Black raspberries planting and care, propagation of Black raspberries

Black raspberries have a high yield. Up to 5 kg are collected from one bush. very tasty and aromatic berries. No raspberry variety has such healing qualities as Black raspberry. And caring for it is quite simple.

Planting Black Raspberries

Red raspberries are usually planted along the fence, but this is not a good place for Black raspberries. It is better to plant it in the corner of the site where there are no drafts. It is recommended to plant seedlings in early spring. Black raspberries are not as winter-hardy as red ones. Young, weakly rooted sprouts may not survive a harsh winter. When planting in autumn, this must be taken into account and the seedlings should be covered with insulating materials.

It is better to plant in rows, at a distance of 50 - 70 cm from each other and 1.5 - 2 meters between rows. Both red and black raspberries do not tolerate waterlogged soils. But at the same time, the soil in the rows must be moist, so the plantings must be mulched. Dry leaves, straw, peat, and humus are suitable for this. Whatever you have on hand. This is done to ensure that as much moisture as possible is retained in the soil.

A characteristic feature of Black raspberries is the absence of root shoots, which makes caring for them much easier. Due to the lack of shoots, reproduction is very different from that of its red and yellow relatives.

Black raspberry propagation

Black raspberries are propagated by apical layering. To do this, just bend the top of the head to the ground, fix it with something and sprinkle it with humus. Very soon, adventitious roots will appear in this place. This should be done at the end of summer or early autumn. In winter, the rooted layer is covered with straw or sawdust and until spring it no longer requires any care. The next year it is separated from the mother bush and planted in a permanent place. Such a seedling will give its first harvest next year.

If many layerings are needed, propagation is carried out slightly differently. In the spring, all the stems on one of the bushes are cut off, almost to the ground. Over the summer, strong, powerful shoots should grow. In August, they are pinned to the ground in pre-dug grooves. When additional roots appear, the stems are sprinkled with humus, but not completely. The leaves should remain open. In winter, these layers also need to be covered with insulating material.

Young plants will grow and form only by the fall of next year. Only then will they be ready to be planted in a permanent place.

Caring for Black Raspberries

Black raspberries do not require care, but respond very well to the application of organic fertilizers. If, when planting, you add humus to the beds at the rate of 10 kg. per 1 sq. meter, then the plants will have enough nutrients for several years. But if this is not possible, then you can apply fertilizers throughout the season. For fertilizing, it is better to use complex mineral fertilizers or organic matter. Before applying liquid fertilizers, the soil must be well watered. This is done to avoid burns to the roots.

There are two ways to form black raspberry bushes. The easiest way is to prune it just like a regular raspberry. In autumn, all fruit-bearing shoots are cut out. Be sure to bend the remaining young stems to the ground for the winter. This way they will survive the winter better. And in the spring, shorten them to a height of 150 cm and tie them to a trellis. That's all.

But Black raspberries can be grown without trellises, which also simplifies the care of raspberries. When the young shoots grow to a height of 50 - 60 cm, the top of their head is pinched. After this, the lateral processes begin to actively grow. By autumn they can grow up to 1 meter. In this form the bush goes into winter. In the spring, 5-6 buds are left on these shoots, and the rest is cut off. With this method of double pruning, you get a low and powerful bush that does not need a trellis.

Black raspberry bushes look very picturesque during fruiting, when they are literally strewn with shimmering black berries. In terms of its decorative value, Black raspberry is second only to Japanese raspberry. And thanks to its healing qualities, it may soon compete with traditional raspberry varieties.

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