Black raspberry: description, planting and care

No, black raspberries are not blackberries! This is how it is always confused with the same more familiar berry. Already accustomed to yellow raspberries, and it is not surprising. But gardeners are just looking at the beautiful stranger black raspberries.

Read our article and find out about the Cumberland black raspberry variety, how it differs from blackberries, and also how to grow black raspberries in your garden.

Black raspberries and blackberries: what is the difference

black raspberry

To distinguish them, it is worth picking the berries first. Raspberries, regardless of color, have a hollow interior. Raspberry-berry, especially when ripe, easily breaks off, leaving a receptacle on the branches. In a blackberry, the berry cannot be torn from the receptacle. They break together, no empty cavity remains.

The shape of the blackberry is not like the shape of the black raspberry. Rather, red, it is oblong. In black raspberries, the shape of the berries is hemispherical.

The ripening time for blackberries and black raspberries also does not coincide. Blackberries are later ripe.

If you look closely at both cultures, there is also a difference in the stems. Blackberries sprout stems up to 3 meters (there are strong thorns on them), green. And the bushes are like tangles of stiff wire.

In raspberries, the branches reach only a maximum of 2 meters in length. The stem is shorter. The color is pale blue, and it has fewer thorns.

About the hybrid: raspberry + blackberry

black raspberry

In Scotland, back in the 70s of the XX century, a hybrid variety of blackberries with Tayberry raspberries was bred.

It was obtained through pollination with raspberry pollen from the blackberry variety Aurora. As a result - large elongated (up to 6 cm) fragrant red-violet berries. The ezhemalina variety is very fruitful and tasty. With shoots up to 2.5 meters long.

The hybrid variety bears fruit from mid-summer to November. It is frost-resistant, resistant to harmful insects and has excellent immunity. Caring for a hybrid variety is similar to caring for raspberries.

The external difference between black raspberry and ezemalina is color. Tisberry has deep red fruits and black raspberries have a deep dark color.

Black raspberries: varieties

This wonderful berry was bred in the United States of America in the 19th century. Let's talk about the most beloved varieties in the vastness of our homeland.

1. Cumberland

This is an early variety. It is distinguished by large yields, large shoots, similar to arcs, frost resistance and good immunity. This black and blue berry tastes like blackberry.

2. Boysenberry

One of the earliest varieties of this culture beloved by our gardeners. It is distinguished by large yields, large fruits with an excellent sweet taste, frost resistance, resistance to harmful insects and strong immunity.

The variety does not have any thorns on its shoots, which only helps to harvest from its bushes.

3. New Logan

Also an overseas variety, the height of the bushes can reach two meters. It is an early variety with good yields. But not characterized by resistance to low temperatures (shelters are needed in the winter).

4. Ember

An early ripe variety bred by our Russian breeders. It is distinguished by a high yield, small berries with a sour-sweet taste.

5. Litach

The work of Polish breeders in 2008. The variety is distinguished by medium-sized round berries. Its long shoots have large thorns. A distinctive feature is a bluish bloom on the berries.

6. Gift of Siberia

It is distinguished by frost resistance. The berries are small, the structure of the fruits is dense, they have an unusual dessert taste.Recommended regions of Russia for planting are the Middle Strip, Siberian and Far Eastern regions.

7. Luck, Turn

The variety is distinguished by good yields. The berries are large, the variety yields up to 6 kg of berries from one bush. Due to its density, it tolerates transportation well, which is perfectly reflected in the presentation.

Raspberry black cumberland

The most popular and widespread variety of black raspberries, Cumberland is often referred to as black chokeberry. Let's talk about its features.

Its dark, rich colored berries can weigh up to 6 grams. With proper care, one bush gives up to 10 kg of delicious berries. This yield significantly exceeds red and yellow raspberries.

Experienced gardeners recommend covering the chokeberry bushes from frost, wind and draft for the winter. No matter what climatic zone you live in.

An important advantage of the black raspberry is its powerful root system, which spreads its roots to a depth of 1.5 meters. Thanks to this property, the plant tolerates drought well.

True, this does not mean at all that the blackberry will do without watering. Not at all! If she lacks moisture, she will not give ovaries. This means that the harvest will be minimal.

Picturesque bushes of Cumberland with its long shoots (up to 3 m), arches hanging down to the ground, with large dark berries - will adorn any garden.

Black raspberries. Pros and cons

Interestingly, with many advantages over red and yellow varieties, black raspberries are less popular.

So, about the pluses of the chokeberry. These include:

1. High yield

2. Good immunity.

3. Resilience to droughts.

4. Not demanding on the composition of the soil.

5. Bushes can form hedges.

6. The presence of medicinal properties of berries.

7. The crop can be planted anywhere in the garden, as no root suckers are formed.

The disadvantages include:

1. Reduced resistance to winter temperatures.

2. Susceptibility to viruses.

About the beneficial properties of Cumberland

Black raspberries are the record holder among different types of raspberries in terms of the content of vitamins and useful micro- and macroelements. A special advantage is in the content of rutin (vitamin P), which strengthens blood vessels and cleanses them of harmful cholesterol plaques.

