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Any gardener wants to grow tasty and healthy berries in his garden. For these purposes, Jumbo blackberries are ideal, famous for their sweet fruits and unpretentiousness. But, so that there are no surprises in the process of growing this crop, you should carefully read the characteristics of the Jumbo blackberry variety and recommendations for caring for it.
History of breeding
Blackberries came to Europe from America in the XNUMXth century. For a long time, it was a wild forest plant, but breeders could not pass by tasty, juicy, and healthy berries. Within a short time, quite a lot of new varieties were bred with high yields and suitable for planting in various regions.
Jumbo is a modern, high-yielding, thornless blackberry variety, born from the efforts of French breeders. He very quickly won the well-deserved love of gardeners.
Description of berry culture
The wide distribution of this variety is due to the high palatability of the fruit and unpretentious care. Reviews about the blackberry variety Jumbo are only positive. Although this is a relatively new variety, it has already become popular.
General idea of the variety
The bushes of the jumbo blackberry variety are quite powerful, but compact, not growing to the sides. The shoots mostly rush upwards, and in a year they add only 45-55 cm in growth. Growing up to a height of 1,5 m, they begin to lean towards the ground. Therefore, for blackberry Jumbo, you need to install supports (trellises) for the garter. Only 2-3 new shoots appear per year.
Jumbo is a thornless blackberry. The leaves of the blackberry of this variety are dark green, carved, with cloves, oval.
Berries
Blackberry fruits resemble raspberries and mulberries at the same time. This variety has multi-berry brushes. The berries of the Jumbo variety are record-breakingly large. In this he is the undisputed leader among other blackberry varieties.
The fruits are black, glossy, weighing up to 30 g. The peel covering the berries is strong, quite resistant to mechanical damage.
The berries are firm but juicy. Very sweet pulp leaves behind a taste of slight sourness. The drupes are small, but not hard.
The transportability of Jumbo berries is excellent. In the refrigerator, berries, without compromising their quality, can be stored for more than a week. At the same time, they do not crumple and do not secrete juice.
Characterization
Before planting Jumbo blackberries in your garden, it is worth weighing the pros and cons to find out the strengths and weaknesses of this variety.
Main advantages
The advantage of the Jumbo variety is not only in high palatability, but also in heat resistance. It tolerates high temperatures very well. At the same time, the quality of the crop does not decrease, the berries do not bake in the sun.
The blackberry Jumbo is undemanding to the soil, it is not afraid of the sun. Insufficient lighting does not affect the growth of the shrub. But blackberry Jumbo does not tolerate cold and dampness well, therefore it needs shelter even in temperate climates.
Flowering period and ripening period
Jumbo is a mid-season variety. In the southern regions, blackberries begin to ripen in the second half of July, and in regions with a colder climate, in early or mid-August. Since the fruiting of Jumbo blackberry takes a long period, you can see both flowers and berries on the bush at the same time.
Yield indicators, fruiting terms
The first year, while the blackberry bush grows and forms, you should not expect a harvest. But next year, the Jumbo variety will delight with sweet berries.
Fruiting blackberry Jumbo takes a period of up to six weeks. Up to 25-30 kg of berries are harvested from one bush. The unpretentiousness of the variety allows Jumbo to bear fruit in any conditions.
Scope of berries
Blackberries are used fresh, and also as a filling for pies. They can be dried, dried, boiled blackberry jams, preserves, compotes. Excellent blackberry is suitable for making marmalade, jelly. She found her application in winemaking.
Blackberries perfectly retain their excellent taste and do not lose their shape when frozen, which allows housewives to use fresh berries not only in summer, but also in winter.
Blackberry has an antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and wound healing effect. Blackberry fruits, leaves and flowers are used in folk medicine. They make tinctures and decoctions. You can learn more about the benefits from the article …. For relinking
Disease and pest resistance
Blackberries have quite a few different diseases, but the Jumbo variety is quite resistant to many of them, which distinguishes it from other varieties.
Jumbo also has few enemies among insects, and timely preventive measures reduce the risk of pest attacks to a minimum.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of blackberry Jumbo are much greater than the disadvantages.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Large fruit size and weight | Relatively low winter hardiness |
| The compactness of the bushes | |
| Excellent berry flavor | |
| High productivity | |
| Good transportability | |
| Long fruiting period | |
| Long periods of storage | |
| Unpretentiousness in care | |
| Resistance to diseases | |
| Lack of thorns | |
| Heat resistance |
A video about Jumbo blackberries will allow you to learn a little more about this variety:
Methods of reproduction
There are several ways to propagate blackberry Jumbo:
- apical layers (rooting of shoots without separation from the bush);
- propagation by cuttings cut from green shoots.
