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The prince is an amazing berry with a royal name, which not every gardener is familiar with. It seemed to combine several berry crops in it at once. It is similar at the same time to raspberries, and to strawberries, and to bone, and to blackberries. At the same time, the aroma of ripe berries resembles pineapple. From the outside, it seems like an unpretentious northern berry, but growing a princess cannot be called a simple matter, and many nuances must be taken into account here. No wonder it is still considered a rarity.
Features of growing princess berries
The prince or arctic raspberry belongs to the rose family. However, among the people she still has many names: khokhlushka, mamutka, log, drupe and others.
The prince is a herbaceous perennial plant, not exceeding 30 cm in height. Trifoliate leaves are very reminiscent of strawberry or strawberry. The prince is distinguished by a long, thin, woody creeping rhizome, located at a depth of only 15-25 cm. With its help, the plant can spread over considerable distances and grow into entire clearings.
Raspberry or purple flowers, consisting of 5 petals, have a very attractive appearance. They bloom on the tops of the shoots one by one from about the end of May. Flowers can be admired for quite a long time, about 25-30 days. Berries in the form of juicy drupes appear on plants from mid-July until the end of summer. Moreover, on the princess in the second half of summer, both flowers and fruits can be found at the same time.
Berries are very similar in shape and size to ordinary raspberries. True, their color is more complex and can vary over a fairly wide range: from dark pink, red, to almost burgundy or purple. Ripe berries of the princess are distinguished by a sweet, rich, very delicate taste with a mixture of strawberry and pineapple aromas. It is not for nothing that this berry was highly valued in Our Country and noble people were ready to pay any money to get it to their table.
To understand all the features of the development of the princess and the requirements that this berry makes for growing, you need to take a closer look at its habitats. The princess loves to grow in mosses on the edges of coniferous and mixed forests and along the outskirts of peat bogs in the cold and temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere. Sometimes these plants can be found in the mountains at an altitude of about 1200 m above sea level.
This is reflected in the princess’s love for the cool climate and the relative humidity of the soil and air. But it should be noted that the berries do not grow in swamps, but on their outskirts. That is, for planting the common princess and subsequent care for it, you need a moist, but not oversaturated area with moisture. In addition, when growing princesses, the acidity of the soil and its saturation with nutrients are quite important. As in the case of lingonberries and cranberries, the princess needs special microorganisms for stable flowering and fruiting, the vital activity of which is possible only in a relatively acidic soil environment.
Plants need cross-pollination, without which berries will not form. Therefore, at least two varieties of princesses should grow on the site, and even better three or more.
Closer to autumn, the entire above-ground part of the plants dies off completely, while the underground rhizome continues its activity. In spring, new shoots appear from underground buds, bearing flowers and berries.
However, very few berries are formed on the bushes. In the wild, in order to collect even a small basket of princess berries, a clearing of a decent size is required.
Even after the breeders tried to “tame” the princess and breed her cultivars, the yield was still minimal – literally a few small berries ripened on the bush. The problem was solved only when the Swedish princess and the Alaskan ivory were crossed. As a result, varieties of garden princesses were obtained with a yield of approximately 150-200 g per square meter. m. The weight of one berry was about 1-2 g. The most famous varieties were named by female names Anna and Sophia. Growing a varietal garden berry of a princess is of much greater interest to an ordinary gardener than its ordinary relative growing in the wild.
Due to the decorativeness of the flowering bushes of the princess, its cultivation on the site can bring, in addition to gastronomic, purely aesthetic benefits.
How the princess breeds
There are only two ways to propagate the berry of the princess: with the help of seeds and by dividing the rhizomes.
Propagation by seeds is a long and rather laborious process, but if you have patience, you can eventually grow a fairly decent amount of beautiful and healthy bushes of this valuable plant.
Seeds quickly lose their germination capacity, so it is better to take them for sowing directly from the berries. For good germination, the seeds of the princess need stratification. That is, it is best to place them at a shallow depth in wet sand in any container that is suitable in size. It is kept during the winter in the cellar or even buried in the ground, protected by a lid from the access of insects or small mammals.
In the spring, the container is placed in a bright and warm place where shoots can soon be observed. At the end of summer, grown young plants are usually planted in the garden.
Vegetative methods (using root offspring and dividing the bush) are simpler and faster for the reproduction of the princess. In addition, they make it possible to guarantee the preservation of maternal signs of berry bushes.
