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The blackberry culture has been undeservedly neglected for many years. Those varieties that were sometimes grown on household plots were often tasteless, prickly, and besides, they did not have time to ripen before the onset of frost even in the conditions of the Middle Strip. Therefore, gardeners rejoice at every new product entering the domestic market. Attention is drawn to varieties created in Europe. They are better suited for growing in our conditions than North American ones. It is worth paying attention to the Polish blackberry variety Polar.
History of breeding
Bushy blackberry Polar (Polar) was created at the Polish Institute of Horticulture, located in the city of Brzezn. She was registered in 2008. Polish blackberry breeders consider one of the main tasks to be the creation of varieties that do not require shelter for the winter.
Description of berry culture
Initially, the Polar blackberry variety was created as an industrial variety. But due to the high quality of the berries and unpretentious care, he took root in private gardens and summer cottages.
General idea of the variety
Blackberry Polar is a typical blackberry. Its powerful shoots grow straight, in an adult bush they reach 2,5-2,7 m in length. The tips of uncircumcised lashes may droop – this is not a cause for concern, but a varietal feature.
Polar blackberry shoots are devoid of thorns. Young lashes are bright green at first, turning light brown towards the end of the season. Fruiting (annual) shoots are brown, their section resembles a flattened circle.
The leaves are rich green, large, consist of three or five segments. The root system is powerful. Overgrown variety Polar almost does not form.
Berries
Large white flowers open in early May. Polar blackberry berries are large, dense, mostly even, weighing 9-11 g. The first fruits are the largest. The shape of the berry is beautiful, oval, the color is black, with a glossy sheen.
The taste of blackberries is sweet, but not cloying, with a barely noticeable sourness and a pleasant aroma, absolutely without bitterness. This is the rare case when the tasting score and the reviews of fans coincided, Polar berries received 4,5 points.
Characterization
The characteristics of the polar blackberry allow it to be grown both in the south and in the northern regions. Add here the unpretentiousness and high quality of the berries, surprising even for this culture, and you get an almost ideal variety for private gardens or industrial plantations.
Main advantages
Reviews of gardeners about Blackberry Polar coincide with the description of the variety given by its creators. Perhaps this is due to the fact that it was bred in a neighboring state and is intended for cultivation on an industrial scale. For us, as for the Poles, this means easy care – on a large plantation it is difficult to pay attention to every bush.
The drought tolerance of the Polar variety is high. But do not forget that the blackberry culture is demanding on watering. Do not overdry the soil if you want to get a good harvest.
Polish selection is aimed at breeding blackberries that do not require shelter for the winter. Variety Polar – one of the most resistant to frost. Experts recommend covering it only in areas where the temperature stays below -23⁰C for a long time and claim that Polar is able to withstand short-term drops to -30⁰C.
But not everything is so simple. Practitioner gardeners claim that if powerful shoots devoid of thorns are still covered (and this is not so easy), the Polar blackberry yield will increase by 3-5 times. The thing is that the lashes withstand low temperatures well, but the flower buds freeze slightly. So think for yourself.
The variety is undemanding to soils (compared to other blackberries). Berries are transported well.
Flowering period and ripening period
Depending on the region and weather conditions, Blackberry Polar blooms in early or mid-May. The first berries ripen around mid-July – the variety belongs to the middle early.
Yield indicators, fruiting terms
The Polar variety enters full fruiting in the third year after planting. Harvesting begins in mid-July and continues until the end of September.
It is believed that from one 3-5-year-old bush in Poland, you can collect from 3 to 5 kg of berries. Polar will become a high-yielding variety if you cover it for the winter. As noted above, flower buds freeze slightly, which can reduce the number of berries by 3-5 times.
Why is the Polar blackberry so popular? Industrial plantings are made compacted, and harvesting by machines is also possible. No human resources or finances are spent on winter shelter, so the cultivation of Polar blackberries is economically justified. And in private gardens, you can plant bushes more freely, and cover them for the winter – this is the variety that will give a decent harvest.
Scope of berries
Polar blackberries, in addition to excellent taste, do not crumple, are well stored and have high transportability. This makes it possible to supply them to retail chains for fresh consumption, to freeze them for the winter, to make juices, jams, wine and other preparations from fruits.
Disease and pest resistance
Blackberry variety Polar rarely gets sick and has its own strong immunity to diseases. This does not cancel preventive treatments. They are especially important on industrial plantations, where the cultivation of Polar blackberries implies a heavily thickened planting.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages and disadvantages of the polar blackberry variety have been studied quite well under our conditions, despite the fact that it was bred only in 2008. The positive qualities of this cultivar far outweigh the negative ones:
- Large beautiful berry.
- Good taste.
- High commercial qualities of fruits, including transportability.
- The ability to grow crops without shelter.
- The Polar variety is one of the most winter-hardy.
- Shoots are devoid of thorns.
- There is very little root growth.
- Possibility of dense landings.
- Blackberry cultivar Polar showed itself well as an industrial crop and when grown in private gardens.
- High resistance to diseases and pests.
- Possibility of mechanical cleaning.
- You can achieve high yields by covering the shoots for the winter.
- Polar is one of the easiest varieties to care for.
There are few disadvantages:
- In the middle lane, blackberries still have to be covered.
- The shoots are powerful, which makes it difficult to prepare for winter in cold regions.
- If the blackberry is not covered, at low temperatures, part of the flower buds will freeze.