Rules of landing
There is nothing difficult in planting Jumbo blackberries. It is enough to follow simple rules.
Recommended dates
Jumbo planting is carried out in spring or autumn. Bushes with a closed root system are planted from spring to the first frost.
Choosing the right place
Blackberry Jumbo prefers sun and warmth, so it is best planted in areas with good lighting, protected from the wind, and preferably on a slight elevation. Excess moisture is harmful to the plant.
Soil Preparation
When planting seedlings, you need to prepare a fertile mixture, which is laid out at the bottom of the dug pit. In order to make a mixture, the following components are needed:
- superphosphate – 300g;
- manure – 4 buckets;
- garden soil – 8 buckets;
- wood ash – 700 g.
The soil must be well mixed.
Selection and preparation of seedlings
The best age for planting blackberry seedlings is one and a half years. However, they must have:
- 1-2 stems;
- the presence of a root bud;
- developed root system;
- 2 or 3 roots longer than 10 cm.
Algorithm and landing scheme
The recommended planting pattern for this variety is 1 m x 2 m. However, dense plantings are allowed for Jumbo blackberry.
Culture aftercare
Blackberry Jumbo care is quite simple, and includes the following activities:
- watering;
- loosening of the soil;
- seasonal and formative pruning;
- weed removal;
- top dressing;
- winter preparation.
Growing principles
Blackberries of the Jumbo variety need trellises for garters, as the grown shoots at a height of one and a half meters begin to lean towards the ground. And to prevent the formation of chaotic thickets, you need to take care of the plant.
Necessary activities
This variety tolerates drought well, but if possible, it is better to water the plant at least once or twice a week. Be sure to water during flowering and fruiting.
To increase the yield of Jumbo, it is necessary to fertilize blackberries in the spring. To do this, 25 g of a nitrogen mixture and a couple of buckets of humus are added under the bushes. In summer, 45-55 g of potash or phosphorus fertilizers are used for top dressing for each bush.
Other agrotechnical measures (loosening and weeding) are carried out as needed.
shrub pruning
Proper pruning of blackberries contributes to its growth and fruiting. The purpose of the spring pruning procedure is to rid the plant of frozen shoots. During the autumn, aged, infertile shoots are removed, which only weaken the plant.
Preparation for winter
When preparing Jumbo blackberries for winter, you need to cut off old and weak shoots at the root, leaving 7-9 young and strong ones, which should also be shortened by a quarter (by 20-40 cm).
Having finished pruning, the bush is removed from the trellis, bent to the ground. The soil under the shrub is covered with a layer of mulch of 10-12 cm. For this, you can use sawdust, needles, peat. Top covered with agrofiber, film, or roofing material.
Diseases and pests: methods of control and prevention
Blackberries are susceptible to the following types of diseases:
- non-infectious (excess or lack of trace elements);
- bacterial (root cancer);
- viral (curly, mosaic, yellow mesh, rust).
But the Jumbo variety is quite resistant to diseases, and subject to preventive measures and agricultural practices, it will delight with delicious berries for a long time.
The main enemies of blackberries are pests:
| vermin | Evidence | Way to fight |
| Khrushchev | Deals damage to roots. The plant withers and dies | 1. Sowing near blackberry mustard2. Before planting, soaking the roots in a 0,65% solution of Aktara3. Use during the growing season for tillage around the bushes of preparations Confidor, Antikhrushch |
| The raspberry beetle | Damage to leaves, shoots, inflorescences, roots, berries | 1. Preventive seasonal digging of the soil under the bushes2. Dusting the dug up earth with ash or tobacco dust3. When buds appear, spray with solutions of Iskra, Fufagon, Kemifos |
| Raspberry fly | Damage to young shoots | Pruning damaged shoots with their subsequent burning |
| blackberry mite | Deterioration of plant appearance and berry quality | Spring spraying of shoots (before bud break) with Thiovit or Envidor solutions |
| Tick of the web | Yellowing and premature leaf drop | When the first leaves appear, the plants are treated three times with an interval of 7 days with Fitoverm, BI-58, Aktofit |
Conclusion
Obviously, the large-fruited blackberry variety Jumbo deserves the attention and love of gardeners. It would seem that a foreign hybrid needs to create maximum comfort, but in fact the variety is unpretentious, high-yielding, and with little effort it will certainly please with a magnificent harvest.