To date, about two hundred varieties of cultivated blackberries have been described. Many gardeners are familiar with blackberries. And in nature, it is quite common.
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Biological features
Forest gray blackberry - the ancestor of garden varieties and hybrids
Due to small tenacious thorns, blackberry thickets are almost impassable. Wild blackberries are most often found along ravines, near rivers and streams.
The name itself indicates that it is prickly, like a hedgehog.
- Many varieties perfectly withstand the winters of our region. But it should be noted that the frost resistance of cultivated blackberries is, nevertheless, worse than that of raspberries.
- Blackberry is a creeping semi-shrub 1.5 - 2 m high.
- Gray blackberry is often found in the wild, such a name was given to it because all parts of the plant, including the fruits, are covered with a dense white coating, which makes the plant appear to be gray.
- Wild blackberries grow in wet areas near rivers, in lowlands. The berries are juicy, tasty, but sour.
- Therefore, after cutting the shoots of the second year, the young bend down about 0.3 m from the ground. In winter, they are additionally covered with snow. More winter-hardy varieties have upright stems.
- When removing old shoots, they also get rid of weak stems, damaged ones, etc. at the same time. In winter, 6-8 strong stems are left.
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The cultural form of the blackberry came to the gardens of Russia from America. These plants are powerful, high-yielding, with juicy and sweeter large fruits than wild forms. Below is a description of the most popular varieties and hybrids.
Black Satin
Black Satin
This variety has a number of positive features, but is not without some disadvantages.
The bushes of this variety are strong, tall, there are no thorns on the branches and shoots. Bushes can reach five, and in rare cases, seven meters.
At first, the shoots are characterized by vertical growth, but having exceeded one and a half meters, horizontal growth begins, the bush begins to creep, requires a garter
Root suckers are practically absent
Leaves trifoliate
The berries are rounded, black, glossy up to 4 grams, at the top of the shoots the berries are larger, their weight sometimes reaches 8 g
Brushes contain 10 - 13 berries
This variety ripens earlier than other known varieties of this plant.
In the second half of summer you will get the first harvest, which will last until the end of September. The bush gives up to twenty kilograms of fruit per season
Such an ultra-high yield makes this variety promising for growing in small areas.
- Low winter hardiness
- Not all berries ripen before frost.
- Poor transportability of fruits
Brzezina
Brzezina
The appearance of the bush and practically does not differ from other varieties. The maximum return of fruits occurs in the third year after planting seedlings.Brzezina is a tall blackberry, reaching a height of 3 m.
It is recommended not to let shoots grow more than 2 meters; for this, regular pruning is carried out.
Distinctive feature: this variety does not form root shoots. Brzezina is a hybrid with a number of advantages, but it also has some features that you need to know about in advance.
Super early blackberry comes from Poland. The fruits begin to ripen in early July. Brzezina is characterized by rapid growth. There are no spikes, the taste is at its best, the berries are very sweet. The berries of this variety have an excellent presentation, they are slightly elongated, black, shiny, such berries are always in price.
- Frost resistance
- High-yielding hybrid fast fruit ripening
- Resistance to a number of diseases
- Good transportability berry elastic palatability high
- Abundant harvest in the third year after planting
- Gives very little root growth, which complicates vegetative propagation
- In especially cold years in winter, it requires additional shelter
- Berries are prone to sunburn
Natchez
Blackberry Natchez
This variety is the most large-fruited. The shape of the berry is elongated, almost cylindrical (up to five centimeters long, three centimeters in diameter).
- Shoots are straight, do not lie on the ground
- Due to the high growth, it is better to grow on trellises.
- There are no thorns on the branches
- Bushes reach a height of 2.7 meters
- large-fruited
- Ripens very early
- The berries are very fragrant.
Karaka black
Karaka black
A native of New Zealand. This is a prickly plant, the fruits ripen early, the berries are oblong with high palatability. The fruits of this variety have a very attractive appearance, they are elongated, with a narrowing towards the end. They look unusual and are in great demand among buyers. Fruits are black, glossy, up to 10 grams, length 5 cm.
