Blackberry "Triple Crown" ("Triple Crown"): description of the variety and peculiarities of cultivation

Blue-black berry came to us not so long ago. It is not as popular as other traditional garden crops, such as raspberries or currants.Her gardeners in vain underestimate. In America - in their homeland, and in the countries of the European Union, various varieties of blackberry are grown on an industrial scale. The berries are very attractive in appearance, fragrant and have a pleasant unusual taste. And the plant itself is very unpretentious and suitable for cultivation even for the beginner gardener-lover.

Blackberries have a wild origin, but breeders have taken care to improve the species. Thus, it turned out one of the best universal varieties both for cultivation in private households, and for commercial purposes. Blackberry "Triple Crown" has delicious fruits, from which you can make all kinds of preparations or eat fresh. A detailed description of the variety will help to get acquainted with all the characteristics of the variety.

Blackberry "Triple Crown" (the name translates from English) was created by breeders from the United States, like many other species of this plant. Oregon scientists were engaged in improving it. The result was one of the most worthy varieties of dessert destination. A semi-upright bush requires a garter during the season and is laid on the ground during the winter. The variety is medium late. The maturation of the crop is very dependent on the region and the specific climatic conditions.

Shoots grow steadily annually, very quickly. They need to be cut periodically, sometimes up to two times a season or up to three times a year. Blackberries are collected in the brush berries, which is very convenient when collecting. Facilitates the care of the bushes and their lack of thorns. The variety does not have guaranteed winter hardiness and is afraid of frost as low as -15 degrees. Therefore, it is necessary to safely cover it even in the southern part of the country.

The “Triple Crown” is distinguished by very large and beautiful-looking fruits with a glossy dark black color with a tint. The shape of the berries is oval. The skin is quite dense, which allows the crop to withstand transportation well and be stored for quite some time. The taste qualities of blackberries are very high, they are appreciated perfectly even by gourmets. In technical maturity, the berries are sweet with a pleasant light sourness. They are distinguished by a tangible aftertaste of sweet cherries.

Due to the deep, well-branched root system, the plant tolerates heat well, not drying out and not throwing off the fruit. In the long dry season, the bushes are best to try pritenyat. The yield of "Triple Crown" is considered to be quite high by specialists. With proper care from the bush you can collect about 12 kilograms of berries. At the same time, at the end of the season, they do not become shallow and do not lose their taste properties provided that the weather is sunny enough. Berry picking can be carried out throughout September, if there were no frosts.

It is important to choose the right sapling and landing time. The young seedling is chosen with unblown buds and necessarily hidden root system. They must be sold in pots, boxes, or dark dense packages. Be sure to have a growth kidney in the area of ​​the radical neck. This should pay special attention. Experts believe that biennial seedlings with a solid lignified root system can be purchased and open, without an earthy large coma.

When choosing a site for cultivation, it is worth remembering some features of the culture. You should choose a place well lit by the sun. In the shade the berries grow smaller and with a noticeable acid in taste. The best place will be the territory near the fence. The natural fence will protect the landing from the wind, especially in winter. And the plants themselves will be an excellent decorative fence. In addition, the fence can serve as the basis for the construction of a trellis, because the culture is quite tall and needs garter.

Soil is not a determining factor when growing blackberries. To this condition, culture is quite unpretentious. However, it is better not to plant bushes on too heavy soil, loam. Too acidic land before planting for a couple of months is deoxidized with lime or wood ash.

Considerable distance between young saplings dictates the particular preparation of the pit. Belt-like landing is undesirable because of the large amount of unnecessary work. The optimal time for planting is in the spring after the main frosts have left. This can be done in early May. When planting in the ground in the fall will have to perform additional measures to protect the plant from frost.

For seedlings dig holes about 60 by 60 centimeters and up to half a meter deep. The excavated soil is mixed with humus, wood ash and complex mineral fertilizer. The volume of the whole mixture is divided into 2 parts. One poured back into the groove, another sprinkled bush after planting on top. In this case, the neck of the blackberry bush should be above the ground. The culture after disembarking is well watered. This will require about 10-15 liters of water per bush. After that, remove all extra branches and prune shoots, leaving a height of only about 10 centimeters. Land after irrigation is nice to mulch.

Culture is unpretentious enough. Caring for it includes the usual care measures for shrubs and other crops. The plant is weeded in a wheel circle, periodically watered and loosened the earth for better oxygen supply to the roots. They also carry out top dressing, seasonal pruning and well cover the blackberry for the winter period.

Abundant watering of the blackberry is not required. Regular watering of the “Triple Crown” is only necessary for 2-3 weeks after disembarking. In the rest of the time in the presence of precipitation, the blackberry does not need additional moisture. In the dry summer shrubs are watered once a week. It will be necessary to water the bushes only during the period of fruit set and their active and amicable ripening.

Loosen the bush is only after planting. The rest of the time, it is better not to touch the root system, which is located close to the ground surface. Damage to the roots can cause further growth of young shoots. And for getting a good harvest, thickening with greens is undesirable. To avoid the growth of weeds and the rapid evaporation of water from the surface of the earth, it is possible to mulch the near-stem circle with dry grass or humus with leaves.

Feed the plant in spring and autumn. Most experienced gardeners reduce fertilizer to spring activities. Experts recommend fertilizing not every year, but at least through the season, because the green parts of the blackberry grow so intensively. Nitrogen fertilizers are recommended in the spring season. Moreover, preference is better to give natural, organic compounds. It can be chicken, cow or horse manure. Bred it in the ratio of one to ten.

