Blackberry Helen

The cultivation of blackberry crops in garden plots is no longer new. Due to the decent yield and excellent taste of the fruit, blackberries quickly became popular. The Helen blackberry, from this article, is bred by breeders from England.

A brief excursion into history

The Helen blackberry is an early ripeness hybrid form, bred in 1997 by the British scientist Derek Jennings, he crossed the "Silvan" cultivar with unidentified West American number forms. The variety does not appear in the State Register (data for 2017).

Blackberry Helen: variety description and characteristics

Blackberry Helen: photo of the variety

Helen's blackberry is a typical dewdrop, that is, it spreads. It is a medium-sized shrub, reminiscent of a raspberry. It differs from raspberries in the content of more vitamins and microelements in berries.

General characteristics of the variety.

Helen's blackberry is a creeping shrub. The shoots are strong, have shortened internodes, grow up to one and a half to two meters, the formation of lateral branches is well developed.

• The shrub is very heavily leafy.
• The leaves are green in color, matte, oblong, in the form of hearts, their edges with denticles, there are pronounced veins, covered with a small number of villi.
• Helen's blackberry bush has one or two replacement shoots.
• The roots are located near the surface of the earth, well developed.
• There are no thorns on the whips.

Fruit.

The Helen blackberry fruits are first colored in ruby ​​color, when fully ripe, they become black in color, with a glossy effect. Dessert berry taste. The berries are large, weighing up to ten grams. They are round, elongated, oblong. Sweet taste, cherry aftertaste, aromatic properties are pronounced. The fruits are very juicy. The bones are small, complex, almost not felt. Assessment of tasters - 4.3 points. Fruits are poorly transported.

Blackberry hybrid producer Helen himself has said more than once that, having a low yield and below average transportability, the variety will not be promising for commercial cultivation, however, it will be suitable for cultivation in private garden plots.

Characteristics

Main advantages.

They are few. The advantage is unusual taste, but they are in a lower rating compared to most other varieties, the tasting rating takes place somewhere after the TOP-10. Dignity - almost the earliest ripeness among black-fruited forms, the berries ripen at the same time, there are no thorns on the shoots.

Flowering and ripening.

Blooms later, in June days. Because of this, the flowers will not freeze if repeated cold snaps occur in the spring. Some difficulties may occur if the bush freezes in the winter season. Then there will be poor blooming and pollination of frozen fruit buds. Fruits are formed at the same time, they begin to set from 1-10 July days. Ripen not stretched.

Productivity.

Compared to other varieties, the Helen variety shows an average yield. And all because the replacement shoots grow poorly, the bush is in a low degree resistant to the winter season.

First productivity of blackberry varieties.

• «Chester". Harvest per square - ten kg.
• Black Satin. The indicator per square is eight and a half kg.
• Loch Tei. Productivity - five point seven tenths of kg / square.
• "Helen". The yield indicator is three kg / square meter.

These are statistics of field experiments of Polish AI horticulture in Skiernowice. In addition to the low yield, the variety shows a very poor increase in productivity - about two hundred grams, while for other varieties the figure is in the range of half a kilo to one and a half kg.

Where the fruits are used.

The Helen blackberry variety is a dessert, therefore, the berries are eaten fresh. You can make jam, compote, preserves, fruit drink from them. Since the yield indicator is low, and the ripe fruits lie for a short time, the variety is not used for industrial purposes.

Immunity to diseases and harmful insects.

The Helen blackberry variety can be affected by common blackberry diseases, like other varieties, since it does not have resistance to them. For this reason, disease prevention is mandatory.

Pros and cons.

Ripening early, large ripe fruits will appear in the first days of July. The pros are over here. Cons: low yield; few shoots of replacement; the bush may be affected by chlorosis; low resistance to frosty periods; there is no immune defense against disease; fruits are poorly transported.

Therefore, planting Helen's blackberries in the garden should not be advised as a variety for the future.

Blackberry Helen: variety breeding

Blackberry Helen: photo of the variety

Reproduction is carried out according to tradition. Methods: using cuttings, shoots, offspring, cuttings (root and green cuttings), seed method.

