Contents
Blackberry Arapaho is a heat-loving Arkansas variety that is gaining popularity in Our Country. The sweet fragrant berry has somewhat lost its yield, adapting to a cool climate. Consider what is needed for successful cultivation of a crop.
History of breeding
The variety is the result of the breeding work of Arkansas scientists. Appeared by crossing forms Ark-631 and Ark-883. The author is the scientist James N. Moore, under whose name it is patented. Used in America since 1992.
Description of berry culture
The description of the Arapaho blackberry should be given in order to have a broader idea of the variety. This representative of the family outwardly practically does not differ from other species of this culture.
General idea of the variety
Arapaho blackberry bush with powerful straight shoots. They have lateral branches on which berries appear. In the regions, the height of the bush reaches 3 meters. The leaves are green, formed from five plates, serrated along the edge. It blooms with white flowers from 5 petals collected in a brush of 6 pieces.
It bears fruit with conical berries. There is an opinion that this variety is the best in terms of taste and smell.
Berries
Looking at a photo of an Arapaho blackberry, we see shiny, black fruits. The largest ones reach a weight of 10 g, but basically their weight is 5-6 g. The seeds are small. Berry of the correct form, dense, is well transported. Sweet delicate taste.
Characterization
The characteristics of the Arapaho blackberry variety include the following points:
- Flowering period and harvest time.
- crop yield.
- Using berries.
- Diseases and pests and how to deal with them.
- Advantages and disadvantages.
Let’s consider these points in more detail.
Main advantages
Blackberry is an unpretentious plant, but careful care will allow you to get a good harvest every year. It is drought-resistant, winter-hardy, but requires shelter for the winter. An important feature of the variety is the absence of thorns, which facilitates the collection of berries and the care of bushes.
Flowering period and ripening period
The beginning of flowering is June-July. In the southern regions, the fruits appear in early July, in the middle lane – this is the 20th of the month. Dates depend on weather conditions. In early spring, flowering and fruiting can begin earlier by 1,5 weeks.
Yield indicators, fruiting terms
Fruiting in Arapaho blackberries continues in July-August, usually it lasts for 4 weeks. The term depends on the region of cultivation. By advancing plantings to the north, harvesting dates are shifted by 1,5 weeks.
The blackberry variety Arapaho (Arapaho) has an average yield per bush of 4 kg, but the further north it grows, the smaller the yield.
Scope of berries
Blackberries contain useful trace elements and vitamins. Used in cooking. It is useful to brew tea from the leaves. The extract from the berries is added to perfumes, medicines and fees.
Disease and pest resistance
The description and characteristics of the Arapaho blackberry indicate its disease resistance. Despite this, conditions should be created to exclude their occurrence.
Advantages and disadvantages
The Arapaho blackberry variety has a number of characteristic features. Among them, positive and vice versa signs of the variety can be distinguished.
Advantages:
- Sweet.
- Juicy, aromatic.
- Small seeds.
- Transportable.
- Unpretentious.
- Has no spikes.
Disadvantages:
- Not cold hardy enough.
- Low yield.
- The yield decreases as you move north.
Methods of reproduction
The best way to propagate blackberry Arapaho is to bend the top of the shoot to the ground, secure it with a clothespin and sprinkle with soil. The plant will begin to take root. By next spring, we can separate it from the mother bush and use it as an independent seedling.
Propagated by root cuttings. Leave the strongest straight shoots until autumn, when they form their own root system. The young plant is dug up and planted in the right place.
Rules of landing
Planting and caring for Arapaho blackberries requires the fulfillment of certain requirements that will ensure the good development of the plant and a decent harvest.
Recommended dates
Arapaho blackberries are planted in the spring before bud break and at a temperature of +15 0C.
For the central region, planting dates are April and October.
Choosing the right place
When choosing a place, it should be borne in mind that the plant requires protection from bright sunlight and wind. It is convenient to plant along the fence, stepping back from it one and a half meters.