- There is little root growth, which makes it difficult for fans to propagate the variety.
Methods of reproduction
Variety Polar is easy to propagate by apical shoots (pulping). True, for this you will have to work hard, tilting the selected brambles shoot from an early age. There is almost no root growth. Green cuttings are thick and prone to rotting – you need to cut a lot of twigs to get several young plants. You can divide an adult bush.
Rules of landing
Planting and caring for Polar blackberries is not a problem even for a novice gardener. To make your life easier, you just need to follow the existing rules.
Recommended dates
In warm regions, Polar blackberries are planted in the fall when the heat subsides. Bushes before the onset of frost have time to take root and adapt, and in the spring they immediately grow.
Blackberry Polar in the Middle lane and the Moscow region is planted in the spring, when the soil warms up a little, and there is no danger that the returning cold will freeze the soil and damage the root that has not had time to adapt.
Choosing the right place
For an industrial landing, a flat area is chosen to make it easier for the equipment to pass. In private gardens, the Polar variety will do well in a sunny position protected from strong winds. Groundwater should not come closer to the surface than 1-1,5 m.
The best soil is a slightly acidic loam rich in organic matter.
Soil Preparation
Planting pits are dug 50x50x50 cm in size, filled 2/3 with a fertile mixture and filled with water. Then they are allowed to settle for 10-14 days. A fertile mixture is prepared from the upper fertile soil layer, a bucket of humus, 40-50 g of potash fertilizers and 120-150 g of phosphate fertilizers.
If the land on the site is too acidic, lime is added to it. Dense soil is improved with sand, alkaline or neutral – with different doses of acidic peat, dense – with additional portions of organic matter.
Selection and preparation of seedlings
Try to buy seedlings from trusted manufacturers – so there is less chance that you will be deceived with a variety. The ripe bark of the Blackberry Polar is brown, there are no thorns. The root system should be developed, not damaged and smell fresh.
Pre-plant preparation – watering container blackberries or soaking an open root for 12 hours.
Algorithm and landing scheme
Industrial plantings are compacted to 0,9-1 m, and in Poland with intensive top dressing – even up to 0,8 m. In private gardens, if possible, the distance between Polar blackberry bushes is 1,5-2 m – on yield and quality berries will have a positive effect. Leave 2,5 m between the rows.
Landing is carried out in the following sequence:
- Blackberries are shortened to 15-20 cm.
- A mound is formed in the center of the planting hole, around which the roots are spread.
- The pit is covered with a fertile mixture, deepening the root collar by 1,5-2 cm, and compacted.
- The surface is mulched, the bush is watered with at least 10 liters of water.
Culture aftercare
A young plant after planting is watered twice a week. Further care is not particularly difficult.
Growing principles
Blackberry Polar must be tied up. Any trellis that is familiar to you is suitable – multi-row, T-shaped, fan-shaped. It is convenient to tie the annual growth on one side, and the young one on the other.
The following factors influence the yield:
- feeding intensity;
- did the blackberry hide for the winter;
- pinching young shoots;
- watering in dry weather.
Necessary activities
Water Blackberry Polar in the absence of rain, especially in hot weather. Do not forget that the culture is moisture-loving – it is better to pour out an extra bucket of water here than to dry the root.
The Polar variety is undemanding to top dressing, but in their absence, the crop will suffer. In early spring, blackberries are fertilized with nitrogen, at the beginning of flowering – with a complete mineral complex, after fruiting – with potassium monophosphate. The culture responds very well to foliar feeding.
If you carefully watch the video dedicated to the Polar variety, you will see that some of the leaves are yellow with green veins. This is chlorosis that affects blackberries on neutral and alkaline soils. She is iron deficient. It is easy to cope with adversity by adding iron chelate to the balloon during foliar top dressing, or even better, a chelate complex.
Be sure to loosen blackberries at the beginning and end of the season. In the middle of the growing season, the soil is mulched with red (horse) peat. It acidifies the soil, thanks to its fibrous structure it passes air well and retains moisture. In addition, peat does not allow weeds to germinate in large quantities.
shrub pruning
After the shoots finish fruiting, they are immediately pruned. You should not delay it so that in the time remaining before the onset of frost, the wood on young lashes matures better.
Depending on the planting pattern, 4-7 lashes are left for fruiting. Lateral shoots are pinched for better branching when they reach 40-45 cm. All broken, weak and growing in the “wrong” direction are cut out.
Preparation for winter
Although the Polar variety was created specifically, as not covering, in all regions, except for the south of Ukraine and Our Country, it is better to insulate the shoots. In areas where frosts below 15 degrees are rare, the root can be spudded, and the lashes can be covered with agrofiber right on the trellis. Then it remains to ensure that during possible rains with a subsequent decrease in temperature, the covering material does not turn pale.
In other regions, you will have to work hard – remove the shoots from the trellis, pin to the ground. Then build a shelter from spruce branches, straw, dry corn stalks, agrofolk or dry soil.
Diseases and pests: methods of control and prevention
Blackberry variety Polar has a high resistance to pests and diseases. In spring and autumn, the bush should be sprayed with a copper-containing preparation as a preventive measure. Do not plant nightshade crops, strawberries or raspberries closer than 50 m from blackberries.
Conclusion
Blackberry variety Polar has established itself as a promising, high-yielding and low-maintenance variety. Its berries are tasty and tolerate transportation well. Blackberry Polar is recommended for cultivation in private gardens and as an industrial crop.