A distinctive feature of this variety is its high transportability and long-term storage.
Subject to all agricultural practices, it is possible to collect up to 12 kg from a bush per season. The fruits ripen within two months.
The first berries ripen in the second half of July, fruiting continues until the first half of autumn.
Such prolonged fruiting makes the variety profitable for home cultivation in personal plots.
The height of the bush is up to 5 meters, the lashes are flexible, they easily fit under the covering material in the cold season.
Of the shortcomings, only two should be mentioned - prickly branches and low winter hardiness. The thorns are not large, but there are a lot of them, they make it difficult to harvest. When working with this variety, you must have strong protective gloves.
If you notice that yellowed leaves have appeared on the shoots, then this is not always a sign of illness. Yellow leaves sometimes appear on Karaka Black blackberries. After a while, the yellowness goes away, and the leaves turn green again.
- If the plants grow in the shade and receive insufficient sunlight, then the berries become sour in taste.
- Many gardeners note the fact that Karaka Black is often attacked by aphids.
- Aphid colonies settle on young shoots.
- The plant is of medium vigor, shoots are thin, creeping, green, autumn and painted from the side facing the sun, red.
- Needs to be covered for the winter.
- A distinctive feature of this variety is high transportability and long-term storage.
Thornfree
Thornfree
Plants of medium strength, shoots are dense, erect, faceted, green in color, but after the first autumn frosts, their color changes to red.
The underside of the foliage, although sparse, has spines.
The flowers of this variety are pink.
The roots do not lie deep, they are located almost horizontally.
Plants almost do not give root offspring, so they are propagated by apical rooting.
- The berries are large, elongated, original shape, attract buyers. The taste of the berries is excellent.
- Productivity is ultra-high, up to 20 kg per plant per season, 15-20 berries in a brush.
- This variety needs to be bent down for the winter, although this is done with difficulty.
- Thornless variety.
Chester
Chester
A strong plant, with dense, faceted standing branches, there are thorns. The color of the shoots in autumn turns from green to brown. Plants are tall, reach 2.5 meters.
Brings a pleasant sweet and sour taste of berries weighing up to 10 grams, oval. Productivity up to 19 kg per bush. The root system develops horizontally, offspring are available in small quantities.
Fruit ripening begins in the twentieth of July.
Yields are generous and annual; it depends on the fact that the flowers of this variety are not very sensitive to late morning frosts in spring.
The ripening time of berries starts from July 8 - 10 and lasts until the end of August.
Fruits should be removed a couple of days before full ripeness, since the taste of overripe blackberries of this variety is slightly cloying.
Berries intended for sale or processing must be harvested before full maturity, it is best when they turn completely black, the earlier, the more acidic they will be.
- This variety is not picky, and feels great on poor soils. But still, he prefers loamy, sandy soils. Shows good results on silty and alluvial soils with moderate humidity.
- Excessive watering and fertilizing are not recommended, as the plants begin to "fatten", increase a large amount of vegetative mass to the detriment of flowering and fruiting.
Triple Crown
Triple Crown
A strong and particularly hardy shrub from America. The branches are erect, faceted, short, not bent.
Fruits of very high palatability, black, glossy, round shape, medium size, round shape.
The average yield is up to 12 kilograms per bush. In rare cases, the fruits dry up before ripening. Due to its high winter hardiness, this variety does not require shelter for the winter.
- The berries ripen in the middle of summer.
- If the plants grow in the shade and receive insufficient sunlight, then the berries become sour in taste.
- Many gardeners note the fact that Karaka Black is often attacked by aphids.
- Aphid colonies settle on young shoots.
- The plant is of medium vigor, shoots are thin, creeping, green, autumn and painted from the side facing the sun, red.
Agawam
Agawam
This variety is native to North America. Bushes grow straight, do not spread. The branches are dotted with frequent, thin thorns.
