Blackberry propagation by apical layers

It can be argued that a large number of gardeners are happy to grow such beautiful berries as blackberries on their plots. Summer residents recommend growing not one bush, but several, perhaps even up to a dozen. Blackberry berries are delicious and have an excellent composition of usefulness. There is also a conviction - there is never enough tasty berry. Sometimes the question is for beginners in this business, how to propagate blackberries correctly?

There are many ways, but some take a lot of time, while others will not take much effort and time to implement. Which one to choose is only your decision. In our article, we will help you figure out how to choose a variety for breeding, what method to propagate, how to do it correctly for the culture to flourish in your summer cottage, what time of year to choose.

How to propagate blackberries: timing

In general, there are no specific standards for breeding blackberries, but there are recommendations from experienced gardeners. Which breeding method should be preferred and at what time of the year is it most profitable to propagate blackberries? It can be spring and autumn and summer. The difference is that for each period there are different ways to propagate the bush.

The ideal time for this process is Spring. In this case, already rooted cuttings (root and stem), as well as young seedlings, are used. The disembarkation is already carried out to a permanent place, therefore, the process is approached with full responsibility and careful observance of all rules and recommendations. You can use planting and root cuttings and offspring, reproduction when dividing the bushes.

During summer period, you can propagate blackberries using the tops of the shoots, replacing the tops of the layers. Also the way of layering horizontal position. To be more precise, at this stage, the layers can be dug into the soil, incised and rooted with a green cutting.

The division of the bush during the summer, that is, the active development of blackberries, entails a number of dangerous consequences: poor survival of the division occurs due to hot weather and prolonged elevated temperatures.

Of course, the division is best done in spring or autumn. But, if you still decide, then be sure to mulch the near-trunk area and observe the irrigation regime to preserve moisture in the soil. Moisture is very necessary for young, divided shoots.

In the first numbers autumn begin harvesting root suckers, as well as a cuttings for further planting in the spring. Lignified stem cuttings can be cut. As well as in the summer season, the tops of the shoot (apical layering) can be dug in, horizontal layering is used.

And in the spring of the next season, you simply separate the young seedling from the mother plant, transplant it to a new, permanent growing place. In the fall, you can propagate the bushes by dividing, and also root a young green stalk.

Popular ways to propagate garden blackberries

The method for propagation depends entirely on the varietal characteristics of the blackberry:

• It is recommended to propagate upright plant varieties using root suckers and stalks, separation of bushes. It is theoretically possible to apply apical or horizontal layering, but in practice it is practically impossible;
• Creeping varieties - use the method of the apical shoot (apical cut): horizontal cut, root sucker and stalk, young green stalk.

An important point! The thornless varieties have some originality that distinguishes them from other varieties of blackberries.That is why propagation by offspring and root cuttings is not recommended; this method is perfect for prickly blackberry varieties.

Let's highlight the main ways how to propagate a blackberry. The most basic ones turn out to be 5, but they are subdivided into two groups:

• effective;
• less effective.

In the first version, it can be noted: layering, root suckers and cuttings, division of bushes. For the second case, emphasize: the seed method, the use of stem cutting.

Almost any gardener is initially determined not only with the reproduction time, but also selects the most acceptable method for himself. That is, it tries to find the optimal conditions to facilitate the process. Get a new planting material, depending on the selected variety. Further in our article, we will try to consider in more detail all the listed methods of how to propagate blackberries, as well as the detailed features of each method separately.

Seed method

In terms of simplicity, it is the most used for propagation of any variety of blackberry bushes. But this is only from the side of simplicity. In fact, experience has shown that the effectiveness of this method has a reduced percentage in the results. This applies not only to blackberries, but also to many other fruit and berry crops. One might even say not a practical way. It is recommended to replace it with a vegetative propagation method. We will talk about those longer in the article.

Important! During seed reproduction, the varietal characteristics of the mother bushes are lost, that is, all the characteristics of the variety that you wanted to get along with the young plant simply disappear.

Using seeds of the same variety, you can get completely unexpected results.

Using the seedling method (seed method), we use the standard rules. Remember: seed material of blackberry varieties is initially subject to stratification, at least 2 months. And only then, just before sowing, apply scarification. Further, after all these processes, we simply sow it into any adapted container.

How to propagate blackberries with apical layers

Blackberry propagation scheme with apical layers

Top-cut propagation means obtaining new material by simply burying the tips of the shoot into the soil, given that blackberries have a natural ability to root perfectly.

Important! Plant propagation by this method is almost ideal in relation to varieties of the creeping direction.