You can divide the bushes either at the end of spring or in September. From one plant, you can theoretically get up to 200 plots, the rhizome grows so strongly in breadth. It is better to plant plots, keeping the earth on the roots and making sure that each has at least two shoots.
Plants are propagated by root cuttings in the fall, when the aerial part of the princess dies off. To do this, dig out pieces of rhizome, about 10 cm long, each of which has 2-3 buds. They are planted in a new place to a depth of about 5 cm. The next year, in the spring, a shoot will appear from each bud, and every year their number will only increase.
Princess Landing Rules
Despite the fact that the princess is a northern berry, and grows with pleasure even in permafrost conditions, growing it in the Moscow region is quite possible. The most important thing is to properly prepare the land and properly plant it.
Terms of planting
If the seedling of the princess berry was purchased with a closed root system, then it can be planted almost throughout the year. Even in winter, it can be placed on the surface of the soil, freed from snow, and sprinkled with peat on all sides. But in the spring it is desirable to transplant the plant to a permanent place.
The most favorable periods for landing the princess in the Moscow region are mid-May or mid-September, then the subsequent departure will not cause any particular difficulties. It is during these periods that weather conditions usually form in the region, under which the amount of sunlight, the level of temperature and humidity are most optimal for plant survival.
Site selection and preparation of soil
The choice of a suitable place for planting a princess is largely determined by the region in which they are going to grow it. In the northern regions, for example, in the Arkhangelsk or Murmansk regions, the berry should be planted in open sunny places. And in the middle lane, for example, in the Moscow region and to the south, it is necessary to choose a place so that in the hottest midday hours (from 11 to 16) the plantings are shaded from the sun by various vegetation, buildings or fences.
In the garden plots, the prince will feel very good near water objects (a pond or a stream). You can plant plants in the lowlands, where fog creeps in the morning and a lot of dew forms.
Despite its northern origin, the princess loves loose, light and quite nutrient-rich soil. It is important from the very beginning to create a slightly acidic soil environment (ideally pH from 4,5 to 5,5) and provide it with constant, but moderate moisture.
In order for the planted plants to take root well and successfully bear fruit, it is advisable to create a special planting soil for them.
To do this, you need to make one square meter of beds:
- a bucket of sand;
- a bucket of sour riding peat;
- a bucket of humus (or the top layer from a coniferous forest);
- a few handfuls of wood ash.
It is advisable to protect the beds with future plantings of princely berries from the invasion of weeds by digging pieces of slate or other improvised material along their borders to the depth of the bayonet of a shovel.
How to plant a princess
Seedlings or bushes are placed in prepared soil at a distance of 20-25 cm from each other. They are allowed to be slightly buried in the ground. You can plant them in rows of two in a checkerboard pattern. In this case, about 80-100 cm are left between the rows.
After planting, the ground around the bushes is mulched with moss. It will protect plants from weeds and too bright sunlight.
How to care for a princess
After choosing the right place, preparing the land and planting, caring for the princess itself is not particularly difficult.
Watering Schedule
On rainy or cloudy cool days at air temperatures below + 25 ° C, watering the berry of the princess is necessary only once a week if necessary. But when the temperature rises above the specified indicator, it is advisable to water the plants every day, regularly checking the soil moisture.
It is preferable to use drip irrigation in any case, especially if there are many plants planted.
What can you feed the princess
It makes sense to feed the berry bushes of the princess only the next year after planting. It is enough to apply a complex water-soluble organo-mineral fertilizer once a year in spring.
Weeding and loosening
The soil around the princess for good fruiting should always remain clean from weeds. Loosening and weeding should become regular procedures. However, if possible, then you can cover the soil with coniferous litter, moss and the top layer of earth from coniferous forests.
Trimming rules
The constant need for princess plants exists only in sanitary pruning. In this case, the bushes are regularly examined for the presence of dried, damaged or diseased leaves or shoots. They must be removed immediately.
In addition to preventing diseases, such an operation gives strength to the development of new shoots of plants.
Diseases and pests
Unfortunately, the cultivation of the princess can be complicated by the invasion of pests and pathogens of various diseases.
Therefore, every spring, plants should be prophylactically treated with biological agents:
- against diseases – phytosporin;
- against pests – fitoverm.
Among the diseases to which the prince’s berry is susceptible, most often note anthracnose, striped raspberry curl, tobacco necrosis, Brazo mottling.
Conclusion
Growing a princess is not the easiest, but a very useful and interesting activity. After all, while this berry is a rarity in the gardens, but its decorative appearance and excellent taste will make it a welcome guest in any area.
