Every modern gardener is familiar with such a unique plant as the blackberry. A large berry of the Rosaceae family is distinguished by its dark color, rather sweet and aromatic taste. In addition, blackberries, the care of which is quite simple, have a large number of useful properties and substances that help in the fight against various diseases that occur in the winter, such as colds and tuberculosis. These reasons are enough to spend the necessary amount of time to care for blackberries, which, in return for the efforts made, will bear juicy and tasty fruits.
Features of plant care
Blackberry belongs to a number of plants that do not require frequent watering and tolerate drought well, but during the period of flowering and fruit ripening, the berry should be watered as often as possible. In order to retain moisture as long as possible, mulch is laid at the base of the bush.
Caring for blackberries in autumn and winter requires mineral and organic top dressing, as well as various fertilizers. The soil must be constantly loosened, and weeds under the bush must be removed regularly. The plant is of two types: with thorns and without. Prickly varieties have high frost resistance, but theirthe thornless analogue is subject to freezing and often does not tolerate high frosts in Russia. To prevent the bushes from freezing and to ensure proper care for the blackberries in the fall, various measures are taken to help keep the bush intact.
Planting blackberries
In order to increase the frost-resistant properties, the berry should be planted in the spring. It is better to plant blackberries in places that are well consecrated and protected from strong winds. The soil can be completely different, but the most favorable is the land with humus content. Groundwater located under the bush should not reach more than 1-1.5 m from the surface of the earth. Young shoots of the plant can be either creeping or erect, so blackberry care in the fall is carried out depending on the type of plant. The first and second are characterized by a 2-year development cycle: in the first half, the blackberry grows in height, and in the second growth it goes wide, and branches appear on the shoots, on which fruits will form in the future.
Pruning blackberries in autumn
This is a rather serious procedure, since it directly depends on whether the plant will bear fruit next year, and whether it will recover at all after winter frosts.
In order for the plant not to freeze, it is necessary to ensure proper pruning and care for blackberries in the fall. Pruning of the plant begins in August, immediately after the plant bears fruit and begins to dry out. Regardless of what period of ripening and fruiting different bushes have in their summer cottage, they are cutand prepare for winter at the end of September. Old last year's shoots are removed to the very root in order to avoid the development of a variety of bacteria and pests in them. Along with these procedures, you can do the following - cut off the young, as well as pinch the shoots that appeared in the spring of this year. This is done so that high shoots (1.5-2 m) stop growing up and retain strength for lateral shoots. Blackberries, which are a hassle to take care of, are difficult to prune.
The most difficult task is to work with her prickly branches. For their processing, use thick gloves to protect your hands from scratches. All diseased, dry and weak branches are cut and burned. When planting new seedlings, they are immediately cut off (at a height of 25-30 cm from the ground), which makes it possible to develop new shoots. A trellis is immediately installed next to the bush, on which the branches and shoots of the plant can lie. A he althy bush should consist of no more than 7-8 fruitful branches. In the case when the shoots grow to a height of more than 1–1.3 m, they are shortened by 10–15 cm. Blackberry pruning increases the yield and frost resistance of the plant. Blackberry cuttings are also made in autumn. It should be noted that only upright plant varieties can be divided into root cuttings. All of the above facts will help plan and organize the necessary care for blackberries in the fall, which should be pruned with high quality and on time.
Preparing for winter
Due to increased sensitivity to winterfrost, the plant has not yet gained wide popularity and distribution among gardeners and summer residents. Of the more than 200 types of blackberries, hardly a dozen are popular. That is why special care is needed for blackberries in the fall. It includes careful selection of planting site, growing conditions and proper preparation for winter starting in summer.
Shelter plants for the winter
Blackberry care in autumn begins with preparing the plant for wintering, providing it with all the necessary conditions. At a temperature of 10-18 degrees, blackberries should be covered for the winter, using a variety of methods and methods known to the people.
For example, after all the shoots are cut and laid, they can be insulated with corn leaves and plastic wrap. Blackberry branches that are bent to the ground for styling and insulation often break. To prevent this, a load is attached at the base of the plant since the summer, gradually inclining the process to the ground. Thus, by autumn, the plant independently forms a slope. In addition to corn leaves, dry leaves, tops, straw, roofing material, sawdust and manure can be used as insulation, allowing you to save the plant throughout the winter. With the advent of spring, the bush is freed from insulating materials, dead stems are removed, and he althy shoots are attached to the trellis. Shelter for the winter and caring for blackberries in the fall in the Moscow region does not require much effort.
Pests and Diseases Precautions
In the process of growth and fruiting, the plant more than onceis attacked by various ticks, goldfish and other unwanted companions. For example, a blackberry gall mite, no larger than 0.2 mm in size, winters on a bush, and in spring it moves to the flowers of the plant, settling there until the fruits appear.
The insect spreads with the help of wind and other insects, sucking juice from the leaves of the plant and leaving red bulges on them - galls. In order to fight after harvesting, fruitful shoots are completely cut out and destroyed. After the shoots are cut out, the place is sprayed with a solution of garlic, laundry soap and pyrethrum. To prevent relapse in the spring of next year, the bush is treated with the same solution. Zlatka is a beetle that lays eggs on the bark of shoots. The insect gnaws passages in the stems, after which the shoots dry out and die. They destroy insects using various sprayers and by mechanical shaking off the bushes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is worth noting that careful care and timely shelter of blackberries for the winter will not take long, and at the first opportunity will delight the owners with juicy, tasty and fragrant berries.
To clarify some special points, you can look into the encyclopedia of garden plants, which widely reveals the features, pruning, planting and caring for blackberries in the fall. Photos indicating the sequence of work performed will help to cope with any task that arises in the process of caring for a plant.
