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Raspberries have been grown in Our Country for a long time, from the annals it is known that even Yuri Dolgoruky laid the first raspberries at the foundation of the future capital – Moscow. In what directions raspberry breeding has not developed since those ancient times. Gardeners learned about yellow and black raspberries, berries almost the size of a plum, and varieties that can produce up to 5-6 kg of berries from one bush. In recent decades, it has become fashionable to grow berry bushes in the form of trees – standard black, red and golden currants, yoshta and even gooseberries have appeared. This fashion trend could not bypass raspberries.
Already more than 20 years ago, the first so-called standard raspberry varieties appeared, one of the classic representatives of which is Krepysh raspberry.
Standard varieties or raspberry trees
A trunk is usually called a tree trunk without leaves from the roots to the beginning of crown growth. In principle, from almost any variety of raspberry, especially remontant, you can create a standard form – the so-called raspberry tree. But at the end of the last century, scientific breeders managed to develop special varieties of raspberries, which are distinguished by especially strong and thick shoots that grow exclusively straight.
Of course, this raspberry is still far from the trees, it grows as an ordinary upright bush. But the main feature of these varieties is that, upon reaching a certain height, the shoots begin to branch actively and a large number of fruit branches are formed on them, imitating the crown of a tree.
Raspberry Krepysh can also grow in the form of a raspberry tree, as can be clearly seen in the next video.
Variety description
Raspberry Krepysh was obtained at the turn of the XNUMXth-XNUMXst centuries by breeders under the guidance of the famous professor V. Kichina in the VSTISP nurseries, at the Kokinsky stronghold, located in the Bryansk region. For unknown reasons, the variety was not included in the State Register of Our Country.
Bushes belong to the standard type, reach a height of 1,5 -1,8 meters. The variety fully justifies its name, since not only the central trunk, but also the rest of the shoots are very strong and thick. They are characterized by dense wood and, as a rule, should not bend either from strong winds or from the severity of the crops, therefore they do not need supports, trellises and garters.
But, judging by the reviews of gardeners who planted Krepysh raspberries on their plots, if the site is not protected from the winds, then untied raspberry bushes can even break from a strong wind.
Therefore, each gardener should decide on supports and a garter individually for his site.
The big advantage of Krepysh raspberries is the complete absence of thorns, which greatly facilitates the task of picking berries. And for pruning, and for other care, thornless raspberries are very easy to use.
Annual shoots have a juicy green tint, in the second year of life their color changes to yellowish. The leaves on the shoots begin to grow at a height of about 30-40 cm from the soil surface. They have a strongly corrugated sheet plate, they are distinguished by a dark green color. At the top of the bush, the leaves are often arranged in a crowded bunch.
Raspberry Krepysh is able to form a trunk, primarily due to short internodes, especially in the upper part of the shoots. In general, fruit twigs are formed exclusively in the upper part of the bush. They are compact, short, and quite a lot of them are formed. Moreover, with the help of proper pruning, you can further increase their number, thereby contributing to the growth of the crop by 1,5-2 times.
Raspberry bushes Krepysh give very little root growth, especially in the first years after planting. Therefore, the reproduction of the bush with the help of root offspring is quite difficult. But you don’t have to devote much time to the fight against uncontrolled growth, which often clogs the site when growing other raspberry varieties.
Berries are formed in the form of inflorescences, but ripen very unevenly. In one brush, consisting of 6-9 berries, there can be only one ripe – the rest can ripen for one to two weeks. Such extended fruiting is good for a summer gardener who grows raspberries for his own needs. For commercial cultivation, the unfriendly ripening of berries will be unprofitable.
Raspberry Krepysh can be called mid-ripening – the ripening period of berries of this variety falls on the second half of June – July. According to the method of fruiting, it belongs to the usual non-repairable varieties of raspberries, that is, the berries ripen only on the shoots of the previous year.
As for productivity, Krepysh raspberries are superior in this respect to some other varieties of standard raspberries, such as Tarusa. With a competent approach to business, from one bush you can get up to 4-4,5 kg of berries.
The frost resistance of the bushes is quite decent, Krepysh is able to withstand up to -30 ° C in winters with little snow. But in many areas of Our Country, where winter temperatures easily exceed this mark, the variety will require shelter for the winter. And for this, the bushes must first be bent to the ground, which, given their thickness and strength, is not an easy task. Therefore, there is an opinion among gardeners that standard raspberry varieties, including Krepysh, are more suitable for regions with not very severe winters.
Good resistance to most viral and fungal diseases is an undoubted advantage of the Krepysh raspberry variety. In general, it is quite unpretentious to growing conditions and will please you with good harvests if you provide it with the correct and suitable pruning.
Characteristics of berries
Raspberry berries of the Krepysh variety are distinguished by the following characteristics:
- Their shape is beautiful, elongated, slightly blunt, in the form of a cap.
- The pulp is dense, the fruits are well separated from the stalks, but when rough harvested, they can crumble into constituent elements.
- The separation of the berries is dry; during transportation, the raspberries do not particularly wrinkle and do not flow.
- The color of the berries is bright red, the surface is not shiny.
- Raspberry berries Krepysh are quite large in size, reaching a weight of 7-10 grams.
- The marketable appearance of the berries is retained for quite a long time.
- After ripening, they can hang on the branches for a relatively long time, without crumbling, but gradually drying out.
- The taste is sweet with a slight sourness. The taste and commercial qualities of Krepysh raspberries depend to a large extent on the composition of soils and their fertility.
- The use of Krepysh raspberries is universal – they are well suited for making jam, confiture, jellies, compotes and other culinary preparations.
Care features: pruning
Perhaps the most important thing, in what way caring for standard raspberries differs from ordinary varieties, is the features of pruning bushes. In principle, if annual or freshly planted shoots are left completely without pruning, then by autumn their length will reach from 1,5 to 2 meters, after which their growth will slow down. And in the upper part of the stems, 3-4 small lateral shoots are formed, on which fruit branches will form next year. You can harvest in any case, and the shape of a small raspberry tree will remain at the bush, but proper pruning can help increase the yield of raspberries and make the shape more pronounced.
Traditionally, it is advised to cut or pinch the top of annual stem raspberry shoots when they reach 1,5 meters in height. But shoots often reach such a height already at the end of summer, when all growth processes are already slowed down and, as a result, few side shoots are formed and they will not have time to ripen well by winter.
The following approach to pruning standard raspberries should be considered more reasonable. Approximately at the end of May – beginning of June, when the shoots reach a height of 60-100 cm (depending on the growing region), the tops are shortened by 10-15 cm. During this period of active growth of green mass, lateral shoots begin to form from all buds and have time to grow and take shape before the onset of winter. The number of shoots formed can grow to 10-15 or even more. In the second half of summer, the tips of the shoots can be pinched back for additional branching. In the autumn, when all the foliage has fallen off, the bushes will look almost like real trees – on a rather high trunk – from 7 to 12 falling branched shoots. And next year, all these side shoots will be strewn with raspberries.
You can learn more about pruning standard raspberries Krepysh from the following video.
After fruiting, all two-year-old shoots should be completely cut out so as not to take strength from the formation of young one-year-old branches.
Reviews of gardeners
Gardeners leave mixed reviews about standard raspberry varieties in general, and about the Krepysh variety in particular. Perhaps this is due to improper pruning of bushes, the whimsicalness of the variety to soil conditions, or simply the unsuitability of a particular region for growing this raspberry variety.
Conclusion
Despite some inconsistencies in the description of the variety of reality, the Krepysh raspberry is worthy of decorating a small area where there is little free space. It does not require intensive care from you, but it will bring variety to garden life.