The berries are black, quite large - up to 8 g, the taste is good, sweet with sourness, not cloying, there is a unique aroma.
Productivity is high, up to 12 kg per bush.
Endurance without shelter for the winter is satisfactory, in rare cases the ends of the shoots die off, but this does not affect the crop in any way, so you should not bend down for the winter.
Berries begin to ripen in early July. In dry years, the berries of this variety are low-juicy.
- Breeding the Agawam variety is a profitable business, especially if you take into account the annual yield and the negligible number of pests that do not affect fruiting.
- A plantation of this blackberry can bring excellent yields in the same place for 10-12 years.
- Care consists in weeding and loosening several times per season, cutting out old shoots at the end of the season.
- Before the onset of cold weather, young shoots are bent to the surface of the earth, fixed in this position with various devices.
- It is recommended to cover the branches bent to the ground with covering material or a layer of straw or weeds so that snow lingers on them.
- Such protection is quite sufficient for the Agawam variety.
- In the spring, the protective layer is removed, the shoots are lifted and tied up.
- For this variety of blackberry, a garter of shoots to a trellis is necessary.
- A plantation of this blackberry can bear fruit in the same place for 10-12 years.
Thornless
Thornless
Bush variety with hanging thick and heavy shoots. The growth force is very large, shoots grow up to 2 meters over the summer.
The whole plant, stems, leaves are covered with frequent large thorns, which make it very difficult to collect fruits, so the bushes must be tied to a wire.
If you want to protect the garden from uninvited guests, then plant this type of blackberry as a hedge, it will replace the thorn hedge with success.
The yield is generous - up to 10 kg per bush per season, the bush will give birth with tassels. Fruits are round, black, large, up to 6 g, good taste.
Berries ripen in the second half of July, carrying continues until the end of August.
- This variety requires a garter, otherwise the lashes are intertwined very strongly.
- The bush practically does not give root offspring, the ends of the shoots easily take root on their own.
Navajo
Navajo
The berries of this variety have an excellent presentation, they are slightly elongated, black, shiny, such berries are always in price. The average weight of berries is 9 g, the shape is oval. Berries are black, sweet and sour in taste.
The appearance of the bush is practically no different from other varieties. The maximum return of fruits occurs in the third year after planting seedlings.
Plants are resistant to frost and most diseases.
The bush practically does not form shoots, therefore this variety is propagated by cuttings and apical layering.
Cuttings of 30 cm long are made from segments of the roots, they are planted in a cold greenhouse and, after rooting, they are seated in a permanent place next spring.
- In the third year of planting, the Navajo blackberry enters a time of good fruiting, and in the fourth year it already gives a crop in full force.
- A strong and especially hardy plant, shoots are erect, thorns are short, not bent. The fruits are black, medium size, round shape, good sweet and sour taste, average yield, up to 8 kg per bush.
- The variety is resistant to frost, does not require shelter for the winter. The berries ripen in the second half of summer.
- This variety appeared on the market in 1987, was bred at the University of Arkansas.
- A characteristic feature of the variety is a huge number of berries on the branches. Four-year-old plants have up to 500 berries per season on one shoot.
Lochness
Lochness
This variety bears fruit so abundantly that the foliage is almost invisible behind the clusters. Bushes form measles.
The tops of the stems lie on the ground, from which layering can be formed for vegetative propagation.
Such layers develop their own root system at their ends.
- Strong lateral shoots depart from the root, which also begins to bear fruit, but later, the fruits on such shoots are larger.
- This variety is characterized by a prolonged harvest.
- Harvesting lasts almost two months.
Polar
Polar
Plants are quite tall, up to two and a half meters.
Bushes give a lot of root shoots. This variety loves dry places, unpretentious to the type of soil.
Feels great both on chernozem soils and on loamy heavy soil types.
Plants tolerate winter well, especially on hills, while in damp and low-lying places the root system can freeze slightly and shave. The growth of shoots stops only with the onset of frost.