This method is less optimal for varieties with erect semi-creeping shoot development. Quite erect development of shrub shoots is less willing to accept such reproduction. It is very difficult to bend the top of the plant and bend it to the ground in order to root (eg Darrow, Agave).

It is most optimal to carry out the breeding procedure in this way in early September. The climate of the southern regions is very different from the middle zone, so blackberries can be planted there already at the very beginning of the summer months. Then you will get a young plant for this season.

If we consider the method step by step, then some important points are determined:

• We pinch off the growth point of the bush chosen for reproduction. Fact! If you ignore the recommendations of a mandatory nature, your chosen shoot, after a certain period of time, will creep out from their soil to the surface and begin active independent development. The roots in the place where they dug in, simply do not have time to form and take root, respectively, you do not get a new seedling.
• We cut off all the leaves;
• We bend the shoot that has been pinned, put it in the soil, to a depth of 10 centimeters. You can also use a separate pot for this purpose, that is, deepen the top in containers with soil. For many gardeners, this method is considered more convenient.

Attention! The shoot that you have deepened is forbidden to be separated from the mother plant. The young shoot still receives the necessary nutrition from the mother liquor. Without an adult plant, a young cutter simply has no chance of survival in the absence of a root system, which begins to develop after the rooting of the shoot.

This is a vicious circle and if you break one chain of actions, you will not get a result. After rooting, the young shoot is able to form a growth point underground, which will allow it to start independent development, to activate full growth. All results depend only on the characteristics of the blackberry variety you have chosen and the rooting period. Perhaps already this season, at the beginning of September, an independent new shoot will form. But in most cases, this is still observed only next spring.

How to propagate blackberries with horizontal layers

A closer look at the two methods described above and the current one under consideration reveals a practical similarity. Using the horizontal propagation method, you may encounter some difficulties: in order to bend the shoot to the soil surface, all the more to deepen it a little more, you will have to try very hard not to break the necessary shoots, because the branches of the plant are quite powerful, and the erect plant does not have much elasticity.

The recommended and most optimal time period for applying this method is the second half of August. You can capture the beginning of the fall season a little. The southern regions of the regions differ in climatic conditions, therefore, we calmly begin to propagate by layering from the middle of the summer season.

This method can only be used if there are several blackberry bushes on your site, since for reproduction we take shoots that can only bear fruit in the next season.

Step-by-step consideration of propagation by horizontal layers:

• We make a small depression in the soil - a groove, no deeper than 20 centimeters. It is necessary to choose an elongated shoot, always one year old. We bend the selected material into the center of this groove, it is imperative to fix it with any available means: a bracket, a hook, a brick located on top of the soil on an already dug layering. Important! The top of the plant is completely cut off only after all excavation work has been completed.
• Next, sprinkle with soil 15-17 centimeters. About the bayonet of a shovel. Continuing the work, we add a layer of mulch to the soil surface. This will help to avoid drying out of the soil in the future. Water immediately.

Of course, the emergence of a new cut may occur in the current season. It all depends on climatic conditions, but the best option would be the appearance of a young seedling in early spring next season.

Then the seedling will definitely be well rooted, with its own developed root system. We calmly dig it up, separate it from the mother bush, if we did not do this before wintering. We determine already for a permanent place of cultivation.

How to propagate blackberries using suckers

Blackberry, like a plant similar in all its qualities, raspberry, takes root very well and it is very difficult to get rid of it, so that excellent reproduction occurs by the offspring of the roots.

What is the peculiarity of this breeding method. When you start digging out all the bushes in a row to free the site from this culture, no matter for whatever reason, small shoots of the root system always remain in the soil. Even the small remaining part of the root is capable of giving a new shoot.

What is needed for such a reproduction of a blackberry bush, especially since this is the most classic way? Dig up and cut the root into small pieces in sufficient quantity. Each segment is about 10 centimeters long and up to 4 mm in diameter.Root offspring (cuttings) can not only be prepared, but also stored until a certain period when needed.

How to do it. The root material is taken from the depth of the root middle, at least 60 cm deep, so you will not harm the main mother bush.

The roots can be stored in a regular cellar, where a container with wet sand is placed. You can replace such a place with an analogue and store it in convenient conditions.

In the spring, the roots (offspring) are buried in the soil, and only in a horizontal position, the vertical method is not even considered. The depth of the holes for the offspring does not exceed 5 centimeters.

We water, then, during the season, we regularly control the soil moisture.

You need to know! There is one important fact that not all blackberry varieties, when propagated in this way, retain their varietal characteristics. For example, if you are trying to propagate varieties without thorns, then you may end up with young shoots with thorns. So this method is popular with gardeners who grow mostly thorny varieties of blackberry shrubs.