Reproduction by layering is the best. In the first days of August, you need to dig 2 ditches 15 cm deep from the bush, lay healthy shoots of the first year in them, fix them with wire material or a weight and cover them with earth. The land needs to be mulched with sawdust and irrigated systematically. After sixty days, shoots will take root and shoots will appear. At this moment, they are cut off from the parental shoot and transplanted to a new site along with a soil clod.

Blackberry Helen: planting varieties

When planting a variety, consider how the shrub will affect the garden plot. And of course, how the bush itself will feel in these conditions.

Optimal time.

Helen blackberries are planted both in the spring season and in the autumn season. Planting times in spring may vary in areas with different climates. But consider these factors: temperature conditions are not lower than plus fifteen degrees; the soil should warm up to a depth of twenty cm; the awakening of the kidneys has not yet come.

In the middle latitudes, the period falls on the last April days - the first days of May, in the south - on the April days, in the Far Eastern territory - on May 1-10.

Planting Helen's blackberries in the autumn season is required so that at least thirty days remain before the onset of the first cold snaps.

How to choose a suitable site.

The Helen blackberry variety will feel comfortable in the sunlit, protected from the winds, area. Ideally, it is best to plant in the south or southwest longitudinally to the fence. Avoid areas where liquid can stagnate, groundwater should be below 1.5 m. It is recommended to plant this blackberry variety on loam and sandy loam.

It is forbidden plant Helen's blackberries next to raspberry and blackberry crops, and if an apple tree is a neighbor, then the growth of the bush will be good.

How to prepare the soil.

• The planting pit is prepared in advance, the substrate for filling the root system is also prepared in advance. As a rule, preparation is carried out thirty days before planting to saturate the soil and nutritious soil mixture with air.
• The dimensions of the holes are 40x40x40 cm. The interval between the holes is one and a half to two meters.

How to choose and prepare planting material.

• It is advisable to plant your own seedlings, which are obtained from the parent plant. Because the offshoot will have an earthen lump, and it will easily take out a transplant to a new site.
• If the root system is open, then the roots should be moistened. Before planting, planting material is soaked for a couple of hours in a solution of the drug to stimulate root formation.

Planting progress.

The prepared wells are two-thirds filled with the substrate. It consists of compost or humus fertilizer (five kg), superphosphate (120 grams), potassium sulfate (40 grams).

The constituent parts are mixed with the sod soil. The seedling is placed directly, the root collar is deepened two to three cm and covered with soil. The earth is compacted around the circumference of the bush, watering is carried out with five liters of water, then the trunk circle is mulched with sawdust or peat.

Blackberry Helen: variety care

Helen's blackberry seedling is systematically watered for forty to fifty days. Further watering is reduced, keep the reference point for weather conditions. In addition, it is imperative to cut the bush, tie it to supports, feed, water and cover for the winter season.

Cultivation rules.

The binding of the bush on the supports is mandatory. As a rule, 2-3 wire rows are stretched for this purpose, at a height of seventy, one hundred twenty and one hundred and seventy cm. The garter is fan. The side lashes must be tied to the lower support, the middle ones to the upper and middle ones.

Agrotechnical techniques.

Watering is required only when the berries are ripe. Excess water damages the bush. After watering, the soil is loosened and mulched with sawdust or straw.

The bush is fed 2 times. In the spring season, nitrogen-containing fertilizing is applied (50 g of ammonium nitrate / bush) to stimulate the growth of shoots of the first year. In the autumn season, when the bush finishes bearing fruit, superphosphate (100 grams) and potassium sulfate (30 grams) are introduced, as well as humus into the trunk circle at the time of digging.

In the fall, they are fed once every 3 years.

Circumcision procedure.

Pruning Helen's blackberries in the fall and spring seasons. In the autumn season, shoots of two years are cut to the level of the soil, which have given off fruits, in the spring season, sanitary pruning of broken and dead shoots during the winter period is carried out.

To increase the yield indicator, the lashes are pinched when they grow to one hundred twenty to one hundred and fifty cm, but then the bush will branch strongly, and it will be difficult for him to make a shelter.

How to prepare Helen's blackberries for the winter season.

