How and when to transplant blackberries to a new location?
From one bush of garden blackberries, you can collect up to 6 kilograms of tasty and healthy berries. This culture is growing rapidly, so every gardener eventually faces the need to transplant a plant.
Do I need to transplant?
In their natural environment, blackberry bushes can grow in one place for up to 30 years, but in the garden it is required to transplant the berry and do this every 10 years. Thus, the plant rejuvenates, you can propagate it if required.
Excessively dense shrubs, which have grown over time, are subject to transplantation. Sometimes the change of location is due to the redevelopment of the site.
In order for the process to pass safely for blackberries, you need to follow a special algorithm.
First, the bush with a root ball is completely removed from the soil, then the shoots are pruned, and only after that the plant is again placed in the ground at a permanent place of growth. It is important to ensure that the root collar is at the same level during planting as before.
Blackberries are transplanted in spring and autumn, it is worth choosing the optimal time depending on the region of residence and the climatic conditions that are observed in the area.
If you transplant a plant in the spring, then until the next frost it will have enough time to settle down in a new place, to put down additional roots. This option is available in the northern regions and where the cold comes early. The only disadvantage of an early blackberry transplant is that it is difficult to determine the exact time when it is worth starting the procedure for transferring a plant to another place. It is very important to choose a moment when the soil has already warmed up enough, but sap flow in the shoots has not yet begun.
With an early transplant, a lot of fertilizer should not be placed in the planting hole. They injure the root system of the not yet matured blackberry, and it may simply die.
In the south, in the gardens, the transfer of berries is done in the fall.
There is enough warmth here so that the plant can quickly adapt to a new place. Over the summer, it gains the required amount of nutrients and is ready to change its place. But it is necessary to carry out a transplant two months before the onset of frost. And even if you have a frost-resistant variety, it is better to cover it for the winter.
Timing
It is not so easy to choose the right time for replanting blackberries in spring and autumn. If this is the southern region, then you can carry out the procedure in October, in the Moscow region it is better in September.
It is especially necessary to be especially careful with the spring transplant, since it is necessary to choose the right time during these months, so that the soil is already warmed up enough and the sap flow has not yet begun. In the northern regions, gardeners are often guided not by the calendar, but by looking at the weather.
In April, you can start the procedure, in May it is no longer worth it, since the growth phase of the shoots begins.
It is much easier with the autumn transplantation of berry bushes: for the south it is the end of September and the beginning of October. In other regions, at least 60 days should remain before the first frost.
Preparation
The process of changing the place for a blackberry takes place in two stages. On the first, preparatory work is carried out, on the second, the plant is directly transplanted. Regardless of the variety, the first stage is the same for all bushes, it includes:
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selection of a site;
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soil preparation;
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plant preparation.
Site selection
Not every place on the site is suitable for planting the described plant. It doesn't matter if a young or an adult plant is tolerated.Blackberry loves the sun, does not like drafts and large accumulation of groundwater. For this reason, a place well protected from the north wind is suitable for it, where the sun stays most of the time, and the groundwater is far from the surface.
A small hill is considered a good option, which perfectly protects the blackberry from flooding.
It is better to make a small groove around the bush, where the water necessary for normal growth and formation of fruits will be stored.
Ideal substrate for this plant:
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loam;
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sandy loam soil.
Do not plant blackberries in areas where nightshade or other berry crops previously grew.
Soil preparation
This stage involves several important activities.
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If the soil is not suitable for the pH level, then it must be corrected before planting the shrub. In this case, iron sulfate helps, which makes the soil less acidic. For 10 square meters, half a kilogram of funds will be required. If there is no ferrous sulfate at hand, then it is permissible to use sulfur; on the same piece of land, 0.3 kg of the product is used. In the second case, the effect will not be visible immediately, so it is worth starting at the end of autumn so that by spring the land is ready for planting. If the acidity level is too low, lime is added to the soil in the fall.
- Be sure to dig the earth to the depth of the shovel. All roots and debris are taken out of the ground.
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After digging, compost is placed on the surface of the soil. Its thickness should be at least 10 cm. On top of it, another 3 centimeters of organic matter, preferably crushed. You can make at this stage and complex dressings, which contain a large amount of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.
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After some time (week), the area prepared for planting, dug up again.
- The penultimate event is watering the land and mulching it. The layer should be at least 8 cm, this is how much is needed so that organic fertilizers quickly perepil and give up their nutrients to the soil.
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The blackberry must be planted next to the trellis. Such support is simply indispensable. You can immediately install a metal frame along which the berry will trudge in the future.