Sometimes, even in the month of November, single large berries can be found on the shoots. This variety is quite productive. It brings up to 12 kg of berries from a bush per season.
- Strong lateral shoots depart from the root, which also begins to bear fruit, but later, the fruits on such shoots are larger.
- This variety is characterized by a prolonged harvest.
- Harvesting lasts almost two months.
- Polar brings abundant harvests every year. Yields are stable.
- The berries are conical, black, glossy, very tasty with a pleasant aftertaste and a pronounced aroma.
- When picking berries from a bush, the berry is removed from the core.
- During technical processing, drupes do not crumble.
- The variety is transportable.
loch tey
lochtey
Late maturing variety. The bushes are semi-spreading, the tops of the stems hang down. The berries are large, up to 9 g, black, glossy oblong-obtuse, drupes are well fastened, do not fall apart.
The blackberry pulp of this variety is very fragrant, does not boil soft during cooking. The variety is characterized by high winter hardiness, increased resistance to various diseases.
Buds form on annual shoots in the axils. There are two or three buds in the axil of each leaf. They are located one on top of the other.
The upper buds are always larger, it is from these upper buds that fruit branches are formed the next year, and leaf rosettes grow from the lower buds.
It also happens that both buds are equally developed, and they turn into fruiting branches. If the upper fruit buds are damaged, then fruit twigs grow from the lower ones, which usually form rosettes of leaves, but they are weaker and produce fewer fruits.
- The most productive fruit branches develop from the buds of the upper and middle parts of the shoot.
- They provide up to 86% of the crop. On fruitful stems, inflorescences do not develop simultaneously: first the upper ones, then the lower ones.
- Flowers in each inflorescence bloom in the same sequence, as a result of which the variety is characterized by a rather long flowering period - up to 25 - 30 days.
- The pulp of the berries of the Lokhtey variety is dense, the variety is suitable for processing, it tolerates transportation well.
- Productivity - up to 11 kg per bush.
- The taste is pleasant, sweet, there is a subtle sourness. The variety is frost-resistant, slightly affected by fungal diseases, drought resistance is medium.
- Of the minuses, only large spikes and low frost resistance can be called.
- Requires shelter for the winter. Fruits are characterized by high technological qualities.
- It blooms in the second half of May, and thanks to this it is not damaged by spring frosts.
Jumbo
Jumbo
A plant of average term of maturing, bushes sredneroslye, raslogye.
Berries of medium size, weight up to 6 grams, rounded shape.
The fruits are characterized by high technological qualities, yield up to 9 kg per bush.
The variety is winter-hardy, but not resistant enough to diseases. This variety does not have root shoots, therefore, plants are propagated by rooting the tops of the stems.
- In late July or early August, the tops of young shoots are sprinkled with earth.
- Roots form on the powdered part of the stem, the aerial part of the seedling grows from the apical bud.
- In the spring, rooted plants of this variety are separated from the stem, dug up and used as planting material.
- In order to have more seedlings, in May, young shoots are pinched at a height of 40-50 centimeters, which causes the formation of lateral branches, the rooting of which increases the amount of planting material.
Kiev
Kiev
This variety has the largest berries.
Mid-season variety, shoots are vigorous, powerful, the height of the bush reaches 2.5 m.
The leaves are bright green. The berries are very large, elongated, truncated-conical, black. The drupes are relatively well bonded to the fruiting bed.
The pulp is quite dense, the variety is suitable for processing.
Productivity - up to 10 kg per bush.
The taste is pleasant, sweet, there is a subtle sourness. The variety is frost-resistant, slightly affected by fungal diseases, drought resistance is medium.
- Of the minuses, only large spikes can be called.
- Requires shelter for the winter. Fruits are characterized by high technological qualities.
Ruben
Ruben
Remontant blackberry, bears fruit on the shoots of the current year in mid-September and last year's shoots in mid-June.