The prothrombins contained in berries and greens normalize blood counts (clotting, iron, manganese, copper).

The berries taste sweet and sour, similar to blackberries. The dense structure of the berries allows the berry to be stored for a long time.

All about the Tayberry variety

In appearance, black-fruited raspberry has significant differences from its red sister. The main difference is in the huge shoots that reach up to 3 meters in length and form arches. They are usually tied up with trellises.

In black raspberries, fruits appear on lateral shoots (up to 1 m in length) after a year. Therefore, this culture is referred to as biennials.

Correct pruning of the bushes and the release of the plant from dried and old branches is very important. Annual stems in the next season will give fragrant berries.

How to properly grow and care for black raspberries

- About autumn pruning.

Two pruning is done per season. At the end of the first summer month, it is necessary to cut off the tops of the shoots as large as human height. This promotes the formation of crop-producing shoots. Struggling with thickening, weak, dried branches are removed.

In the middle of autumn, closer to the last autumn month, two-year-old shoots are cut off, and one-year-olds are cut off to 50 cm above the ground.

- On the reproduction of black raspberries.

It is quite simple to propagate black raspberries. The most common way is layering. When the bush finishes fruiting, the tops of the shoots are placed in the prepared grooves (depth - up to 10 cm) and covered with soil.

Sprinkle on top with straw or sawdust. The next year, in spring, the roots give the cuttings, the resulting seedlings are used for their intended purpose.

- How to plant black raspberry seedlings.

Planting secrets are the same as for regular raspberries. The landing site is sunny, sheltered from the wind.A good planting site is a fence that will both protect and support growth. And the raspberry bushes themselves, with their thorns, are a living protective hedge.

An important requirement for the landing site is that nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, etc.) do not grow there earlier, and red raspberries are at a distance of at least 10 m.

Excellent predecessors that grew at the planting site of black chokeberry - peppers, carrots, garlic, onions, velvet or marigolds.

Bushes should be planted a meter apart and rows two meters apart.

Most often, black raspberries grow in any soil, but if you want great yields, then plant in loamy soils or black soil.

Planting is done in late September or early October, you can - in March-April. To begin with, pits are prepared (depth - 0.5 m), on the bottom of which humus (from 6 to 8 kg), superphosphate (0.2 kg), potassium sulfate (0.08 kg) and wood ash (0.5 kg) are laid ).

All fertilizers are mixed with the ground and a small hill is formed. From above, holding the seedling and straightening its roots, "dust" gently with earth. Trying not to cover the neck of the plant with soil, gently and gradually compact the seedling with your hands.

Further, watering and mulching are carried out using sawdust, straw and humus. The thickness of the mulching layer is at least 5 cm.

To activate the growth of side shoots and get strong and at the same time neat bushes, one-year-old shoots should be pinched at a height of 0.5 meters.

- More about fertilizers.

Once every 3 years, compost should be applied under the bushes of black raspberries (5 kg / 1 bush).

As soon as flowering ends, the 1st feeding is done with manure with water (1: 6) or chicken droppings with water (1:16). Wood ash (for 1 bucket of infusion - 1 l) and superphosphate (for 1 bucket - 0.05 kg) can be added to the infusion. Such feedings are repeated twice more - during the appearance of berries and harvesting.

How to deal with diseases and pests of black raspberries

Black-fruited raspberry has a more stable immunity against various diseases and pests than red-fruited. It is also often overlooked by a common untreated viral disease - verticillary wilting. In this case, the infected bushes are cut, uprooted and burned.

As a preventive measure, the blackberry is planted no closer than 10 m from the redfruit. And in long rainy periods, they organize drainage bases in the soil in order to avoid fungal diseases.

Another preventive measure is spraying with preparations containing copper or insecticides.

Another attack that can overtake ezhemalin is anthracnose (white bloom on foliage). They fight against it with fungicides (Topaz, Mikosan, etc.).

A decoction of horsetail helps well. 1 kg of horsetail for 1 bucket of water, infused for 24 hours, after which it is boiled for 30 minutes. Then it is diluted with water (1: 5). Instead of horsetail, you can take nettle, which is infused for 14 days. The rest of the cooking recipe is the same.

Among harmful insects, the raspberry beetle is the most common in the ezemalina. From it they carry out preventive treatment with nitrofen in the spring. This is the first time. And the second time they use wormwood and marigolds. An infusion is made of them (they take 200 g of plants per bucket of water, insist for a day).

If we summarize the information about the black raspberry, then it is worth saying that this is a hybrid that combines the best properties of the red raspberry and the sister blackberry. The berry combines excellent taste and medicinal properties, high productivity and unpretentiousness.

Even a beginner can handle this culture.