Plant preparation
Planting material also needs to be properly prepared before being submerged in the ground. The shrub to be transferred is removed from the ground with a root ball and earth. To damage as few roots as possible, dig in as far as possible from the central trunk.
After the blackberries have been dug out, all shoots are removed at the root. No stumps should remain, since then the cuts will become a favorable environment for insects.
If you plan to transplant a perennial plant that has grown decently, then it can be divided and planted.
This is one of the breeding methods for this berry bush. However, if the plant is very old, then it cannot be divided.
A sharp knife treated with a disinfectant is used to cut the root system. You can use simple bleach in this case. Each new division must have at least 2 branches, or even more.
Transplant technology
Depending on the time that has been chosen for transplanting berries to a new place, its own technology is used. If you re-plant the blackberry to another place thoughtlessly, without observing the elementary rules of agricultural technology, then it may simply not take root and die in winter.
Spring
This time is ideal for beginner gardeners, as there will be plenty of time before winter for the bush to take root, take root and acclimatize. It's very easy to do everything right, you just need to study the technology.
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At the first stage, the planning of the site is carried out. Adult large garden blackberry bushes can be arranged in a row. Depending on the variety and height of the plants, the distance between them and the beds may vary. Usually it is at least 180 cm and no more than 3 meters.Better when the gap is greater than less. If this is an upright variety, then it should be planted at least at a distance of 2 meters, if it is creeping, then 3 m.
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When creating a planting hole, be sure to look at the size of the root ball. If it is a dividing line, then a depth of 50 cm is sufficient for normal growth and development. For bushes, which are several years old, a deeper and wider hole is prepared, where a fairly developed root system of the plant should fit. You can do a trench landing at a depth of 50 cm.
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A compost bucket is placed at the bottom of each pit or mineral fertilizers in the amount of 100 g per plant.
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A previously dug blackberry bush is placed in a planting pit and filled up in several stages. First, to the middle, since this first layer will need to be tamped and watered. Thus, air pockets are removed. After that, the rhizome is completely closed to the level of the root collar.
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The plant must be wateredand the soil around is covered with mulch.
Autumn
Time for an autumn transplant is after harvest. There should be enough time before the first frost for the plant to take root. The procedure is the same as for the spring transplant, there are no differences.
The only thing worth remembering is that a plant that was moved to a new place in the fall will need shelter for the winter. You can use mulch for this, it is laid on the trunk space.
Spruce or pine spruce branches protect well from frost and snow. Some gardeners prefer to use a special non-woven fabric.
Autumn is the ideal time for planting the cuttings, which were obtained from the root growth. Convenience lies in the fact that there is no need to disturb the old bush, and with such a planting, the varietal qualities of the plant are preserved. You will not be able to use this method with blackberries that are spreading because they do not form root growth.
Summer
In summer, blackberries are rarely transplanted, and there is a reason for that - the survival rate of such plants is small. When it is hot, blackberries, taken out of the ground, immediately begin to wither and dry, it is much more difficult for them to adapt to a new place. For everything to work out, the gardener must comply with several conditions.
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Planting is done either early in the morning or in the evening after the sun has set.
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As soon as the plant is dug out of the soil, it must be planted immediately, so a hole in the new site is prepared in advance. Be sure to hide the blackberries from the sun, and watered abundantly.
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Watering is carried out every day, or it is possible 2 times - in the morning and in the evening, if the heat is unbearable.
Follow-up care
After transplantation, the blackberry bushes do not need special care. All procedures are standard, including watering, pruning.
Water gives the plant a lot and often, but it is better to forget about fertilizers for a while. A weak root system will not yet be able to cope with top dressing and, most likely, will get burned. Only when the seedlings become strong and take root well can we talk about fertilizers. Then they are brought in according to the standard scheme for this plant, several times a year.
In spring and autumn, the transplanted bush requires sanitary and formative pruning. Be sure to place the lashes on the trellises so that they do not spread along the ground.
Before the onset of cold weather, the supports are removed, and the blackberries are laid on the ground and, if possible, covered with spruce branches or mulch.
Gall mites attack this plant in summer, therefore shrubs are processed during this period. Any insecticide available on the market is suitable. A solution of insecticidal soap, garlic infusion helps a lot. Special garden oils are often used.
In August, blackberry bushes must be hardened. In the evening, when the sun goes down, they are poured over with cool water.
For the next season, blackberries need potash fertilizers. Fertilizer is applied in spring, when flowers appear.
If the gardener fulfills all the recommendations, then his shrub will perfectly take root in a new place and will regularly bear fruit.
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