Blackberry Ruben is a remontant novelty, it is grown in an annual crop, at the end of autumn the shoots are cut or mowed.
In September, the variety bears fruit on the shoots of the current year.
For the purpose of early fruiting, plants are covered.
- Shoots are straight, do not weave, there are thorns. Height up to 2.5 meters, the bush is quite massive, but at the same time compact, does not fall apart.
- Blackberry Ruben reproduces by root buds.
- Gives little root offspring.
- Can be propagated by green cuttings.
- When trying to propagate by the tops of the shoots, decay of the latter was observed.
- The yield is 4 kg per bush, the size of the berries is impressive, the weight of some specimens reaches 14 grams.
- The berries are very juicy, with a wonderful aroma, easily come off the stem.
- In early March, the tops of the shoots should be pinched to stimulate the formation of additional branches.
- Cutting shoots in late autumn to soil levels.
- problematic pollination at high temperatures and low humidity;
- low winter hardiness;
- bushes are recommended to cover for the winter;
- late ripening, due to which some berries do not have time to ripen before the onset of the first frost.
- the variety is quite controversial and unstable for the conditions of our climate.
Black magic
Black magic
This variety is called a disposable remontant. The taste is outstanding, very sweet berries, one of the sweetest varieties of blackberries.
Fruiting is plentiful, it seems that in front of you is a living green wall of powerful shoots covered with numerous berries.
But it is worth knowing that this variety bears fruit on the shoots of the current year. After fruiting, the shoots are mowed or cut with secateurs.
The Black Magic variety does not need to be covered, to carry out any manipulations before wintering, because only the underground parts of the plant remain to winter.
This variety of blackberry has proven itself well in Russia and Ukraine.
It is grown both in open ground and under cover.
The fruiting period is double - the second half of June to the second half of July and the second fruiting - from the end of August to September.
The berries are large, elongated, dense, collected in massive brushes. The taste is extremely sweet sour, there is practically no sourness. The aroma is pronounced.
With the onset of cold weather, sugar content decreases.
The bush is compact, density is average, height is up to two and a half meters, shoot formation is high. In order to stimulate the formation of root offspring, you can intentionally damage the roots with a shovel.
Pollination is good even during the heat.
- Repairability
- Very high productivity
- High sugar content
- disease resistance
- Sometimes sunburns form on the berries
- A large number of spikes
- Low frost resistance
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Growth and fruiting
The development cycle of blackberry shoots is two years, because it is the closest relative raspberries. The first year is devoted to shoot growth and budding. In the second year, the shoot bears fruit and dies.
Blackberries bloom quite late, not earlier than June
Blackberries bear fruit very abundantly. Dark purple, red or black fruits are similar in shape to raspberries.
In principle, there are two forms of blackberry - kumanika (it is this that is most often called blackberry) has upright shoots, in dewberry they are creeping.
Blackberries bear fruit very abundantly
Often there are transitional forms. In the garden, prickly blackberries are placed on a trellis in a single or double row planting. It is very convenient to place blackberries, for example, along the fence, near the walls of outbuildings, etc.
In the garden, prickly blackberries are placed on a trellis
The distance between plants is from 3/4 to 1 meter. Between rows leave up to 2 meters. The stems of the second year (fruiting) are fixed on the top row of wire, young ones on the bottom.
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- During the period of the appearance of fruits, the cultivated blackberry is quite demanding on the presence of moisture in the ground. With its lack of berries, there are few, they are dry, and often crumble before ripening.
- At the same time, the plant does not tolerate waterlogging. Stagnant water is especially contraindicated for blackberries.
- For an adult bush, a sufficiently long stay on waterlogged soil may not be fatal. But the layering will almost certainly die, as their roots will rot.
- The plant is fairly drought tolerant. This is due to a deeper than raspberries, the occurrence of roots.
- The root system can go to a depth of more than one and a half meters.
