Blackberry Oregon Thornless

Blackberries are gradually gaining popularity among domestic gardeners due to their high taste and rich in nutrients composition of its fruits. Through the efforts of breeders, varieties resistant to unfavorable climatic conditions were developed, suitable for cultivation even in the northern regions. Among them there are a number of thornless varieties that combine such positive qualities as high taste qualities of berries, decorative crown and large volumes of harvest. Collecting fruit from thornless shoots is also quite simple, which further adds to gardeners' sympathy for such blackberry varieties. One of these established favorites is the Oregon Evergreen Thornless. This article will discuss the advantages of this variety, as well as the rules for planting and caring for it.

Blackberry Oregon Thornless: description of the variety, its origin

Blackberry Oregon Thornless: photos

The Oregon Thornless blackberry variety has been known to gardeners for a long time - it was bred in the United States back in the 20s of the 20th century. The variety acquired its name due to its widespread cultivation in the state of Oregon, where it was brought from England.

For the first time, the biologist F. Steffison drew attention to it and classified it as a mutated European blackberry due to the absence of thorns on its shoots. From America, the variety returned back to Europe and became widespread. Today this old blackberry variety has not lost its popularity.

The Oregon Thornless blackberry variety is characterized by the presence of strong creeping shoots covered with beautiful compound leaves with carved outlines. Their dense leathery surface retains its green color until the very frost. Fresh branches of "Oregon Thornless" also have a green color, by autumn it is replaced by red shades. The shape of the stems is faceted, there are no thorns on the surface.

During the flowering period, the shoots are densely covered with flowers painted in a white and white-pink shade; during the fruiting period, numerous fruit clusters appear in their place. This happens, as a rule, in the second half of August. Each brush includes from 20 to 70 small fruits, the average weight of which ranges from 3 to 6 g. There are berries weighing up to 8 g. During ripening, the surface of the fruits turns into a deep black color and becomes glossy, and the dense pulp becomes sweet and sour taste. It has a pleasant smell, but is full of large seeds.

Damage to the root system of Oregon Thornless blackberry bushes leads to the formation of numerous root shoots - new shoots are already covered with thorns, unlike the mother plant. Roots tend to grow rapidly, so they have to be removed constantly. For this reason, it is recommended that you do not injure the roots of Oregon Thornless blackberry bushes whenever possible when digging up the soil or during the transplanting process.

Advantages of the Oregon Thornless blackberry variety

Blackberry Oregon Thornless: photos

The advantages of the Oregon Thornless blackberry include its resistance to infection and pest attacks. In general, this variety is unpretentious, which allows it to be grown in places with a rather cold summer period.

Blackberry bushes Oregon Thornless can safely withstand temperatures down to -30 degrees. In regions with mild winters, shoots can be left on supports, but in central Russia it is recommended to remove them before the beginning of winter and bend them to the ground surface. Gardeners in the northern part of the country are providing additional shelter for Oregon Thornless blackberry bushes.

Blackberries Oregon Thornless are distinguished by impressive harvest volumes due to the large number of fruiting shoots, large berry clusters and general undemanding bushes. On average, for the entire fruiting period, about 10 kg of berries can be obtained from each specimen, about 2 kg are collected in one procedure for harvesting fruits. Fruiting of blackberries lasts quite a long time and begins in August or early September.

Oregon Thornless Blackberry Planting Instructions

Blackberry Oregon Thornless: photos

Competent planting of Oregon Thornless blackberries guarantees their quick adaptation to a new place and a bountiful harvest soon. There are a number of important criteria to consider when choosing a site and when to plant a blackberry.

Timing for boarding

Planting bushes of the Oregon Thornless variety is recommended in mid-spring, after the danger of recurrent frost has passed. As a rule, this period falls in the second half of April or the first weeks of May. It is important that the air temperature is not lower than 15 degrees, by which time the soil will also warm up. Fall planting is not a good solution for Oregon Thornless blackberries, as the seedlings are more likely to die during the frost.

Choosing a landing site

The best choice for planting Oregon Thornless blackberries will be an open and well-lit area, protected from the north wind. Sunlight is very important for fruiting, because under its influence, blackberries ripen and acquire their taste. It is better to refuse placing Oregon Thornless blackberries in the lowlands - stagnant water and cold air are harmful to plants. The groundwater level should be no higher than one and a half meters from the surface of the earth.

With regard to soil composition, like other blackberry varieties, Oregon Thornless prefers light loams with a neutral or low acidity level. Alkaline soils are not suitable for growing blackberry bushes, since in this case there is a high probability of developing chlorosis.
Creeping shoots of the Oregon Thornless blackberry are often used to decorate garden arches, gazebos, verandas, for vertical landscaping.

Selection and pre-treatment of seedlings

The quality of the planting material directly affects the success of the entire blackberry cultivation event. It is better to purchase it only from trusted producers, in well-known nurseries. It is recommended to buy seedlings with a closed root system, which are in containers with soil. Healthy seedlings will have a strong and well-developed root system and no signs of disease. Blackberry bushes at the age of 1-2 years are best suited for planting. Immediately before transplanting into open ground, the aerial parts of the blackberry seedlings must be cut off, leaving only 25 cm of the length of the shoots. All damaged and weakened branches are removed.

Landing algorithm

The first step is to pre-prepare the Oregon Thornless blackberry planting site. You need to start it in the fall: the site should be dug up and fertilized into the soil. A mixture of 2 buckets of humus and 0.3 kg of a mineral complex is suitable. In the spring, shortly before planting, planting holes are dug, the distance between which should be at least 150 cm.It is recommended to plant the blackberries in rows, leaving a distance of about 250 cm between them.

