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Both adults and children love raspberries. And there is a reason! Stunning dessert taste and undeniable benefits are the calling card of this berry. But here’s the problem: you can’t enjoy it for long. From the beginning of fruiting of the earliest varieties to the end of the latest, just over a month passes. But there is a way out. Over the past decades, many varieties of raspberries have been developed, which are called remontant. What does it mean? Such raspberries bear fruit twice: first, at the usual time, on the shoots of the previous year, and then at the end of summer - beginning of autumn, annual shoots produce berries.
Remontant varieties of raspberries have their own characteristics of care and their advantages. What are they?
Advantages of remontant varieties
- They are not afraid of any frost, since there are no shoots left for the winter.
- Caring for them is easier - they do not need to be bent down and covered for the winter.
- Annual shoots do not grow tall, so they do not require garter.
- There is nothing for pests and pathogens to overwinter on.
- They are not damaged by either the raspberry-strawberry weevil or the raspberry beetle, since they simply have nowhere to lay the larvae. There is no need for treatment with pesticides.
Modern domestic remontant varieties manage to yield most of the harvest before frost. They have been developed in the last 40 years, and the main merit in this is academician, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences Ivan Vasilyevich Kazakov. Thanks to him and his colleagues, many amazing remontant varieties have appeared, fully adapted to our Russian climate. Among them is a raspberry variety with a telling name – Elegant, a description and photo of which will be presented below.
Elegant raspberry was included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements in 2005 and is recommended for cultivation in the central region, but, according to reviews from gardeners, it grows well wherever raspberries can exist. Raspberry seedlings of the Elegant variety are propagated by many nurseries; you can also order them from an online store with delivery by mail. NPO Gardens of Russia, Gardens of the Urals, agricultural firm Poisk, Sibsad are engaged in the distribution and sale of seedlings.
Description of the variety
- bears fruit on annual shoots in late August and September. The remontant raspberry variety Elegant in the middle zone gives off the entire harvest before frost.
- the bush grows up to 1.8 m, spreading;
- thorns are concentrated at the bottom of the shoots;
- Fruiting of raspberries of the Elegant variety occurs at half the length of the shoot;
- there are up to 7 of them on a bush;
- raspberries of the Elegant variety have the shape of a blunt cone, shiny, bright red, and are easily separated from the stalk;
- their taste is very good with a harmonious combination of sugars and acids;
- the weight of raspberries of the Elegant variety is on average about 4-6 g, some weigh 8 g; subject to all rules of agricultural technology, the berries are equalized by weight;
- they are not inclined to crumble and rot and are able to hang on the bush for up to 2 weeks;
- from one raspberry bush of the Elegant variety you can harvest up to 2.7 kg of first-class berries, and with good care, up to 4 kg.
- The berries have a dense consistency and withstand transportation well.
- Elegant raspberries are good both fresh and in jam or compote.
To complete the description and characteristics of the Elegant raspberry variety, we must add that this variety is unpretentious, responds well to care and is resistant to disease.
Raspberry agricultural technology
All remontant raspberry varieties require careful care and compliance with growing rules. Their productivity and ability to fully produce berries before frost depends on this. Elegant raspberries are no exception.
Site selection and predecessors
Raspberries sharply reduce yield when grown in the shade; it is especially important to choose a sunny area for remontant varieties, such as Elegant. Any shading delays the flowering and ripening of raspberries, therefore, you may simply not harvest the entire crop before frost. The site should be protected from northern winds and well warmed by the sun.
An area that is flooded with water when the snow melts is absolutely not suitable for raspberries. It is impossible for the groundwater to stand high - the raspberry roots will dry out in a couple of years. But an area that is too high and dry is also a bad option. Raspberries love moisture, and will inevitably suffer from a lack of it when planted in a dry place.
It is best to plant Elegant raspberries in areas where perennial and cereal grasses previously grew. Planting after legumes, which enrich the soil with nitrogen, also gives good results.It is quite acceptable to plant berry bushes after vegetables under which a lot of manure has been applied. But it cannot be planted after potatoes and other plants of the nightshade family - they have common diseases and pests. For the same reason, the place occupied by the strawberry plantation will not be suitable.