- It must be borne in mind that blackberries love the sun. It can also develop in a small shade, but both the yield and the sugar content of the berries suffer greatly from this.
Berries blackberries are good in absolutely any form. Jam is made from it, rubbed with sugar. Dried berries make an amazing tea in winter. And fresh blackberries, perhaps, are not worse than even raspberries.
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Vegetative propagation
Shoots formed from buds on an underground rhizome
- For the first method, at the beginning of August, at the end of the young shoots of this summer, they are instilled in a vertical position into the ground, where they take root well during the autumn.
- In the spring, the shoots are cut off and, with the help of a sharp knife, cut out with a lump, in the form of an overturned pyramid, they are transplanted into the place of new rows.
- There is another method that is applied to too strong growing varieties with standing victories, in which the root system is located more in a horizontal direction (this method is not applicable to creeping varieties, because their roots develop in a more sheer direction).
- Large, highly developed bushes are cut out of the ground with a sharp shovel and transplanted in this form.
Blackberries are propagated by shoot tips and root cuttings.
Thus, in the place where the bush is taken out, the ends of the roots remain, which in the same summer shoot and form several new independent specimens of plants suitable for the next spring to transplant.
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blackberry bush
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With age, subsequently aging, the underground part of the plant loses its ability to recover, the formation of new shoots stops and the plant dies.. The plant lives as long as the underground rhizome is able to produce new replacement shoots.
All representatives of the blackberry have a large number of adventitious buds on additional underground rhizomes, from which stems are formed that can be used for propagation, or left to bear fruit in the row strip.
blackberry plantations
Deeply placed old roots form few root shoots. A large number of root shoots grows on light, rich soils in young plantations.
Already in the third year after planting, root shoots germinate at a distance of 100-120 cm from the bush.
- Blackberry stalks have a two-year development cycle, and the underground rhizome lives for more than one year.
- Depending on the power of growth and the method of cultivation, during the first season, blackberry shoots reach 1.7 - 3.2 meters in height and practically do not branch.
- The taller and thicker the stems grow in the current year, the higher the yield on them is expected next season.
- Sometimes it happens that strong shoots grow too fast due to moisture and fertilizers, such shoots do not ripen in time and freeze in winter, which negatively affects their future productivity.
- Annual spring shoots, which are formed most often from replacement buds on an underground rhizome, the next year do not grow in height and do not thicken, and fruit branches with leaves and inflorescences develop from their buds.
- After the fruits ripen, the fruit-bearing stems gradually die off, in late autumn they become completely dry.
- This does not need to be brought up, as they use nutrients and moisture that do not benefit the next year's crop. Therefore, after the end of the collection of berries, such stems must be completely removed from the plantations.
In the second half of summer, summer shoots grow that have no economic value. They must be removed along with the stems that bear fruit in the current year.
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- From various pests, which, by the way, are few in blackberries, the main place is occupied by parasitic fungi that develop in the form of rust on young shoots and leaves, and the latter are covered with grayish-brown spots.
- Affected leaves eventually dry out and fall off, significantly weakening the development of the plant.
Shoots damaged by nutworm fly
- Of the most common types of fungal parasites - ordinary orange rust.
- All such diseases are cured by spraying Bordeaux liquid.
- The first spraying is done before bud break; the second - when the young shoots reach a length of 15-20 centimeters, and the third - after picking the berries and removing the fruit-bearing shoots by cutting.
Weevil on a blackberry leaf
- Among insects, some borers are harmful and, mainly, a nutworm fly, which lays eggs in the skin of the shoot, from which the latter swells in the place of damage in the form of an influx;
- Such a shoot bears fruit of poor quality or often does not bear fruit and dies. The fight against this pest consists in cutting and burning damaged shoots.
Blackberry what to do with it how to care for it, cut it. Blackberry garden
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I have never seen such a lie! Remove the description of blackberry varieties and don't deceive people!
The description of blackberry varieties in this article is a bunch of words that have nothing to do with reality! The author writes about what he is not competent in!