Soil Preparation
Bushy blackberry Arapaho requires fertile soil with good drainage, sandy loam fertilized with compost or humus is suitable.
Selection and preparation of seedlings
Arapaho blackberry seedling must have at least 4 developed roots 10 cm long, pay attention to the presence of a basal bud.
A good top has two stems and fresh foliage. The seedling should be free of signs of disease and damage.
If the seedling is purchased in a pot, it is enough to shed the soil well so that the roots are saturated with water. Remove damaged roots and branches, shorten too long.
Algorithm and landing scheme
The thornless Arapaho blackberry is easier to plant. Her stems are erect and the gap between them makes a meter and 2-3 m between the rows.
Holes for seedlings are prepared two weeks before planting. Their size is 40×40 cm, the depth is the same. Humus, superphosphate and potassium are added to each. The root neck needs to be deepened, on light soils by 3 cm, on loams 2 cm is enough.
After the roots are covered with earth, the seedling is watered, the earth around is covered with mulch. For a month and a half, seedlings are watered regularly.
Culture aftercare
The principle of caring for blackberries does not differ from the usual for berry bushes – watering, loosening, pruning, harvesting, preparing for wintering.
Growing principles
Powerful blackberry shoots Arapaho require a garter. Arrange a trellis from racks, up to 2 meters high, attach 3 rows of wire. The shoots are formed with a slope to the ground so that they do not break when laid under a winter shelter.
The shoots between the rows are cut out. Up to 6 replacement shoots are left in the bush, which will ensure a good harvest.
The tops of young shoots are cut off at the level of a meter to get side branches on which berries are formed.
Necessary activities
Growing Arapaho blackberries includes the following activities:
- Watering.
- Top dressing.
- Loosening.
- Mulching.
The variety is drought-resistant, requires watering when planting. In the future, it is watered during severe drought and before wintering.
Loosening the soil enriches it with oxygen, removes the soil crust. In order not to do this often, you can simply mulch the soil regularly. Mulch does not allow weeds to grow, protects the roots from drying out and overheating.
shrub pruning
In the year of planting seedlings, inflorescences are removed so that the root system develops better. The following year, in the spring, before bud break, the tops of the shoots are cut off at a height of 1,5-2 m.
Broken and dried shoots are cut annually, shortening them to a living bud.
At the beginning of summer, young shoots are removed, leaving no more than 6 trunks. They pinch the tops by 5 cm for better branching.
In autumn, shoots are cut out on a stump, from which the harvest is harvested. For a complete understanding of growing, it is better to watch a video about Arapaho blackberries.
Preparation for winter
In autumn, when the temperature is close to zero, the blackberry stalks are removed from the trellises, tied into bundles, bent to the ground and secured so that they do not rise.
The roots are mulched with peat, leaves, humus. The falling snow will complete the job. Such a shelter is enough for the blackberry to overwinter.
Diseases and pests: methods of control and prevention
Here are the main dangers for the development of blackberries and how to eliminate them.
Pests or diseases | Evidence | Methods of struggle | Processing frequency |
blackberry mite | ugly fruits appear | Treatment with fitoverm, fufanol, actellik | Before and after flowering. |
crimson beetle | Holes on leaves and ovaries, rotten berries. | Treatment with fitoverm, fufanol, actellik every 10 days. | Before and after flowering. |
Mučnistaâ rosa | White coating on leaves, berries. | Spraying with oxychom, foundationazole, vectra. | Before flowering, when the ovary appears. |
Conclusion
Blackberry Arapaho is increasingly appearing in summer cottages. This shrub will give delicious fragrant berries the next year after planting. If you make even minimal efforts to care for him, he will produce a crop of at least 10 years. A beautiful trellis of blackberry bushes will serve as a green fence for your garden.
Reviews
Reviews about Arapaho blackberries are very diverse, sometimes radically opposite.