Propagation by root cuttings

Root cuttings can be used in a slightly different way, with shorter root cuttings. It is advisable to do this if there is a greenhouse or greenhouse. To prepare a similar material, we take a piece of root, only up to 3 cm in length.

It's important to know! Root cutting should be applied with full polarity at the time of planting in the soil. The location of the segment, the apex and the lower part - only in the same direction as when cut from the mother root. That is, the lower parts are down, the upper parts are up.

Newbie tip! In order not to simply confuse the directions of small pieces of roots (polarity), you can do the following: while cutting the main root into smaller parts, cut the top of the offspring perpendicular to the main axial part of the root, the lower part is cut at an angle, more sharply.

Then we place the offspring in the prepared pits, but in an upright position, up to 6 cm in depth. Therefore, from the top of the segment to the ground surface, at least 3 centimeters. New shoots begin to appear within a few weeks after planting.

The principle of propagation of blackberries by root cuttings or offspring is very similar, there is not much difference. Root cutting is used when dealing with more creeping varieties, so they are not able to give a large number of root offspring. There are, of course, cases when an erect plant does not produce such root suckers, then the method with a root cuttings is applicable.

Perhaps we will repeat ourselves, but we will clarify the information. It is impossible to propagate varieties without thorns by this method. Because the result of the work differs from the desired result. A blackberry bush can grow up to 80% prickly.

To summarize this point of the conversation: reproduction by root cuttings occurs in autumn or early spring. We very carefully dig out the root system of the mother plant completely. The roots must be cut off at a distance of at least 60 cm from the base of the root. For such reproduction, we use only those bushes that have reached the age of three. The average thickness of such a formed root is up to 1.5 centimeters.

Young offspring are only 5-10 centimeters long. The prepared material can be used at the same time, or it can be left for storage at home. For the winter, the collected root material is transferred to the basement; be sure to store it in a container with wet sand. In early spring, cuttings must be planted in open ground.

As experienced gardeners advise, the cutting can be germinated a little before planting. To do this, simply place the root cuttings in a small container of sawdust, slightly moistened. In a couple of weeks, they are able to give small shoots.

During planting, the stalk must be laid in a groove, it is advisable to create rows for planting with root cuttings, so there is more chance of getting enough material. The depth of the groove is no more than 12 centimeters. The distance between the furrows is up to 20 cm, and the row spacing should be up to 80 centimeters wide, in case young shoots are able to root very quickly and begin active development.

Sprinkle the laid cuttings with soil, rather loose, carry out regular watering until rooting. During the summer season, it is desirable, even recommended, to carry out up to 7-10 loosening and weeding from weeds in the grooves.

If you follow all the step-by-step instructions for the fall, you get excellent planting material for your garden. New seedlings are sufficiently formed and have at least 2 high-quality shoots, a developed root system.

How to propagate blackberries by cuttings. Using green or lignified stems

A lignified stem cutting, or green, can be used to propagate blackberry plantings. Since the stalk is green, therefore, harvesting is carried out in the summer period, June-July.

This method can be easily combined with classic pruning during the summer growing season. When the bushes are cut for shaping and to comply with the norm in additional shoots.

Fact! The method is applicable to varieties of creeping development. A similar method is used for the following varieties: Black Satin, Thornfree, Thornless Logan. There are varieties of blackberry hybrids that are unable to reproduce by this method, for example, Dirksen Thornless. Completely incapable of rooting Smutstem.

The sequence of breeding blackberries in a similar way. In the middle of summer, green cuttings are cut off from the shoot in small pieces. They must have at least 2 developmental buds.

Only the third part of the shoot tip can take root, and it is desirable and recommended to cut off the tops, where the last two buds are located. As a result, the stalk has no more than 2 leaves, the lower of which is removed, leaving only the stalk from the leaf. The top sheet must be cut in half.

After that, plant the finished cuttings in a small container, you can use ordinary plastic cups. The container is filled with the required soil composition: part of the peat + part of the loose composition (perlite, sand).

Take note! For high-quality rooting, each cutting can be processed before planting by dipping it into a growth and root formation stimulator. You can use Heteroauxin or Kornevin.

After that, all containers with cuttings are moved to a greenhouse or greenhouse. The humidity there is quite high, which contributes to the comfortable germination of the cuttings. In greenhouses, when water evaporates, a kind of fog is always formed, and it is this that contributes to positive results.

