Contents
Recently, more and more gardeners have begun to plant remontant varieties of fruit bushes on their personal plots. Remontant raspberries have gained particular popularity. A feature of all remontant varieties is that, with proper care, they can produce two or even three crops per season. Caring for remontant raspberries is not a particularly time-consuming process. In this article, we will provide useful tips on how to grow, care for and prune remontant raspberries so that they give an excellent harvest.
Tips for planting
Considering that remontant raspberries, subject to certain rules and advice, can produce a double or triple crop, it has certain requirements for its care.
Every gardener knows that the planting site plays a key role in the subsequent yield of the plant. Raspberries are no exception. So, let’s figure out what conditions must be met when planting remontant raspberry varieties.
Experienced gardeners give the following advice on this issue:
- it is necessary to plant such raspberries in a sunny place. A distinctive feature of remontant varieties from ordinary ones is that even a slight darkening can slow down the ripening of berries and reduce the overall yield of the bush;
- the place where remontant raspberries will grow should be warm. Therefore, you need to land on the south side of your personal plot. It is advised to plant raspberries near various buildings: houses, barns, fences. In this case, you will protect the plant from unwanted drafts, and also help create a climate suitable for raspberries.
Some gardeners recommend planting a plant in places where snow melts the fastest in spring and the soil warms up, usually such places are found on the borders of garden plots.
If the remontant raspberry variety was planted in a suitable place, then the ripening of the fruits will occur much earlier, and the yield will increase.
If you live in a hot climate, completely different rules apply. It is necessary to plant remontant raspberries in places slightly shaded and cooler.
Remontant varieties can be planted on any soil, but most of all, such raspberries prefer fertile and loose soils. In the case of humus and peat content in the soil, the bushes grow very tall and often need to be supported. In all other respects, the chemical composition of the soil does not affect the ripening time of the berries, as well as their taste. These indicators are affected only by the presence of plant nutrition in the process of its growth.
You can not plant this plant in a place where the following nightshade crops grew last year: peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes.
It is strictly forbidden to plant raspberries in places where they have grown before. This is due to the fact that the soil at the site of long-term growth of raspberries shows signs of “soil fatigue”, which occurs due to the gradual depletion of soils, especially in minerals.
Simultaneously with depletion, certain substances accumulate in the soil, which are secreted by the root system of remontant raspberries. They inhibit the growth of newly planted plants. In such places, you can re-plant raspberries only after five or seven years.
For better yields, it is recommended to keep the soil “fallow” for a year before planting seedlings. It was also noticed that this type of plant grows and bears fruit best after green manure crops (these are the green crops that are usually sown in the soil to increase and improve fertility). Green manure crops include lupine, vetch-oat mixture, white mustard, phacelia, mustard, Sudanese grass.
Such a raspberry is considered a water-loving plant, but it does not tolerate flooding and high groundwater levels. The latter should be no closer than 1-1,5 m from the surface from the surface.
It is also advised to dig the site to a depth of about 60 cm. At the time of planting individual seedlings, you need to dig a hole to the same depth. Half a bucket of humus is added to the bottom of the hole. Some gardeners are advised to fertilize at greater depths.
The root system of remontant varieties is more sensitive to the presence of chlorine in fertilizers. Therefore, under it, you need to make only chlorine-free mixtures. Chlorine fertilizers can only be applied to the soil in autumn.
Planting remontant seedlings is usually carried out in the spring. They are planted only after the meltwater has washed the chlorine out of the soil.
If you plant seedlings in the spring, then before that you need to dig them in for the winter in an inclined position, and pour straw or sawdust on top.
Seedlings can also be planted in autumn – in the last ten days of September or in early October, simultaneously with the planting of tulip bulbs.
You need to sit in bushes or rows at a distance of one meter from other plants.
In all other respects, planting and subsequent care for remontant raspberries is practically no different from ordinary varieties. Fertilizers are applied to the dug hole, a seedling is placed in it and the earth is rammed. After this, the seedling must be watered abundantly.
Basic rules of care
After planting, it is necessary to carry out proper care for the remontant raspberry so that it bears excellent fruit. Otherwise, if the care is incorrect or insufficient, the yield of the bush will not differ from ordinary varieties.
Basic rules of care:
- do not loosen the soil under the raspberry, as its root system comes close to the surface. Only mulching is allowed to prevent weeds;
- The plant needs to be watered abundantly throughout the season. Abundant watering is especially necessary during fruiting;
- top dressing should be carried out in the brand of complex fertilizers. This will improve the characteristics of the fruit: they will be large and in large quantities;
- in summer, root offspring and extra shoots should be removed;
- top dressing during the flowering period and until the end of fruiting in the fall is carried out using fertilizers containing superphosphates and potassium sulfates;
- preventive measures to prevent plant damage by various fungal diseases (for example, gray rot and powdery mildew) are carried out in April. They include the treatment of shoots with Bordeaux liquid;
- the fight against various pests is carried out with the help of biological products during the flowering period.
Some gardeners advise skipping the first harvest, then the berries of the second harvest will have higher taste characteristics. Otherwise, the fruits from the second harvest will be somewhat small and not so tasty.
Thus, knowing the rules for growing and caring for remontant raspberries, you will get an excellent harvest.
How to trim?
Not the last place in the care of these raspberry varieties is pruning. Unlike ordinary raspberries, its remontant varieties require a lightweight pruning option.
Pruning is considered almost the main element of care, since it allows you to adjust such important parameters for the fruit bush as ventilation, illumination, top dressing and soil moisture.
Tips for pruning remontant raspberries:
- it is best to carry out the necessary manipulations in October-November, after collecting all the berries;
- you can cut off all annual shoots after they have borne fruit;
- cut annual shoots to stumps.
Pruning scheme for remontant raspberries
Autumn pruning greatly simplifies the subsequent care of remontant raspberries, as it allows you to protect the shoots from pests and diseases that overwinter on them. But in the spring (in April), only sanitary pruning should be carried out. In May, you can make an additional pinch of the top of the shoot, which will push fruiting to a later date.
Pest Control
A separate place in the care of such raspberries is occupied by pest control. This topic has already been touched upon in the previous sections. Now we will consider this issue in more detail.
Compared with conventional varieties, remontant raspberries are highly resistant to various pests and diseases. But measures to combat them still need to be carried out, although not in such significant volumes.
Pest Control Measures:
- placing bushes of this variety at a distance from other plants, especially from ordinary raspberries, will give protection to the flowers from the raspberry beetle and white grub. Otherwise, it will be necessary to treat the flowers with insecticidal preparations;
- leaves from caterpillars are protected by feeding plants with phosphorus and potash fertilizers or by chemical treatment;
- spider mites are fought with colloidal sulfur, tinctures of garlic and onion peel;
It should be remembered that during the flowering period, chemical treatment of raspberries should not be carried out, otherwise toxic substances will enter the fruits.
In most cases, pest control is carried out by a biological method with the help of insects: ladybug, lacewing, hoverfly fly larvae, dragonflies, Apanteles rider, etc. It is undesirable to destroy these insects in the garden.
A well-chosen planting site, proper care and timely pruning will allow you to get an excellent harvest from remontant raspberry bushes several times a season.
Video “Features of caring for repair raspberries”
In this video, you can also view some useful tips on growing remontant raspberry varieties.
