Black raspberries are rarely found in German gardens. These raspberry varieties, which come from North America, have a number of advantages. Reason enough to plant black raspberries in your own garden.
What are black raspberries and how to plant them?
Black raspberries are a variety of raspberries native to North America that offer many advantages such as greater resilience, less pest infestation and easier picking. They can be planted in a sunny location, propagated by lowering shoot tips and harvested in autumn.
Origin of black raspberries
Black raspberries are still relatively unknown in our part of the world. The varieties with the deep black, sometimes dark purple fruits come from North America. There they occur in uncultivated form.
Benefits of black raspberry varieties
- No infestation by raspberry beetles
- No runner formation
- Easy picking thanks to cone formation
- Very even fruits
- Resilient plant
Planting black raspberries in the garden
The site conditions and demands on the soil are similar to those of summer raspberries and autumn raspberries.
Very large, almost artificial-looking fruits grow in a sunny location. Make sure the soil is loose.
However, the bushes tend to develop into very strong plants. The planting distance in the row should therefore be at least 80 centimeters, or preferably one meter. A row spacing of at least 1.50 meters is recommended.
Black raspberry harvest time
The harvest season begins at the end of June and extends into July, depending on the variety.
The black fruits are often covered by a slightly gray veil. This is not mold!
When harvesting black raspberries, be sure to wear gloves and long-sleeved clothing. The rods have many thorns that can cause painful injuries.
Cutting black raspberries
Like summer raspberries, black raspberries form their fruits on two-year-old wood.
The harvested shoots are cut back completely to the ground immediately after harvesting.
In autumn, a maintenance cut is carried out in which excess canes are thinned out. The shoot tips should also be shortened slightly.
Black Raspberry Care
The very long growing shoots are a distinctive feature of the black raspberry. They grow up to four meters long and are richly thorny.
The rods must be attached to a trellis (€99.00 on Amazon) so that they do not hang on the ground.
Alternatively, place the canes on top of each other so that they form a dense raspberry hedge. However, it is then more difficult to pick the fruit.
The propagation of black raspberries
Black raspberries do not form runners. They are propagated by lowering the shoot tips.
To do this, place some tips from the canes on the ground in autumn and cover them with ripe compost.
In spring, new plants develop from the tips. Once several pairs of leaves have grown, the seedlings can be separated from the mother plant. Plant them in a sunny location in autumn at the latest.
Tips & Tricks
If you want to grow an impenetrable hedge, black raspberries are ideal. The long canes grow so long and thick that no one can get through. They don't form any runners, so they can also be used as a raspberry hedge to separate it from neighbors.