Soil preparation and planting
Raspberries can grow on soils of almost any mechanical composition, except heavy, clayey ones, but almost all plants do not like them. But it will produce the largest harvest if the soil meets the following requirements:
- loose, well conductive to air and moisture;
- fertile, high in humus;
- have a neutral reaction, permissible soil acidity limits are from 5.8 to 6.2.
Ideal soil for raspberries is rare, but you can improve it yourself: add peat and sand to soil with a high clay content, and add clay and humus to sandy, poor soils. If the soil reaction is acidic, you will have to lime it, but several months before planting the bushes.
How to prepare the soil for raspberries, given that this shrub has a branched and superficial root system? It is not enough to fill the planting holes themselves with fertilizer and fertile soil. The entire area of the raspberry plantation needs to improve fertility. And soil preparation begins in the spring, since the best time for planting remontant raspberries of the Elegant variety is autumn. For every sq. m of soil for digging need to be added:
- 2-3 buckets of fully mature compost or humus;
- about a glass of mineral fertilizer containing a full set of microelements;
- 0.5 liter jar of ash.
Such preparation does not exclude the introduction of fertilizer and humus into the planting holes.
The timing of planting remontant raspberries of the Elegant variety is somewhat different from those for ordinary raspberry varieties. This is due to the biological characteristics of its development. The outflow of nutrients and root growth occurs at a later date than in non-remontant varieties.
It is important to decide on the planting scheme, since in each case the distance between the plants will be different.
- When planting in rows, it is permissible to leave about 0.9 m between bushes, and up to 2.5 m between rows.
- If a group of a small number of plants is planted, which can be arranged in the shape of a square or triangle, it is enough to provide a distance of 70 cm between the Elegantnaya raspberry bushes.
Planting technology:
- dig a hole with a depth of at least 30 cm and a diameter of at least 35 cm for planting each seedling;
- when planting in rows, it is more advisable to dig a trench 35 cm wide and 40 cm deep for the entire length of the planting;
- prepare a mixture for filling the hole from the top layer of soil, a bucket of humus, a glass of ash, a tbsp. spoons of superphosphate and the same amount of potassium sulfate;
- a low mound of the prepared mixture is poured onto the bottom of the planting hole, the seedling is installed, carefully straightening the roots;
- fill the seedling so that the root collar is strictly at ground level. The root collar can only be deepened on light sandy soils, but not more than 4 cm.
- water at the rate of a bucket or two per bush:
- There is no need to rush when pruning Elegant raspberry seedlings. The shoots have many reserves of nutrients that must go to the roots;
- In order for the raspberries to successfully overwinter in the year of planting, mulch the ground around the bushes with a layer of humus of about 10 cm; in the spring it will need to be distributed over the entire area of the raspberry tree.
Further care
Remontant raspberry The Elegant variety requires careful care, therefore weeds there is no place in the raspberry patch. Weeding and loosening are mandatory activities.
Raspberries are very sensitive to lack of moisture; the root layer should not be allowed to dry out. Water the bush regularly, especially in hot and dry weather. In order to retain moisture in the soil longer, the plantings are mulched, not forgetting that the thickness of the mulch layer should not be large so that replacement shoots can break out from under the ground.
Feeding the bushes begins in the second or third year. At the beginning of the growing season, Elegantnaya raspberries need fertilizers with a high nitrogen content; in the second half of summer, preference is given to full complex mineral fertilizers. The frequency of fertilizing depends on the fertility of the soil, and the norms are indicated on the packaging of the fertilizer.
Raspberries of the Elegant variety are very fond of organic fertilizers. They are made with fermented infusion of mullein or bird droppings. For the first - the ratio of water and fertilizer is 1:10, and for the second - 1:20. Such fertilizing should be combined with watering with clean water.
The important point is the correct pruning remontant raspberries Elegant. According to gardeners, with a two-year crop it is not possible to obtain a full autumn harvest.Typically, fruiting occurs during the annual plant development cycle.
When to prune fruit-bearing shoots? This is done in the fall, but as late as possible, to allow the roots to fully accumulate nutrients. You can prune after the soil freezes and even when snow falls.
All waste is removed from the site or burned.
You can watch the video about the features of growing remontant raspberries:
Remontant raspberries are an excellent chance to extend the consumption of this tasty and healthy berry for a whole month or more. Caring for it is no more difficult than caring for a regular one. There are many varieties suitable for cultivation in most regions, among them Elegant raspberries.
