Every modern gardener is familiar with such a unique plant as the blackberry. The large berry of the Pink family is distinguished by dark color, rather sweet and fragrant taste. In addition, the blackberry, whose care is simple enough, has a lot of useful properties and substances that help in the fight against various diseases that occur in the winter, such as colds and tuberculosis. These arguments are enough to spend the necessary amount of time to care for the blackberry, which, in response to the efforts it has made, will bring juicy and tasty fruits.
Features of care of a plant
Blackberry belongs to a number of plants that do not require frequent irrigation and are well tolerated by drought, however, during the flowering and ripening period, the berries should be watered as often as possible. In order to keep moisture as long as possible, mulch is placed at the base of the bush. Care for the blackberry in autumn and winter requires mineral and organic top dressing, as well as various fertilizers. The soil must always be kept in a loosened state, and the removal of weeds under the bush should be carried out regularly. The plant is of two types: with spines and without. Prickly varieties have high frost resistance, but their unsmiling analog is subject to freezing and often does not tolerate high frosts in the territory of Russia. To prevent the freezing of bushes and ensure proper care for the blackberry in the fall, resort to various measures that help preserve the bush unscathed.
Blackberry Landing
In order to increase the frost-resistant properties, berries should be planted in the spring. Blackberries should be planted in well-consecrated and sheltered places. The soil can be completely different, but the most favorable is the land with humus content. Groundwater, located under the bush, should not exceed 1-1.5 m from the surface of the earth. Young plant shoots can be either creeping or erect, so care for the blackberry in autumn is carried out depending on the type of plant. The first and second are characterized by a 2-year cycle of development: in the first half of the blackberry grows in height, and in the second growth is wide, and branches appear on shoots, in which fruit is produced in the future.
Pruning blackberry in the fall
This is quite a serious procedure, as it directly depends on it, whether the plant will bear fruit next year, and whether it will recover after winter frosts. To prevent the plant from freezing, it is necessary to ensure proper pruning and care for the blackberry in the fall. Pruning plants begins in August, immediately after the plant has been fertilized and begins to dry. Regardless of the period of ripening and fruiting in different bushes in the suburban area, they are cut off and prepared 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 various bacteria and pests in them. Along with these procedures, you can do the following - cut young animals, and pinch shoots that appeared in the spring of this year. This is done so that the high sprouts (1.5-2 m) cease to grow upward and retain strength for lateral shoots. Blackberries, care of which provides a lot of trouble, hard to prune. The most difficult task is working with its spiny branches. For their processing, use dense gloves to protect your hands from scratches. All sick, dry and weak branches are cut and burned. When planting new seedlings, they are immediately cut (at a height of 25-30 cm from the ground), which makes it possible to develop new shoots. Near the bush immediately set the trellis, which will be able to lay down branches and shoots of the plant. A healthy bush should consist of no more than 7-8 fruit-bearing 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. Pruning the blackberry increases the yield and frost resistance of the plant. Blackberry cuttings are also produced in autumn. It should be noted that only the upright varieties of the plant can be subdivided into root cuttings. All of the above facts will help plan and organize the necessary care for the blackberry in the autumn, pruning of which should be done qualitatively and on time.
Preparing for winter
Because of the increased sensitivity to winter frost, the plant has not yet gained wide popularity and spread among gardeners and summer residents. Of the more than 200 types of blackberries popular is scarcely a dozen. That's why you need special care for the blackberry in the fall. It includes a careful selection of the landing site, growing conditions and proper preparation for the winter, beginning in the summer.
Shelter of the plant for the winter
Care for the blackberry in the fall begins with the preparation of the plant for wintering, providing it with all the necessary conditions. At a temperature of 10-18 degrees, the blackberry should be sheltered 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 polyethylene film. Blackberry branches, inclined to the ground for styling and warming, often break down. To prevent this, a weight is attached to the base of the plant from the summer, gradually tending the process to the ground. Thus, by autumn the plant independently forms a slope. In addition to corn leaves, dry leaves, tops, straws, roofing materials, sawdust and manure can be used as warming to preserve the plant throughout the winter. With the advent of spring the bush is released from the warming materials, the dead stems are removed, and healthy shoots are attached to the trellis. Shelter for the winter and care for the blackberry in the autumn in the suburbs does not require much effort.
Pests and Diseases: Precautions
In the process of growth and fruiting, the plant is repeatedly attacked by various mites, zlatki and other undesirable moons. For example, a blackberry gall mite, no larger than 0.2 mm, hibernates on a bush, and in spring moves to the flower of the plant, settling there until the appearance of the fruit. The insect is spread with the help of wind and other insects, sucking out the juice from the leaves of the plant and leaving them with bulges of red color - galls. In order to fight after harvesting, fruit 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 feverfew. To prevent a relapse in the spring of next year, the bush is treated with the same solution. Zlatka is a beetle laying eggs on the bark of shoots. The insect gnaws through the stems, after which the shoots wither and die. Destroy insects with various sprayers and by mechanical shaking off the bushes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be noted that careful care and timely shelter of the blackberry for the winter will not take long to wait, and at the first opportunity will please the hosts with juicy, tasty and fragrant berries. To clarify some special moments, you can look into the encyclopedia of garden plants, widely revealing features, pruning, planting and care for the blackberry in the fall. Photos that indicate the sequence of work performed will help to cope with any task that arises in the care of the plant.