The blackberry is a branched shrub with elongated stretching or erect stems of the Rosaceae family, growing throughout the Northern Hemisphere. This culture with a strong root system that can penetrate deep into the soil, so it does not freeze even during harsh winters. Also, due to the complete occurrence of the central root, the plant can easily withstand short droughts. And now many are wondering - how to grow a blackberry?
Care
The culture is quite demanding of care, since with inappropriate care of the plant, not only its appearance can be aggravated, but also yield can significantly decrease. Blackberry is considered a warm and photophilous culture. He likes earth with a neutral and slightly acid reaction. The soil for planting should not be dense, and weeds should be disposed of between rows. During the numerous flowering, it is important that the earth is moist, but water should not be allowed to stagnate. The plant does not tolerate wetlands and flooded areas, and caring for a blackberry can be much more complicated.
After rain or watering, the soil must be furrowed to a depth of 8 cm, while trying not to break the small roots. Aisles must be mulched with loose organic mixtures. If the blackberry grows on moist, poorly drained soil, then coating is not recommended.
Watering the crop
It is believed that the plant is drought tolerant, but it prefers moisture. In view of this, it is not necessary to allow the drying of the earth, especially the ripening of the fruit. The aerial part of the culture suffers from a prolonged drought: young sprouts do not have time to ascend properly, buds already laid begin to fall, and existing berries dry and crumble.
In addition to stable soil moisture, caring for a blackberry requires some moisture in the air. In this regard, during the period of long-term drought, bushes should be sprayed in the evenings.
Young bushes in the first year of life after planting should be constantly watered, keeping the soil moist. Watering is done only with warm, settled water using the drip method. At the end of summer, irrigation is minimized, and in late autumn, under each bush, it is necessary to pour up to 30 liters of water so that the plant does not freeze in winter.
Top dressing
Like all other garden crops, blackberries need a balanced diet. Enhanced absorption of nutrients occurs at the stage of active formation, growth and flowering. This is approximately May-July, when the blackberry blooms. Reproduction also falls on this period. During this period, the bushes are fed with mineral fertilizers. However, you should not oversaturate the crop, because this can adversely affect the yield and condition of the bushes.
At the stage of blooming, the plant needs potassium, so you need to add any potassium top dressing or pour shrub with an ash mixture (200 g of ash per 10 l of water). In the fruit filling season, foliar fertilizers are carried out with complex mineral organics, the leaves are sprayed with a solution supplemented with potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus. Any top dressing is brought into the earth only after it is wetted.
How to add organics
The blackberry, the description of which we have cited, grows in one place for about 10-15 years, so after planting for the 3-4th year, you need to annually add organic fertilizers (peat, compost, rotted manure), and also feed with diluted chicken manure during flourishing.
Organics are usually added to the autumn digging, for which the aisles are loosened and introduced per 1 sq. m. not more than 5 kg of manure, stirring it with 40 g of potassium sulfate and 30 g of superphosphate. In the spring, as soon as the first ovaries are born, the plant is fertilized with any nitrogen top dressing (urea or ammonium nitrate). But at the end of summer, you can’t give mineral fertilizers - this can lead to the rapid development of the crop, and the bushes will not be able to adequately prepare for wintering.
Blackberry pruning
In the spring, even before the bud nucleation, the plants are cut off branches broken off and dry after winter, as well as the tops of sprouts seized by frost to the first healthy ovary. The bushes of the initial formation year are subjected to double shortening: in May, to stimulate the growth of lateral stems, the upper part of the shoots is cut by 5-7 cm, and in July, the tops of those branches that have grown more than 50 cm are cut by 8-10 cm. Of these, only 6-8 most durable processes, others are simply removed.
How to prune mature shrubs
In adult bushes, in addition to broken and frozen stems, in spring all weakened shoots are shortened, leaving 5-10 healthy shoots on the bush. Lateral branches are cut in such a way that they have 8-12 ovaries. Blackberry pruning is also due to the fact that during the growing season it is necessary to remove root shoots formed during the summer, preserving only those that have grown from spring (they will bear fruit in the next year).
Spring branches should be shortened in autumn at a height of 1.8-2 m. In addition, it is necessary to cut off all diseased stems, it is important to cut out all the shoots of the second year under the root after they have finished bearing.
Blackberry: Reproduction
Seasoned summer residents use several methods of plant breeding.
- Apical layers. This method is ideal for propagating spreading varieties. In the period from July to August, along the original bushes, tracks 30 cm deep are made and the non-lignified tops of shoots are laid out there. After that, they are covered with soil. Sprouts should take root before winter, but not sprout. With the advent of spring, seedlings can be disconnected from the uterine culture and planted in a permanent place.
- Root cuttings. From the end of September until mid-October, you need to completely dig out the bush and remove all the branches, and cut the root system into blackberry cuttings (up to 1 cm thick and 7 cm in length). Harvested raw materials are stored in sand, peat in a cool place. In the springtime, as soon as the soil warms up, it will be necessary to make deepenings up to 15 cm in depth and place the root parts there every 20 cm. Then, cover the planting material with raw soil and water it well. Throughout the summer, continuous loosening, watering and weeding is carried out. Healthy seedlings should appear in early autumn. Up to 300 new plants are acquired from one mature uterine bush.
- Root shoots. Any blackberry shrub can bring up to 20 young shoots from the root every year. In the period from May to June, when the branches reach 15 cm in length, you should choose strong stems, carefully separate them from the main bush and then immediately plant them in a permanent place. Such an event can be performed in the fall, however, the bushes may not tolerate wintering, and a blackberry will not grow.
- Reproduction by dividing the bush. This method is used only if the culture does not let the shoots. The shrub is dug up and divided into 5-6 parts, in each of which 2-3 healthy young branches are kept. The resulting raw materials are planted in a permanent area.
- The seeds. Most of the varieties during seed cultivation are able to contain maternal indicators to the maximum. Seeds are usually collected at a stage of sufficient maturity and placed in a cool room for stratification for the winter. In March, seed material is taken out, soaked for several days in a growth stimulator or melt water, and then planted in containers up to 8 mm deep. Seeds are constantly watered and stored at a temperature of 20 degrees. Plants can be planted in open soil after the formation of 4 leaves. Blackberry grown in this way ( its reproduction has been described above) begins to yield crops only in the 4th year.
Culture diseases
To regularly be content with abundant fruiting, it is necessary to monitor the health status of the bushes, to prevent the presence of weeds in the aisles, prolonged stagnation of water or drought. The main diseases of blackberry:
- Anthracnose - affects berries, can be detected from the end of spring, causes uneven and delayed development of fruits.
- Rust is a disease that destroys young leaves and stems. Outwardly, it looks like brown spots, lowers yield by 60%.