Content
Black Butte Blackberry is an American variety characterized by very large, sweet berries (weighing up to 20 g). Withstands frosts down to -20 degrees, so the crop can be grown in different areas of the Central Region. The variety is picky about watering and feeding.
Origin story
Black Butte is an American-bred hybrid produced by breeder Chad Finn, Agricultural Research Officer at the Department of Agriculture. The work was carried out at the Corvallis experimental station (Oregon, Northwest USA).
Black Butte became widespread in 2000. It appeared in Russia several years later, it was imported from Ukraine. The variety is not included in the register of breeding achievements, but is known to many summer residents and farmers. There are several names in Russian literature:
- Black Butte;
- Black Bute;
- Black Batty;
- Black Bath.
Description of Black Butte variety
Black Butte is a shrub with powerful shoots spreading along the ground (3-4 m long). The branches are flexible enough, do not break, along the entire length are covered with small black thorns. The bush is moderately spreading. The roots are well developed, root growth is absent.
The leaves are bright green, with a corrugated surface, the edges are jagged. The plate is shaped like a trefoil. Black Butte Blackberry bears fruit on last year's shoots. Fruit branches appear in a maximum of 5–6. Berries are formed in 4–5 pieces per cluster.
They are elongated, black in color with a bluish tint. The sizes are atypically large: up to 5 cm in length, the average weight is 12–15 g, specimens up to 20 g are often found. The pulp is juicy, taste with pronounced sweetness and slight sourness.
Characteristics of Black Butte BlackBerry
Black Butte blackberry is distinguished by sufficient winter hardiness, which allows it to be grown not only in the south, but also in certain areas of the Central region (for example, in the Lower Volga region). At the same time, the bushes prefer abundant moisture - prolonged drought affects the harvest badly. Therefore, in the hot period, it needs regular watering.
Black Butte berries appear from June to the end of July
Ripening period and yield
The bushes begin to bloom in mid-May. The berries ripen in about 1–1.5 months. Therefore, the variety belongs to the early ones. Fruiting is extended, on average it lasts 6-7 weeks, during which all the fruits are harvested.
The yield is quite high. If the basic rules of care are observed, 3–3.5 kg of blackberries are harvested from one bush, sometimes up to 4 kg. The fruits are used fresh. They are suitable for various dishes and preparations (pastries, preserves, jam, cake decorating).
The keeping quality of Black Butte, like other blackberry varieties, is low. The berries are stored in the refrigerator for no more than 1-2 days. Therefore, they need to be consumed fresh or used to prepare blanks. Shock freezing is allowed, which will preserve useful substances.
Winter hardiness of Black Butte blackberry
Black Butte belongs to the winter-hardy varieties - it can withstand frosts down to –29 ° C, which corresponds to zone 5.These are the regions of the Lower Volga Region, the Black Earth Region and all southern regions, including the Krasnodar Territory, the North Caucasus and others. There is evidence that the bushes can tolerate frost normally down to –18 ° C. If the winters are colder, then the culture must be covered (especially if it has been planted recently).
Black Butte can be grown in different regions of Central Russia
Disease and pest resistance
Black Butte Blackberry has good resistance to most diseases and pests. Bushes can suffer from gray mold. This is a fungal infection, the symptoms of which are rotten berries with a white coating. Also, brown spots, depressed inward, appear on the apical shoots. This phenomenon is especially common during the blackberry flowering period (May and early June).
As a preventive measure, it is necessary:
- Raise the creeping branches of Black Butte above the ground.
- Trim the shoots periodically, avoiding thickening of the crown.
- Harvest on time.
- Periodically inspect plants, remove affected leaves, branches and burn them.
On the eve of flowering (end of April), all bushes are recommended to be totally treated with Bordeaux liquid or another fungicide:
- "HOM";
- "Quadris";
- "Speed";
- "Topaz";
- "Ordan".
During the growing season, pests can settle on the Black Butte bushes:
- spider and blackberry mites, which often lead to the loss of up to half of the crop);
- bear (digging in the roots);
- Chafer.
