Contents
In recent years, blackberries have become a popular crop in the post-Soviet space. Unfortunately, domestic breeders are hopelessly behind the American ones – most of the interesting new products come to us from across the ocean. Triple Crown, a thornless blackberry, has been one of the best varieties for more than 20 years. You may know it by the names Triple Crown or Triple Crown.
History of breeding
Ежевика Трипл Кроун (Triple Crown) была создана в 1996 году совместными усилиями Северо-Восточного зонального научно-исследовательского центра (Белтсвилл, штат Мэриленд) и Тихоокеанской Западной сельскохозяйственной исследовательской станции (Портленд, штат Орегон). Материнскими сортами выступили Блэк Мэджик и Коламбия Стар.
Triple Crown Blackberry was tested in Oregon for 8 years before it went on sale.
Description of berry culture
Blackberry Triple Crown has been and remains one of the best dessert varieties. We grow it on private farms, but for America it is an industrial variety. There, in blackberries intended for fresh consumption, the main thing is taste, not yield.
General idea of the variety
Bushy blackberry Triple Crown forms a powerful bush with semi-creeping shoots. Already in the first year after planting, the lashes grow up to 2 m, later, without pinching, they reach 3 m. There are no thorns along the entire length of the shoot.
Triple Crown blackberry leaves are difficult to confuse with another variety – they are similar in shape and density to blackcurrant. Shooting ability is good. The root system is powerful. Flowers and berries are formed on the growth of the previous year.
Berries
The berries of the Triple Crown are large, with an average weight of 7-9 g, collected in a brush. Their shape can be round, slightly elongated or oval, the color is black, with a characteristic glossy sheen. According to gardeners’ reviews of Triple Crown blackberries, the fruits of the last harvest are as large as the first berries. The drupes are small.
The berries are sweet, with a plum or cherry aroma and a pleasant sour note. The tasting evaluation of the fruits and reviews of the blackberry Triple Crown of domestic connoisseurs are the same – 4,8 points.
Characterization
The characteristics of the blackberry variety Triple Crown (Triple Crown) are reliable, as they have been tested by time. Twenty years is a rather long period, and you can check the yield in different conditions, and the reaction to weather disasters.
If in America the Triple Crown blackberry is grown mainly on industrial plantations, then in our country it has mostly won the hearts of amateur gardeners and small farmers. It’s all about priorities. The yield of Triple Crown is average, although sufficient for a dessert crop. And in Our Country and neighboring countries for large farms, the main thing is abundant fruiting. In the USA, they pay attention to taste – there consumers are spoiled by a variety of blackberry varieties and they will not eat sour or bitter berries just because they are healthy.
Main advantages
When describing the blackberry variety Triple Crown (Triple Crown), the main emphasis is on excellent taste, high transportability of berries and the absence of thorns. But in America, where the industrial cultivation of this crop is carried out, the climate is mild, and the winters are warm. Therefore, other characteristics are of great importance to us.
The winter hardiness of the Triple Crown blackberry is low. She needs to be covered even in the central and some southern regions of Ukraine. In Our Country, especially in the Middle lane, without insulation for the winter, the bush will simply die.
But the resistance to heat and drought in the Triple Crown variety is at its best. Berries are not baked in the summer, with sufficient watering they do not shrink. Moreover, it is necessary to shade the variety only in the hottest summer with active sun.
Triple Crown blackberry has an increased demand for soil fertility. In care, the variety is not very picky, but when growing, there are some nuances that must be taken into account if you want to get a decent harvest.
Yield indicators, fruiting terms
Triple Crown blackberry fruiting, depending on the region, begins in late July or early August and lasts a month or more. This is considered a medium-late ripening period for berries.
For cold climates, the Triple Crown variety is highly controversial. Late flowering allows you to get away from return frosts, but fruiting extended until September may prevent gardeners from picking 10-15% of the berries.
The yield of the Triple Crown is about 13 kg of berries from an adult bush. Perhaps, this will seem a little to someone, but only against the background of technical grades. Among the elite blackberries, the most fruitful is Triple Crown.
Scope of berries
Blackberry Triple Crown refers to dessert varieties. It is eaten fresh, the berries are well stored in a cool room and transported without loss. Juices, wines, preparations and freezing for the winter, berry desserts and pastries – all this can be made from the fruits of the Triple Crown.
Disease and pest resistance
The Triple Crown blackberry variety is disease resistant and rarely affected by pests. This does not cancel preventive treatments, especially with dense plantings on industrial plantations.
Advantages and disadvantages
Blackberry Triple Crown is also a dessert variety and is grown commercially. For more than 20 years in the United States, it has been considered one of the best varieties. The undoubted advantages include:
- Beautiful large berries.
- Good taste.
- High (for a dessert variety) yield.
- No spikes.
- Excellent transportability of berries.
- Высокая устойчивость к жаре и засухе.
- Возможность уплотненной посадки.
- High resistance to diseases and pests.
- The berries of the last harvest are almost the same size as the first ones.
Among the disadvantages of the Triple Crown variety are:
- Low frost resistance.
- Average yield.
- Powerful shoots make it difficult to shelter for the winter.
- Late fruiting.
- In the northern regions, not all berries have time to ripen before frost.
- With a sparse planting in the southern regions, the variety still suffers from heat.
Methods of reproduction
Propagation of Triple Crown blackberries is easy to carry out by rooting apical cuttings. True, the chosen shoot will have to be tilted to the surface of the earth as it grows – adult whips are reluctant to bend.
Хорошо сорт разводится с помощью корневых черенков – зеленые приживаются хуже. Можно разделить взрослый куст ежевики.
