US state of Illinois with its hot, humid summer, devastating tornadoes and winter snowstorms is the birthplace of many modern garden blackberry varieties.
It was there, at the University of Carbondale, by hybridizing the Darrow variety with Tornfrey and the US1482 breeding number that the superstar of Russian gardens was obtained - the blackberry Black Satin. Initially zoned for Illinois and California, it very quickly took over the landing areas throughout Europe and acclimatized in Russia.
Table of contents
- Variety description
- Planting and care
- Diseases and pests
- 3 facts about blackberry Black Satin
Variety description
We begin with the description of the variety of berries. Black Satin in its form occupies an intermediate position between the Cumaníks and the Rossians. This is a semi-nesting variety, the main characteristics of which are collected in the table:
| . Habitus | . Strong bush, not prone to thickening. Root offspring does not form. |
| Shoots | Shoots are fast-growing, with a round cross-section, without slopes, very long - up to 5 meters. At the beginning of growth - upright. When growing over the mark of 1.5 meters begin to climb. Young vines of green color turn brown, as they mature. The second year is brown, very stiff and thick - up to 3 cm in diameter. The leaf is complex, serrate, from 3-5 sheet plates. |
| Flowering | The flowers bloom pink, fade to pale pink or white the next day. |
| Fruiting | Exceptionally Abundant. The berries are large, up to 8 grams, black, with satin gloss, so that the name of the variety appeared. The taste is excellent, sweet-sour, with a strong blackberry aroma. Maturation stretched from August to October. Some fruits catch the first snow. In fruiting comes the next year after planting. |
| Resistance | Cold resistance is moderate, down to -22⁰C.The tops of the shoots can freeze. Shelter is required for the winter. May be affected by gray mold. |
| Yield | Very high - up to 25 kg of berries from the bush per season. |
| Purpose fruits | Universal. |
| Transportability and stability | Both are low. Mature fruits are soft, quickly lose their presentation and deteriorate. |
Thus, Black Sateen blackberry has many advantages:
- large berries of excellent taste and versatile;
- high yield;
- shootlessness;
- controlled bush density.
Of the minuses, the following can be called:
- poor keeping quality and transportability of fruits;
- insufficient frost resistance;
- gray rot instability.
Black Satin Shrub However, these shortcomings can be easily corrected. For example, gray rot affects overripe berries, and it is enough to remove them from the bush in time to avoid it. Extended fruiting allows to approach a plant once every three days and take a small amount of fruits, immediately eating or releasing them for processing.
With regard to transportability, according to some observations, this indicator increases significantly with the age of the plant. Berry from an old bush of a more dense structure, it is not so easy to choke and with a deft collection it is able to survive a short move.
Planting and care
Place for planting Blackberry Black Satin is better to choose a solar, protected from drafts, with a light fertile ground. This variety does not tolerate stagnation of water, so drainage should be done on wet soils.
Place seedlings on a permanent place better in spring. However, if the planting material purchased in the fall, it does not matter: planting a plant in the fall, you need to take care of its shelter and care.
The blackness of the Black Satin variety is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it allows you to shoot good yields. On the other hand, it creates difficulties for sheltering an adult plant for the winter. The shoots of this blackberry bend very badly. There are two ways out.
Clusters of Black Satin berries “Fostering” the correct position of the vine
Do not allow the plant to drive upright shoots too far. Already when they reach the length of 35-40 cm, it is necessary to bend the twig to the ground and so secure. When the vine is 1.2 meters long, you can free it and put it on a trellis horizontally. For the winter, the escape with a bend is easily removed and placed under the shelter.
American-style pruning
At home, the Blackberry Black Sateen is shaped as a compact bush using the following pattern:
- grows at a height of 110 cm in the middle of summer, stimulating the growth of lateral shoots;
- in early spring, before the buds wake up, the lateral shoots are normalized: growing below the 45-centimeter mark from the ground are removed, the rest are shortened to a length of 40 cm;
- cut out branches in autumn.
It is necessary to remove the spent "rags" in any case. Blackberry vine, like crimson, has a two-year development cycle, and after the second year it will only thicken the bush and promote the spread of gray rot.
To obtain annual good harvests, the blackberry should be fed from the third year of life according to the following scheme:
- spring - nitrogen( 5 kg of humus and 10 g of urea per 1 m2);
- autumn - potassium and phosphorus( 100 g of superphosphate and 25 g of potash).
Diseases and pests
Basically, this variety is resistant to the onset of major blackberry diseases. The exception is gray rot, which has already been mentioned. Its pathogen, botrytis gray - mold fungus, which is used in winemaking.
It can damage a plant already in the flowering phase. If it is cold rainy weather, whole inflorescences may suffer. In the later stages of the growing season, botrytis sits on the ovaries and fruits. Sick with a gray rot, the berry looks as if rotten, covered with a gray cannon. Therefore, it is better to take preventive measures in advance than to lose the harvest.
- The lower branches should not lie on the ground. The spores of botrytis are kept in damp earth.
- Do not allow thickening of the bush. All vegetative parts of the plant must be ventilated.
- Remove ripe berries in a timely manner and remove rotted ones. Finding a sick escape, cut it out and burn it.
- In the spring, before flowering, spray the plant with Bordeaux mixture( 3% solution).
Blackberry Slate is dangerous for blackberry pests. This tiny insect can halve the harvest of berries. Unlike many other pests, the mite does not go to hibernate in the soil or under the bark. It settles right in the blackberry buds, and in the spring it migrates to inflorescences and berries. The fruits struck by this pest do not ripen, remaining reddish.
Tiovit Jet can be used to combat this scourge, which is commonly used to process grapes. Spray need to bloom before budding.
Sprig with juicy berries Black Satin 3 facts about blackberry Black Satin
- Researcher Fumiomi Takeda from the Appalachian research station conducted experiments with this variety. The blackberry was divided into groups, forming them with different numbers of lashes: 3, 6, 9 and 12. The purpose of the experiment was to determine whether the number of shoots affects the yield of the plant. The result was curious: in terms of the total mass, Black Sateen produced exactly the same result in all groups. The difference was in the size of the berries.
- Working with Blackberry Satin's experienced blackberry plantations, the same Fumiomi Takeda invented a rotary trellis. This device allows you to cover the plant for the winter without removing the lashes from the garter. It is enough just to translate it from the “summer” position to the “winter” one.
- It is believed that Black Satin is difficult to reproduce, because it does not give root offspring. However, the practice of experienced gardeners shows that this variety is fairly easily rooted by the tips of the shoots. A good lower side shoot is selected, pressed against the ground, fixed with a shackle, and buried. The procedure is carried out in the middle of summer. In the fall, you can separate the seedling from the mother plant and place it in a permanent place.
