Black Raspberry Cumberland: planting and care. Blackberry Cumberland: description, planting, care

A unique American hybrid of blackberries and raspberries, called black raspberries Cumberland, is a rare crop in the domestic gardens, but very promising for cultivation.

High winter hardiness, excellent survival and adaptation to severe conditions of temperate Russian latitudes, as well as an excellent taste of large glossy black berries are the incomplete list of advantages characterizing the hybrid "black raspberries". What is good about Cumberland? Let's talk about this plant, its features, the complexity of cultivation and agrotechnical techniques, allowing to receive high yields.

Blackberry Cumberland: description

Planting, care and concern for the development of this interesting culture are almost no different from the garden manipulations that are required for red and yellow-yellow raspberries. The appearance of Cumberland is very similar to the blackberry, but its berries are slightly smaller and are removed from the stalk easily, although the bushes are not crumbled and stored well.

Surprising is the high frost resistance of Cumberland, because even in very severe and snowless winters, shrubs do without special shelters. Despite the fact that the fruits of black raspberries are very sweet, birds do not encroach on planting, and traditional pests bypass this variety of raspberries.

It should be noted that there are certain difficulties in caring for a culture such as the black raspberries of Cumberland. Planting and grooming sometimes cause trouble in the form of scratches and abrasions due to the numerous sharp thorns covering the stems. Therefore, protection measures must be observed.

Berries: taste and benefit

The fruit of this American curiosity is a round, multicolored, full-bodied black with various burgundy or blue hues (depending on the degree of maturity) weighing up to 5 grams, with tender flesh and large bones. With the proper formation of the bush, the crops are very impressive - 5-6 kg from one bush.

The berries have a very sweet taste and a pleasant aroma. They are an excellent treat, and are used fresh or processed into various dessert dishes. In addition, according to American scientists, the unique combination of vitamins, minerals and saturation of fruits with antioxidants contribute to suppress the development of cancer cells, activating human immunity. All of the above arguments emphasize the benefits of breeding a culture such as raspberry black Cumberland. Description, planting, care and watering - this information and the stages of cultivation are presented in the article.

Choose a place for planting

The site for planting black raspberries is better to choose sunny, plain or under a slight slope. You can place its plantations on the north or north-west slope. Demanding to the structure of the soil, black raspberries prefer fertile loam or sandy loam.

It is undesirable to plant it in areas where red raspberry, apple or solanaceous rose before. It does not coexist with the blackberry: they are nearby, these cultures begin to oppress each other. The best predecessors are tilled crops - carrots, onions, spicy herbs or siderates, which increase the fertility of the soil, and, therefore, increase the survival rate of a culture such as raspberry black Cumberland. Planting can be done in early spring or autumn. Plants purchased in containers can be planted throughout the summer season by transshipment, since the protected root system allows this. The soil in the site for planting is preliminarily prepared, digging in advance and bringing in on one square meter 15-20 kg of reparted manure or high-quality compost.

We prepare seedlings from apical shoots

To meet the ready-made planting material on the territory of Russia for the time being is not often enough. It is easier to find it from gardeners engaged in breeding black raspberries. Propagation of culture with apical and horizontal layers. Basal blackberry raspberry black Cumberland (cultivation, care for the culture is confirmed) almost does not. This sort of favorably differs from the red raspberry precisely because its offspring do not spread all over the garden, appearing in the most unexpected places. The seedlings from the layers are obtained as follows: at the end of the summer, the tips of the shoots are pinned to the ground, arranging them in prepared small grooves, and sprinkled with earth. It is necessary to moderate watering, so that every kidney, sprinkled with earth, has time to form additional roots before the cold. For successful wintering, the layers are covered with humus, peat or fir-tree lapnika. In the spring after thawing, the layers (already well-rooted) are separated from the mother plant and either left for cultivation or planted on a permanent place.