You can also create a mini greenhouse if there is no greenhouse. We just cover the containers with cuttings with glass or foil. After a month, you can observe the active growth of seedlings, the formation of roots. After a month and a half, young bushes are transplanted to a permanent site for growing blackberries.

Note! Lack of high humidity and the semblance of fog will result in a lower percentage of expected results. Most of the cuttings will not take root. Statistics speaks of only 10% of sprouted planting material. In general, the method is considered ineffective if the necessary conditions are not created.

Application for propagation of lignified cuttings. A similar method is used in the case when in the summer season you have not prepared green cuttings. In the fall, it is possible to cut more woody cuttings.

An important point! Not every blackberry variety is subject to this method; a lot of harvested material will simply die.

What is needed for high-quality reproduction with a lignified cuttings:

• First, in the autumn season we choose an annual bush that has developed solid shoots, cuttings are cut at least 20 centimeters in length (maximum 30 cm).
• The second - we dig in on the territory of the garden to a depth of 20 centimeters. So we leave for the winter. We dig it out in the spring, we update the cut point, only in a two-way manner. As a result, the length of each stalk is at least 20 cm.

We place the material in rows at a distance of 10 cm from each other, sprinkle it again with soil. Weeding and watering should be done regularly. We are just waiting for the shoots to emerge. You can create a semblance of a greenhouse, arrange arcs and cover with polyethylene. After germination of bushes with up to 3 independent leaves, carefully remove them from the ground, plant the cuttings in a permanent place for growing blackberries.

There is a way of breeding, though less popular, it is used sleeping kidney by placing in water (similar to reproduction by lignified cuttings). How it's done. Already at the end of February and beginning of March, the cuttings, harvested in the fall, are placed in jars of water; it is necessary to place the container on the windowsills.

The tip of the cutting should be directed downwards, that is, it should be in the water. It is on the upper part that the apical buds begin to appear. Fill the container with water so that it covers only the lowest kidney. Water has a tendency to evaporate, so it must be constantly topped up.

After the appearance of 1-3 roots, you can transplant the cutting into a separate container (you can pot), filled with loose soil. Provided a stable warm temperature outside, the seedling can be safely planted in a permanent place. It is necessary to take into account the temperature not only outside, but also the warming up of the soil. You should not place the seedling in poorly warmed soil.

How to propagate a blackberry by dividing a bush

Blackberry breeding scheme by dividing the bush

This method is used when it is not possible to use the methods described above. In cases where:

• shrub is not able to form additional young shoots;
• it is impossible to bend the top of the plant to the soil (upright varieties).

Regarding the timing of breeding by a similar method. The division of the bushes is possible at the earliest stage of spring: when the last snow has melted, you can start the process. If the procedure is carried out in the fall, then - four weeks before the first frost appears. During the period before the cold weather, the young shoot can practically take root.

The use of this method of reproduction occurs during normal autumn work with blackberry shrubs, when they are prepared for the winter, they carry out the classical stratification of the bushes, and the seedlings of the divided bush have time to develop excellent immunity.

Before that, you need to dig out the bush itself. Next, we divide the bush into almost equal parts, on each division there should be at least 2-3 independent shoots, which have perfectly developed roots. And on the roots there is at least 1 underground bud. Bushes older than 3 years are not used for such reproduction.

We follow the standard steps. Divided seedlings must be placed in pre-prepared holes. When choosing a bush for dividing, take into account the age, quality, the presence of separate shoots, whether the root system is developed in each separated part. If you choose the right enough bush, you can get at least 6 new bushes.

Conclusion

In our article, we are concise, but accessible and understandable, figured out how to propagate a blackberry correctly, in propagation methods. We considered the most applicable to certain growing conditions and varietal characteristics of the grown blackberries.

Experimenting is not only allowed, it is even recommended by all experts in agricultural technology and just experienced gardeners.Since having checked each breeding method on your plantings, you can choose the most optimal options for yourself and exclude methods that are not adapted to your conditions.

It is not a fact that at the first attempts you will succeed at the level of 100% of the desired result. But striving for the best possible success will motivate you to improve the quality of your efforts and results from time to time. Only positive emotions and a desire to reach the victorious end, having received quality material for subsequent cultivation.

In countries where blackberries grow in the wild, many refer to them as a weed bush, a berry weed. In nature, blackberries reproduce very easily by simply bending to the ground, and in the near future they take root in that place.

Cultivated varieties of blackberries, of course, are endowed with many qualities that are distinctive from wild blackberries. But the essence remains the essence, it is recommended to try, initially, the method of propagation with the tips of the shoots. You can dig a whole shoot. Good luck in your endeavors. The main thing is desire and diligence. There will definitely be a result.