection of berries.
Pruning
Cumberland black raspberry lends itself well to forming. Pruning and care after it are simple operations carried out to create a compact plant with powerful stems that do not lie under the weight of a ripening crop and do not need additional supports. In this case, when the annual shoots reach a height of 0.5-0.6 m, they are shortened by 7-10 cm. This activates the growth of axillary buds and the formation of side shoots up to one or more meters long.
The following spring, before the growing season, these stems are shortened, leaving 3 to 6 buds of growth on each. Weak and diseased stems are removed. This method reduces the number of ovaries and berries on the shoot, but increases their mass and quality.
You can grow black raspberries on a trellis, which is set a year after planting young plants. Along the row with an interval of 8-10 m, poles are installed to which wooden slats are attached , a cord or wire is pulled at different levels - at a height of 0.5 m, 1.0 m and 1.5 m. In spring, the shoots are tied up, shortened to 1.4-1.5 m. Control the thickening of the plantings, timely cutting off frigid and weak stems.
Cumberland black raspberries, which are worthy of care, are not difficult to plant and care for, will thank the gardener with a generous harvest of delicious berries.