Saplings of horizontal layers

To obtain a planting material from horizontal layers 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 the summer are pinned to grooves and sprinkled with soil, leaving the tops of shoots open with buds and leaves on them. As well as apical, horizontal layers are watered so that they can successfully settle down. Shelter covers for winter are also necessary. Full saplings of them are obtained by the fall of next year, when they are separated from the mother bush and planted.

Black Raspberries Cumberland: Planting and Care

In the prepared area, the black raspberries are planted, observing the interval between the plants of not less than 1.5 m. Planting pits are prepared, adhering to standard dimensions for all measurements - 0.4-0.5 m. Each half is covered with a mixture of a fertile top soil layer with a humus bucket and 0.6 kg of wood ash. This composition does not need additional mineral additives. The pit is well poured with water and has a seedling in it, carefully spreading the roots so that they do not bend upwards. The remaining seedlings are closed up, carefully making sure that air pockets near the roots are not formed, which can provoke their drying or decay. Then the primer around the young plant is compacted, but not trampled, as it acts destructively on fragile roots. Once again, water the plant well. So is cultivated black raspberry Cumberland. Planting and care, reproduction and other manipulations are simple operations that can be performed by a beginning gardener.

Mulching

The best way to create a comfortable environment in the further development of the seedling is mulching of plantings with humus, peat, rotted sawdust, straw or crushed wood bark. Mulch with a thickness of 8-10 cm stabilizes the air exchange and soil temperature, the decaying lower layer attracts earthworms that produce humus necessary for young plants. The layer of mulch "settles" over time, so it is periodically restored. In addition, the use of this method frees horticulturists from the need for loosening, propolok and frequent watering. This approach is optimal not only in relation to a plant such as black raspberries. Growing and grooming in this way give a guaranteed harvest of any garden berry.

Caring events

Not differing with any special preferences, the culture requires regular moderate watering during fruit formation and subsequent ripening of berries. This is the basic condition that blackberries of Cumberland put forward. Planting and care, consisting of periodic watering and weeding, with proper holding give tremendous results. Since the distinctive feature of the variety is the abundance of ovaries, in the growing season the culture is necessarily fed. To facilitate care, Cumberland is grown on a trellis, from which it is removed for the winter and bends to the ground, if necessary pegging the stems to the ground. In the spring, bushes are examined, removing diseased and broken shoots, and again fixing the stalks on the trellis.

Caring for black raspberries does not take a lot of time, but, providing a comfortable environment for quality fruiting, you can collect magnificent berries for 20-30 days.

Feeding

The biological characteristic, characteristic of the culture, is later flowering. This explains the abundance of ovaries, as the flowers do not die from frost, but blossom on all shoots, turning into a lot of ovaries. For their qualitative development during the season the plants need to be fed:

• The first time after the color is shed by 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 carrying out feeding, the bush is spilled with three buckets of water.

• For the second time, the culture is fed with berries in the same solution and in the same amount.

• The third feeding is carried out in a similar way after the first harvest of berries.

Trimming

It is easy to form black raspberries Cumberland. Pruning and leaving after it are simple operations to create a compact plant with powerful stems that do not lodge under the weight of the ripening crop and do not need additional supports. In this case, when 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 and more meters in length. Next spring before the growing season, these stems are shortened, leaving on each of 3 to 6 growth buds. Weak and sick stems are removed. This method reduces the number of ovaries and berries on the shoot, but increases their mass and quality.

You can grow a black raspberry on the trellis, which is installed a year after planting young plants. Piles are installed along the row with an interval of 8-10 m, to which the wooden slats are attached , pull the cord or wire at different levels - at a height of 0.5 m, 1.0 m and 1.5 m. In the spring, the shoots are tied, shortened to 1,4-1,5 m. Control thickening of plantations, timely cutting out the fruiting and weak stems.

Getting a decent care black raspberries Cumberland, planting and caring for which are not complex procedures, will reward the grower with a generous harvest of delicious berries.