It is imperative to cover such a blackberry. The lashes are removed from the support, tied to each other, bent to the ground and covered with 2 layers of covering material.

Diseases and harmful insects

Blackberry Helen: photo of the variety

The Helen blackberry variety lacks immune defense against disease. The most common diseases will be presented below.

• Root cancer. Symptoms: the root system and the neck are covered with growths of green and then brown color. How to fight: the disease is incurable. Sick bushes need to be burned. The place of growth is treated with Bordeaux mixture.
• Curl... Symptoms: the bush grows poorly; the leaves are repainted in a rich green color, wrinkle, bend to the inside; pollination of flowers does not occur. How to fight: the disease is incurable. The affected bush is burned.
• Mosaic. Symptoms: the appearance of scattered specks of yellow color on the leaves, the shoots are thinning; a strong decrease in resistance to frost periods. How to fight: the disease is incurable. The bush is dug up and burned.
• Yellow mesh... Symptoms: yellowing of leaves with green veins; shoots stop growing. How to fight: the carrier of the disease is aphid, the affected bush is destroyed along with the pest.
• Anthracnose. Symptoms: the appearance of specks of gray color on the leaves, in rare cases on the shoots; the fruits are covered with gray ulcers. How to fight: the disease is incurable. The affected bush should be destroyed.For preventive purposes, the shrub is treated with fungicidal preparations three times per period.
• Septoriasis (white spot). Symptoms: the appearance of rounded specks of brown color with a thin border on the leaves, black fungal dots. The appearance of mucus on the fruit, rotting. How to fight: an incurable disease. Preventive measures are the same as in the previous paragraph.
• Didymella (purple spot). Symptoms: leaves dry up, shoots wither. The appearance of specks of purple color on the stem. How to deal: thin out the bushes, spray with a 2% solution of Bordeaux mixture.
• Botrytis (gray rot). Symptoms: Fruits and shoots are covered with gray villi, further rotting occurs. How to deal: treat plants with fungicidal agents, change them after the second use.

In addition to diseases, harmful insects can attack the shrub.

• Spider mite. It settles on leaves, the attacked bushes are covered with a thin cobweb. How to fight: Remove and burn all old foliage. Treat the bush three times with fungicidal preparations - "Aktofit", "Fitoverm", every seven days after the first leaves have blossomed.
• Blackberry mite. Fruits are affected, they do not ripen and remain red. How to fight: process blackberries with "Envidor", "BI-58" before the buds open.
• Raspberry stem fly. It settles on the apical parts of the shoots, the larvae gnaw them from the inside, go down the branches down to transfer the winter. How to fight: there are no pesticides, the tops are cut off and burned immediately after they discover that the bush is withering.
• Raspberry beetle. The entire shrub is affected, from the root system to the flowers, the pest gnaws holes. How to fight: dig up the soil, remove rot. Seven days before the flowering period, treatment is carried out with Iskra, Fufagon.

Summary

Due to some characteristics, Helen blackberries are not listed as promising for cultivation. Low yield, low tasting score, the shrub may freeze slightly. It is more suitable to smooth out the monotony of plants in the garden, to complement them. The variety is not suitable for cultivation on an industrial scale.

Blackberry Helen: reviews of gardeners

Pavel Andreevich, 50 years old, Moscow region: “I planted Helen the blackberry without thorns in order to experiment. To be honest, my expectations were not met. In the first year, she was not so weakly frozen. The harvest is not rich. The taste is good, but when transported, Helen blackberries turn into mush (I usually take the harvest home from the dacha) "

Viktor Olegovich, 68 years old, Voronezh region: “I planted a blackberry because my grandchildren wanted to eat black berries. Planted a variety of blackberries Helen. It didn't stand out as anything special, the harvest is good, the grandchildren like it, they eat straight from the bush. "

Alexandra Ivanovna, 53 years old, Stavropol: “For a long time I wanted to plant blackberries in the local area. A neighbor praised Helen's blackberry variety. I got seedlings, 4 bushes have been growing on my site for 3 years. Everything suits me, the taste is excellent, but the fruits of Helen's blackberries are flowing, of course. "