Features of reproduction and pruning of blackberries in the country
Russian summer residents are happy to cultivate such berries as blackberries, the care, cultivation, reproduction and pruning of which is not difficult. Blackberries are rich in nutrients and vitamins; they taste better than raspberries; they are more often grown as a hedge. There are varieties with sharp thorns, but some varieties of blackberries do not have them and are called thornless.
Growing blackberries
To prevent blackberries from dying in the winter and bearing fruit abundantly the next year, they should be carefully prepared for the cold, creating a shelter from severe frosts.
If the temperature in the growing region drops to -10 degrees and below in winter, berry bushes must be covered, but this is not necessary for frost-resistant varieties. If in the region frosts are from -20 degrees and below, you will have to wrap up any varieties for the winter, since the plants may not tolerate such a temperature.
How blackberries are propagated
In Russia, there are mainly two types of blackberries:
- erect or kumanika propagates by root layers;
- creeping or dewdrop, horizontal or apical layers are used for its reproduction.
The green grafting method is advisable to use in cases where there are few mother bushes, or it is necessary to propagate the bushes urgently.
The main methods of breeding blackberries:
- cuttings in spring;
- root suckers;
- apical layers;
- green cuttings;
- in a vegetative way;
- seed method.
To propagate blackberries by root cut, you need to find the strongest upright bush. Wait until autumn, when young shoots have their own root system, and then dig them out together with the ground. If you need to propagate blackberries by layering, then this should be done in the spring.
Blackberry propagation by layering
For the propagation of blackberries, the bark is shallowly cut with a ring with the tops of the layers along the upper part (about 30 or 35 cm from the end), under the buds. Each is bent to the ground, pressed into a previously prepared trench from 4 to 5 cm deep, fixed and buried in earth.
The level of the ground and its moisture are monitored, watered on time and added soil. Cover with sawdust or peat before frost. By next spring, the layers will take root, they will have to be cut off from the mother plant, dug up and planted in a place where they will grow constantly.
After the emergence of shoots, which have 2-3 leaves, you can propagate the blackberry with green cuttings. To do this, they are cut underground at a depth of 3-4 cm underground, transferred to a greenhouse and planted there under a film so that the humidity level is always high. A year later, in the fall, you need to plant it where a permanent place will be prepared.
Vegetative and seed propagation methods
In late summer or early autumn, blackberries are propagated vegetatively.To do this, the bush is dug up, the branches are divided along the root, so that each part is 15 centimeters, or slightly less in length, half a centimeter thick. They are planted and wrapped before wintering. If it is impossible to plant it right away, the prepared material is placed in grooves to a depth of about 10 cm, after which soil is poured into them, watered, and the soil is compacted.
To grow blackberriesyou need to learn. Reproduction, pruning and care require skill, so seed propagation is rarely used due to poor germination. At the same time, culture does not lose its properties.
To increase germination, the hard seed coat should be damaged.
Sow in river sand, previously watered, deepen by 6 cm, plus or minus 1 cm. When a couple of leaves appear, dive the plants into pots, you can plant them in their places. For the winter, young shoots will have to be covered. The first berries will appear only after 3 or 4 years.
Pruning blackberries
How to prune blackberries in spring, you can learn from the video, doing it is troublesome, but necessary. The plant is trimmed with pruning shears at any time of the year, except for winter. The height of the kumanik is about 3 meters, sometimes even higher, it is akin to raspberries, it gives many shoots. In erect blackberries - kumaniks, biennial shoots bear fruit.
When the snow melts, the question of whether it is necessary to prune the blackberries in the spring does not arise, the answer is obvious, it is necessary. Until the buds have awakened, dry and injured shoots are removed, one-year-old shoots are cut off twice in order to enhance the growth of lateral shoots. This is done in May, when about 6 cm of the tops are cut off, and the shoots that have grown to a length of more than half a meter are shortened by 7-10 cm in July. Pieces 6 or 8, the most powerful, are left, others are cut out. Pruning blackberries in the fall is carried out after harvest, in fact, it is sanitization.
When pruning blackberries in spring, the video diagram shows that on mature plants, not only branches affected by frost in winter are removed, but also broken, weak ones. Leave a few pieces, from 4 to 10, the most powerful. Lateral shoots are shortened to a length of 20-40 cm, leaving 8 to 12 good buds on each. To get an excellent harvest, you need to know how to properly prune blackberries in the spring, how to remove excess shoots from the sides of the bush in summer, leaving the spring ones.
They will delight you with a bountiful harvest, since the shoots do not bear fruit in the first year. Pruning blackberries in the spring for novice gardeners will not be difficult if you watch the video on how to do it right.