The actual planting of blackberry seedlings includes the following steps:

• Landing holes are dug with a side length of 50 cm.
• The soil extracted from them is mixed with organic matter (compost or humus).
• A blackberry seedling is placed vertically at the bottom of the planting hole, along with a clod of earth around its roots. The remaining free space of the hole is filled with layers of earth, which are compacted in turn. The deepening of the root collar of the bush should not exceed 3 cm.
• After planting, water the near-stem circle of the seedling abundantly, and then cover it with a layer of mulch.
• Blackberry Care Oregon Thornless

The Oregon Thornless blackberry variety belongs to creeping, therefore, for its successful cultivation, it is necessary to build trellises next to each bush. They can be made by digging wooden or metal stakes into the ground, connected with metal wires. Oregon Thornless blackberry shoots need to be tied to the trellis in a fan-like fashion - so they will not intertwine with each other and receive the necessary amount of sunlight. Harvesting shoots placed in this way is much easier.

Care

Blackberry Oregon Thornless: photos

Caring for Oregon Thornless blackberries comes down to the most common procedures: weeding, loosening the soil in the trunk circle, watering and applying top dressing.

Most of the trouble for gardeners is pruning the fast growing shoots of Oregon Thornless. This should be done at least twice during the season. The first pruning occurs in the third spring after planting the seedling - by this time it will already get stronger and grow. During spring pruning, all the shoots of the blackberry bush are shortened.

The second pruning occurs in the fall in preparation for winter. You can start it at the end of the collection of fruits. It is necessary to cut off all diseased and weakened shoots, as well as branches that have borne fruit in the current season. After pruning, only healthy and strong shoots of this year remain.

Top dressing is applied twice during the warm season. In the spring, blackberry bushes should be fed with organic matter rich in nitrogen. Humus, compost, rotten manure will do.

The second feeding is carried out in the summer - it is aimed at maintaining the health of plants during the fruiting period, when the berries ripen. For this, the plant needs a large amount of potassium, the source of which is potassium salts, as well as wood ash. You can feed Oregon Thornless blackberries with nitrophos, potassium sulfate, superphosphates. It is recommended to combine the application of fertilizers with watering and loosening the soil - this way the nutrients will be distributed faster and more evenly in the soil.

The Oregon Thornless blackberry variety is drought tolerant, but it is better to keep the soil from drying out in the trunk circle. Frequent watering is recommended during the period of rapid development and growth of fresh shoots, as well as in the phase of ovary formation and ripening of berries. Mulching it with straw, grass, sawdust will help to preserve moisture in the soil. Compost, peat.

How to properly collect and store blackberries Oregon Thornless

Blackberry Oregon Thornless: photos

The harvest season for Oregon Thornless is the second half of August. The last fruits ripen at the end of September. You can collect them every 3-4 days. Thanks to their dense pulp, they safely tolerate transportation and can be stored for a long time. Freezing can significantly lengthen their shelf life. During defrosting, the fruits of the Oregon Thornless blackberry do not lose their high taste and can serve as a filling for pies, dumplings, and an integral part of salads. When baked, their shape is not damaged.

Shelter for the winter

In regions with harsh winters, even frost-resistant blackberry varieties need shelter. Preparing for wintering, you need to remove the lashes of Oregon Thornless blackberries from the trellises, bend them to the ground and secure with staples. For a while, the heat accumulated by the earth will warm the blackberry bushes.A layer of straw or sawdust is poured over the shoots, then they need to be covered with a layer of roofing material or other non-woven material. It is worth abandoning the plastic film - stagnant air can provoke rotting shoots and the development of diseases.

To protect the roots of blackberry bushes from frostbite, it is recommended to cover the soil around them with a layer of mulch. With the arrival of spring warmth, the mulching layer must be removed in order to prevent the stems from burning.

Blackberry propagation Oregon Thornless

Like other blackberry varieties, the Oregon Thornless variety is successfully propagated by separating and replanting root shoots. The disadvantage of this method is the formation of thorns on the processes, and they grow quite a bit in order to get a large number of divisions. For this reason, the method of propagation by layering is more popular. For this purpose, blackberry shoots are buried in such a way that their tops are above the soil surface. It does this in the autumn - by the spring, the layers will already form independent roots and will be ready for separation from the mother bush and transplantation. From the shoots, cuttings about 25 cm long can be cut, placed in water and, after the formation of roots, transplanted into the ground.

Protection from diseases and pests

The Oregon Thornless blackberry is resistant to most diseases. Pest insects also rarely attack the bushes of this variety.
The berries of this blackberry variety can be affected by gray rot when the creeping shoots are in contact with the ground.
Among the harmful insects, aphids are the most dangerous for the Oregon Thornless variety. You can get rid of pests by spraying blackberry plantings with a solution based on soap and tobacco chips. It is very simple to prepare it: you need to dissolve 50 g of soap shavings and 200 g of tobacco in 10 liters of water.

During the ripening period of berries, raspberry bugs can settle on them, so you need to collect ripe fruits as quickly as possible.

Sanitary pruning of Oregon Thornless blackberries will help reduce the risk of plant infestation or attack by harmful insects. As part of preventive measures, you can spray the bushes with a solution of copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture in spring and autumn.

Conclusion

The Oregon Thornless blackberry variety combines such advantages as resistance to winter frost and drought, as well as to diseases and pests, high yield and quality of berries, decorativeness and unpretentiousness. Compliance with simple rules for caring for Oregon Thornless blackberry bushes will allow you to easily get a bountiful harvest of tasty and aromatic fruits.

Blackberry Oregon Thornless: video about the variety