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Gardeners have been growing the unpretentious and high-yielding Heritage garden raspberries for more than 50 years. She earned such affection with sweet and aromatic berries and simple care of the bushes. Its authors, breeders from New York, were truly right when they called the bred raspberries “heritage.” And the Heritage raspberry itself has become the source of more than one new highly productive variety. The raspberry bush produces several harvests, and in the fall the fruits ripen even after the first light frost. You can buy Heritage raspberry seedlings without hesitation, because it is still at the head of the world list of industrial varieties.
Description of the variety
Remontant raspberry Heritage has compact, strong bushes up to 1.5–2 m high, moderately spreading. Shoots with dark small thorns grow straight. Strong fruit branches are located at the top of the shoots, rise, uniting into inflorescences. Medium-sized dark green leaves are oblong, pointed at the end, wrinkled.
The berries from the Heritage raspberry bush are fine-grained, dense, round-conical, distinguished by dry separation, almost all have the same average weight - from 3.2 to 3.8 g, large ones - up to 5 g.Ripe juicy fruits attract with a dark burgundy hue, a characteristic raspberry aroma, a sweet taste, and a pleasant gentle sourness. The berries, which have an unsurpassed aftertaste, received a taster rating of 4.5 points. When ripe, they can stay on the bush for about a week. They remain picked in the refrigerator for the same amount of time.
Heritage raspberries ripen on one-year-old shoots at the end of August, and the bush bears fruit until frost. On overwintered two-year-old shoots, the berries ripen as early as June. If it is necessary to obtain a double harvest of full-fledged berries from the bush, the plant is intensively watered and fed. Otherwise, the ripening of berries on last year's shoots weakens the plant and delays the autumn harvest.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
There are more positive reviews about Heritage raspberries.
- Consistently high productivity;
- The berries have a pronounced taste, are one-dimensional and transportable;
- Frost-resistant – up to 300C, adapted to the climate of Central Russia, does not cover if there is snow;
- Does not cover the entire area, because there are few shoots;
- Quite highly resistant to pathogens.
But there is also a negative opinion:
- In the south, it regularly needs watering and mulching;
- Requires fertilization;
- During frequent rains or abundant watering, the berries increase in size, but lose their sweetness;
- Compared to new varieties, the berries are small, although the yield is quite comparable.
Raspberry planting
Heritage raspberries are planted in spring and autumn, but the best time is September. Before frost, the seedling takes root and with warmth, strengthened, develops successfully. A good place for a raspberry garden is a sunny, unshaded area with loose soil, where there is no stagnation of water. The Heritage plant prefers slightly acidic or neutral acidic soils.
- For planting raspberries, purchase 1-2 year old seedlings that have 1-2 shoots;
- Please note that they should not be thicker than 1 cm;
- If the root length is less than 15 cm, the seedling is weak;
- The central root should be accompanied by many small ones;
- The height of the shoots does not matter, because when planting they are cut to 25-30 cm.
Soil preparation and planting
A month before the expected September planting of Heritage raspberry bushes, at the end of July - beginning of August, the soil is enriched with humus - up to 12 kg per 1 sq. m. m, phosphorus fertilizers - 60 g, potassium sulfate - 35 g. The area is loosened and periodically weeded out weeds.
- It should be taken into account that for 1 sq. m, only two raspberry bushes of the Heritage variety are planted;
- The distance between the bushes is 70 cm, between the rows - one and a half to two meters;
- The holes are dug 30-35 cm deep, 40 cm wide;
- The seedling is placed in a hole so that the root collar is 3-4 cm above the ground;
- The soil around the shoot is compacted and a border is made along the edges of the hole;
- Each plant is given up to 30 liters of water;
- After watering, the top of the hole must be mulched with dry sawdust or peat.
Bush care
It is necessary to water the Heritage raspberry bushes regularly, twice a week, especially during a dry spring. The soil is moistened deeper than 10 cm. Raspberry Heritage then acquires its best characteristics. The yield will reach not only 3 kg per bush, but also more. October deep watering increases frost resistance and favors the formation of new buds.
In regions with unstable winters, frequent thaws and frosts without snow cover, in the fall old shoots of remontant Heritage raspberries are pruned flush with the soil. There will be an abundant berry harvest in September. Young shoots are bent and covered. In the spring, branches with damage and signs of disease are removed. 4-6 strong shoots are left on the bush.
It is better to tie up Heritage raspberry bushes, although they are not too large.
- The garter favors productivity;
- On the trellis, all branches will have equal access to sun and air;
- It is easier to prune shoots;
- It is more convenient to pick berries.
Heritage raspberry bushes are fed with mineral complex fertilizers, wood ash, and humus. The first type is applied in March, then another solution of ammonium nitrate is used: 15-20 g per bucket of water - for watering 1 sq.m. Before flowering, 60 g of superphosphate and 20 g of potassium sulfate are also dissolved in a bucket of water - per 1 sq.m. In autumn - compost and humus.
How to deal with diseases and pests
Raspberry plants of the Heritage variety are not very susceptible to diseases, but prevention is required.
- Regularly thin out and feed the bushes;
- After removing the berries, cut out the old shoots;
- Stumps from affected branches are also removed;
- Raspberries will gratefully accept spraying with any preparation that contains copper;
- Preventative treatment in rainy weather for Heritage raspberry bushes is carried out every six months.
Characteristic diseases of raspberry bushes
Most often, plants in raspberry fields suffer from fungal spores, rust, purple spot, and anthracnose.
Rust
In May, the disease appears on the shoots and leaves of the Heritage raspberry bush in the form of orange tubercles. The stems gradually dry out and become brittle. In early April, the bushes are treated with 3% urea, and before flowering they are sprayed with 1% Bordeaux mixture.
spotting
When infected, brown-purple spots appear on young raspberry leaves. Then the leaves dry out and fall off. The stems also peel and dry out. The spots spread to the entire plant. Wood ash is scattered around the bush as a preventative measure. In early spring, use 2% nitrafen, and before flowering - 1% Bordeaux mixture.
Anthracnose
First it develops in a natural humid area and is carried by wind, birds, and insects. This is a leaf disease in the form of gray spots with a brown border. Heritage raspberry bushes are also sprayed along the buds with a 5% urea solution, 1% Bordeaux mixture before flowering, and copper oxychloride after flowering.
Chlorosis
Heritage raspberry bushes are also affected by viruses: the leaves turn yellow along the veins in late June - July. The disease spreads to the shoots, the berries dry out before ripening. In the spring, 1% Bordeaux mixture and copper oxychloride are used prophylactically. If the infection has spread, the plants are removed and burned.
Insects - pests
Heritage raspberries are damaged by shoot or leaf aphids, raspberry beetles, stem gall midges and raspberry gall midges. All these insects, except for the raspberry beetle, which spoils the buds and reduces yield, damage the stem and leaves, which leads to the death of the plant. Insecticides are used against them, following the instructions.
Raspberry Heritage is a very good choice.Of course, comparing berries weighing 10-18 g on remontant raspberry bushes of new varieties such as Giant or tree-like Brusvyana, you can decide that the latter are more profitable. By the way, domestic breeders have developed a remontant raspberry variety Rubin for the Central region, with small berries of 3 grams, resistant to many diseases. For a gardener, study other varieties and choose. Maybe it’s worth stopping at a traditional, proven seedling.