For the destruction of insects, folk remedies are used (for example, an infusion of tobacco dust, wood ash with laundry soap, a decoction of marigolds, potato tops). If this does not help, the bushes are treated with insecticides:
- Tiovit Jet;
- "Decis";
- "Karate";
- "Karbofos";
- Inta-Vir;
- "Spark".
Advice! For processing blackberry bushes Black Butte during fruiting, it is better to use biological preparations, for example, "Vertimek", Fitoverm "," Bitoxibacillin "and others. You can harvest the crop 3-5 days after spraying.
Pros and cons of the variety
Black Butte blackberry is appreciated by summer residents and farmers for a good harvest, tasty and large berries. The variety has a number of advantages, which allows you to successfully grow berries both for yourself and for sale.
Black Butte Blackberry gives very large presentation berries
Pros:
- consistently high yield;
- pleasant taste;
- bushes are not picky about the soil;
- early ripening;
- universal purpose;
- disease resistance.
Minuses:
- average winter hardiness, the plant needs shelter;
- bushes grow strongly, pruning is required;
- too many thorns - difficult to care for and harvest;
- low keeping quality;
- exactingness to watering.
Landing rules
Blackberry seedlings are purchased from nurseries or suppliers. Planting can be done in early May (in the south - in October). The night temperature should not drop below +12 ° C. For planting, choose an open area with fertile, light soil. A month before planting, compost is introduced into it (in a bucket per 1 m²) or complex mineral fertilizer (30-40 g per 1 m2).
Landing rules are standard:
- In a few weeks, it is necessary to prepare pits of the same depth and diameter (40x40 cm) with an interval of 80-100 cm from each other.
- Small stones are poured into the bottom.
- On the day of planting, the seedlings are soaked in a solution of a growth stimulator (Kornevin, Heteroauxin).
- Plants are planted, sprinkled with fertile soil, tamping it a little.
- Pour a bucket of settled water.
Optimal soil - fertile, loose loam
Care
When growing Black Butte blackberries, special attention is paid to watering. If there is no rain, give 1-2 buckets weekly (in drought - 2 times more often). In this case, the soil should not be too wet or waterlogged. Fertilizers begin to be applied from the second season:
- in April use urea 15–20 g per bush;
- during flowering, rotted compost and infusion of wood ash are needed;
- a week later - superphosphate (40 g per bush) and potassium salt (20 g per bush).
The soil is regularly loosened and weeded.For the winter, sawdust, peat, spruce branches and other mulch are laid on the ground. In regions with a cold climate (below -20 degrees), young seedlings are recommended to be wrapped in agrofibre.
Due to the abundance of moisture, the berries of this variety will become more watery, they will increase in size, but this will have a bad effect on the taste.
Shaping BlackBerry Black Butte
Bushes grow strongly, and branches spread along the ground. Therefore, Black Butte blackberry needs shaping. Do it gradually:
- As soon as the erect shoots grow up to 40 cm, they are bent back and pinned to the ground.
- After they grow to 1 m, the mount is removed and fixed to the trellis.
So that the bushes are compact, do not take up much space, they act in this way:
- In a seedling aged 1-2 years, in July, pinch the top point of growth (as soon as the shoot reaches 1 m) to stimulate the appearance of lateral branches.
- In early April, before the buds swell, all low lateral shoots (up to 40 cm) are removed, and the higher ones are cut off - then they will grow even faster.
- All branches that have given the harvest are removed closer to frost (early October).
Reproduction methods
Black Butte strawberries can be diluted with layering. The procedure begins in early August. Sequencing:
- Mark out a few young green shoots, remove their apical parts (by 2 cm).
- Step back 15 cm and remove all leaves below this mark.
- Bend the branch and pin it to the ground.
- Sprinkle with fertile soil the part that is left without leaves.
- In early October, carefully mulch with spruce branches, sawdust or other material.
- For the next spring, organize enhanced care - feeding, watering.
- A year later (i.e. for the second season), separate the layers from the mother bush of Black Butte with a shovel or knife and plant in a new place. Water and mulch again for the winter.
Conclusion
Blackberry Black Butte is a variety that has not yet become widespread in Russia. It is suitable for lovers of large and sweet berries. The fruits are used both fresh and in various preparations for the winter.