Rules of landing
Planting and caring for Triple Crown blackberries in the spring and throughout the season differ little from other varieties.
Recommended dates
In the southern regions, it is recommended to plant blackberries in the fall, at least a month before the first frost. It is even better to start earthworks as soon as the heat subsides. Usually the right time is at the end of September – beginning of October. In the central regions of Ukraine and in the south of Our Country, landing can be done until early November.
In other regions, spring planting is recommended. During the warm season, the blackberry will have time to take root and safely survive the harsh winter.
Choosing the right place
В Средней полосе и более холодных районах ежевику Трипл Краун сажают на солнечном, защищенном от холодного ветра месте. На юге можно выбрать слегка притененный участок сада. Грунтовые воды должны располагаться не ближе, чем в 1-1,5 м от поверхности.
Blackberry Triple Crown is more demanding on soils than other varieties, especially when planted thickly.
Soil Preparation
They dig a hole with a diameter and a depth of 50 cm. A fertile mixture for planting is necessarily prepared – they mix the top layer of the earth, a bucket of humus, 50 g of potash fertilizer and 120-150 phosphorus. Acid peat is added to alkaline or neutral soil. Carbonate soil is improved by additional application of humus, clay soil – by sand. Lime is added to acidic soil.
The planting pit is covered with fertile soil by 2/3, filled with water and allowed to settle for 10-14 days.
Selection and preparation of seedlings
Seedlings should not be bought by hand. So you may end up with a completely different variety than you expect. It is better to purchase them in nurseries or trusted retail chains.
The seedling should have a strong, flexible shoot with a smooth, intact bark. In the Triple Crown variety, it is devoid of thorns. The root should be developed, flexible, smell like fresh earth.
Before planting, container blackberries are watered, and the open root system is soaked in water for 12 hours. To improve survival, heteroauxin or another stimulant can be added to the liquid.
Algorithm and landing scheme
The Triple Crown blackberry planting pattern is calculated differently from other varieties. To get a bigger harvest, the bushes need to be placed at a small distance from each other – 1,2-1,5 m. At least 2,5 m is left in the aisles. Industrial plantings compact even more.
Landing is carried out in the following sequence:
- A mound is formed in the center of the pit, blackberry roots are straightened around it.
- Засыпают и уплотняют плодородную смесь. Корневая шейка должна быть заглублена на 1,5-2 см.
- The bush is watered with a bucket of water, the soil is mulched with sour peat.
Culture aftercare
In regions with cold and temperate climates, after planting, spring care for Triple Crown blackberries consists of regular watering twice a week. In the south, the variety is planted in the fall, if it often rains, additional moisture is not needed.
Growing principles
The yield of triple crown blackberries is affected by the planting pattern and garter. It is noticed that fruiting increases if the bushes are located close to each other, and the shoots are attached to the trellis almost vertically. This is the difference between the Triple Crown and other varieties that prefer to grow freely and give a larger yield with an increase in the area of nutrition.
Tapestry can be selected multi-row or T-shaped. The optimal height is 1,8-2 m, more is simply not advisable. The whips are tied up almost vertically, last year’s fruiting ones – in one direction, young ones – in the other.
A decent crop of Triple Crown blackberries can only be harvested with intensive top dressing.
Necessary activities
It is necessary to water the Triple Crown variety in dry weather once every 1-2 weeks. The frequency of moistening depends on the ambient temperature and soil structure. Blackberries love water, but not waterlogging of the root system. The rule applies to this culture: “If in doubt whether it is worth watering, water it.”
The Triple Crown variety needs intensive feeding – with dense plantings, the feeding area is small, and the load on the bush during fruiting is large:
- In early spring, the plant is given nitrogen.
- At the beginning of flowering, blackberries are fertilized with a complete mineral complex.
- During the formation of berries, the bush is fed 2 times with a solution of mullein infusion (1:10) or grass (1:4).
- После плодоношения ежевику проливают раствором монофосфата калия либо другого удобрения сходного действия.
- Throughout the season, every 2 weeks it is useful to spray the bush with foliar top dressing, adding a chelate complex and epin or zircon to them.
In spring and autumn, the soil under the blackberries is loosened. During the period of flowering and fruiting, the soil is mulched with sour peat or humus.
shrub pruning
Immediately after fruiting, old shoots are cut into a ring close to the soil surface. In the spring, the whips are normalized – 8-12 of the strongest are left. In order for the berries to be larger and ripen faster, the number of fruiting shoots should be reduced. So the yield will be reduced, but its quality will increase.
Young shoots are pinched 1-2 times in summer when they reach 40-45 cm in length. Some growers don’t do this at all. Try the best – everyone’s conditions are different. Naturally, broken and weak shoots are cut out throughout the season.
Preparation for winter
In autumn, before the onset of frost, the lashes are removed from the trellis, bent to the ground and fixed with staples. The easiest way to deal with erect thick shoots is to make a tunnel cover.
Shelter for blackberries is constructed from spruce branches, straw, corn stalks and Jerusalem artichoke, agrofiber or spandbond, dry soil.
Diseases and pests: methods of control and prevention
Blackberry culture, in particular the Triple Crown variety, is resistant to diseases and pests. But thickened planting contributes to the spread of infection. Be sure to spray blackberry shoots with copper-containing preparations before wintering and after removing the shelter.
Conclusion
Triple Crown has been considered one of the best varieties for over 20 years. It is not for nothing that it is called a pearl – it is the most fruitful among dessert blackberries. And beautiful black berries are not only large, but also really tasty.