Manure can be replaced with home-made fertilizer. Food waste and weeds soaked in water insist for about five days. After the appearance of the characteristic smell of fermentation, the mixture is diluted in the same proportion as the manure. Watered with such a composition of the plant for better growth of green mass during the growing season. It is considered a good free replacement for manure. If you really do not want to get dirty, they fertilize the blackberry with ammonium nitrate or regular urea.

Every three years, it is advised to carry out capital measures. Under each bush, up to two buckets of humus are mixed, mixed with two spoons of superphosphate and the same amount of dry potash fertilizers. In mid-September, after the final gathering of berries, you can fertilize the bush for recovery. To do this, it is watered with dissolved nitroammofoskoy. For 7 liters of water, take two tablespoons of the pellets without a slide, mix thoroughly and pour it into one or two bushes, depending on their size and age.

If you plant this exotic berry, you should know that you shouldn’t over-pruning the stems in spring and summer. The peculiarity of the culture is that thickened planting forms less foliage, but you can get more berry ovaries. Therefore, some thickening here is even welcome.

In the spring, you need to take care of the installation of trellis in advance, because "Triple Crown" needs them. Ideal if the bushes grow near the fence. Otherwise, wooden blocks are hammered into the ground or the reinforcement is cemented at a distance of approximately two meters from each other. Then they attach three lines of wire or twine to them through half a meter. Growing stalks as they grow attach to a support.

After the stems grow to the upper tier, they are allowed to grow another 15 centimeters. Then pruned, and side slips begin to form on the shoots. It is on them and the formation of the harvest of blackberry. In the fall, they prune old, damaged, diseased shoots. Young parts bend gently to the ground. To do this, you can use the similarity of wire studs or special accessories that are sold in the store.

Covering blackberries in the winter is necessary. The most unfavorable period for a plant is the time when substantial frosts begin and snow cover does not yet exist. It is important to close the blackberry for the winter just before this time. In winter, if possible, wrap bushes in addition, throwing snow off the tracks on them. In a soft snowdrift, the plants survive the cold better.

Common diseases and pests of the plant are not terrible. Most often take a fancy shoots can ordinary aphid. Get rid of it is not difficult. To do this in the morning, preferably at sunrise, you need to prepare a tobacco solution. 150 grams of tobacco dust is dissolved in a bucket of water. A couple of spoons of liquid soap is also added there for better adhesion of the solution to the shoots. You can use the usual household rubbed soap of the same volume. All parts of the plant are sprayed with warm water. Unpretentious culture in rare cases may be affected by diseases characteristic of raspberries. These are mainly fungi and bacteria that live in the soil. As a preventive measure, it is good to shed a planting pit with a solution of Bordeaux mixture or saturated pink manganese during the planting of a bush.

The most common are two diseases on the blackberry.

• Septoria affects all aboveground parts of the plant. The color and condition of the bark changes, cracking occurs. The buds fall away, and the berries are not tied; with the defeat of the plant at a later date, the fruits can not ripen.
• To defeat Fragmidum chop the mushroom indicate the following signs: the formation of rusty plaque on the leaves, covering the leaf shell with yellow sprawling spores, which gradually turn black and cover the buds and the entire area of ​​shoots.

Diseases can be stopped by detecting them in time and starting treatment immediately. In addition to the widespread sale of special tools, you can make the solution yourself. For this you need garlic or green garlic arrows. To do this, warm water is soaked 300 grams of herbs or chopped garlic teeth. Leave the infusion for a day, and then filter well through cheesecloth. Dilute the resulting concentrate with water in a ratio of one to 20.

The blackberry "Triple Crown" has many advantages and it is almost impossible to find flaws. It is especially appreciated by amateur gardeners, as an unpretentious plant forgives many mistakes and provides a friendly return of the crop.

Reviews constantly engaged in breeding blackberries as a whole are also quite positive. They note the unusually large size of the berries, excellent taste. In terms of yield, the Triple Crown is more likely an average variety, although with proper attention to the crop, good yields can be obtained.

Those who grow blackberries for sale, note its high commercial quality, good keeping quality and transportability. However, not everyone is satisfied with the extended period of ripening and picking berries. This can be considered not a disadvantage, but a feature of this variety. For someone it is convenient. In the regions with the early onset of autumn, this feature is not quite suitable, since in September, due to frosts, you can lose up to 10% of the crop.

In general, gardeners are unanimous in opinion and highlight a number of indisputable advantages of the Triple Crown variety:

• fruits of large size with a sweet taste and excellent marketable qualities;
• with a long graded period of ripening of the crop, by the end of the season, the berries do not shrink and do not lose their taste properties;
• the culture is practically not sick and is resistant to various types of pests;
• the grade possesses high drought resistance and is undemanding in agrotechnology;
• bushes feel good when growing on any type of soil and practically do not require special measures to improve it, it is enough to carry out only regular feeding;
• the plant has decorative properties and can serve as a beautiful hedge - in the spring it is strewn with flowers, and in the fall - with spectacular, shiny tassels of black berries;
• harvesting is convenient due to the absence of thorns on the branches.

The only minor drawback of the blackberry is the low winter hardiness. In the southern regions, it quite well endures the winter. Hosts in the northern and central regions should also not deny themselves the pleasure of eating this black berry with a refreshing taste. This feature of the variety is corrected by measures for insulating shoots for the winter. This is easy to do, especially since for the remainder of the time, the blackberry does not require much worries. In winter, shoots are removed from the trellis and bend to the ground. Reliably winter help two layers of protection in the form of a spunbond or other usual covering material.

In the next video you will find a review of the Triple Crown Blackberry.