Boysen's berry can be easily confused with raspberries or blackberries, the crops from which it originated. This hybrid is popular in America and is almost unknown to our gardeners. We will find out what is interesting about this hybrid culture, how to plant and propagate it, and what makes its berries unique.
Boysen Berry
Boysen berries are larger than raspberries and blackberries
Boysenberry has a sweet and sour taste and hard seeds inside
Boysenberry: what is it?
Boysen berry is a hybrid obtained by crossing a logan berry (a hybrid of blackberries and raspberries) and a blackberry Rubus baileyanus. The crop was bred by North American farmer Rudolph Boysen in 1920.
The culture belongs to the Pink family. She is distinguished by endurance and high immunity. Currently, the boysen berry is actively grown in farms in North and South America, Australia.
The plant is found in the North American forests - in a feral form. Sometimes it grows "on its own initiative" on personal plots.
People often confuse hybrid with blackberry.
Description of the plant
Boysen's berry most closely resembles a blackberry. It grows quickly and is able to fill empty spaces in a short time. Most of the varieties have long, prickly whiskers with which the plant clings to supports.
The culture is a summer-green shrub plant up to 2.5 m high and 1.5 m in diameter. The branches from which the berries are collected are cut off. The shrub grows new shoots after each winter. In the first year, only leaves are present on them, in the second - fruits, in the third year they die off.
Flowers and leaves
Boysenberry can serve as a good decorative fence. The plant is beautiful at any time of the year, but it looks especially luxurious during flowering.
The leaves of the hybrid are serrated, similar to crimson, they are large and embossed, collected in groups of several pieces. White flowers have 5 petals. Diameter - 2.5-3 cm.
Fruit
The fruits are similar to raspberries and blackberries. These are dark red drupes with thin skin and juicy flesh. Each fruit consists of many small balls with hard seeds inside.
The berries grow up to 3 cm in length. The weight of one fruit is 8 g. They are 2-3 times larger than raspberries and lighter than blackberries. The taste is balanced, sweet and sour.
Uses of Boysenberry Fruit:
- eaten fresh;
- freeze;
- make juices, jellies, jams, syrups, fillings, add to smoothies.
The fruits have a delicate structure, therefore, after harvesting, they crumple and quickly lose their presentation. They can be stored in the refrigerator for about 3 days.
European countries import mainly canned boysen berries.
Advantages and disadvantages
Boysen berries have a lot of positive properties, which confirms the widespread use of the culture on American farms.
Benefits:
- fruits are larger than blackberries and tastier than raspberries, have a beautiful presentation;
- berries have medicinal and health-improving properties;
- endurance and unpretentiousness.
The hybrid has only one drawback - laborious harvesting due to dense foliage and thorns.
Benefit and harm
Boysen berries contain substances thanks to which they have a powerful healing effect on the body. 100 g of fruit contains 37 kcal.
Benefits of fruits:
- iron prevents anemia;
- calcium strengthens nails, teeth and hair;
- Vitamin K maintains healthy bones and ensures normal blood clotting;
- folic acid improves immunity and activates the formation of red blood cells;
- vitamin C helps to overcome colds and viral diseases;
- vitamin E prevents blood clots, cancer and heart disease;
- potassium normalizes blood pressure;
- ellagic acid provides anti-carcinogenic, antiviral and antibacterial properties.
Potential harm to boysenberry:
- for allergies - eating fruits can cause rashes and throat irritation;
- Excessive consumption can cause stomach upset, acidity and a dangerous decrease in sodium in the body;
- in diabetics, berries cause an increase in blood glucose levels.
Varieties and features
Boysen's berry is one of the varieties of jemalina, which differs from its counterparts in that, along with the main parental forms, the logan berry was used in its creation.
There are only two types of boysenberry:
- with spikes;
- without thorns.
The peculiarity of this variety of ezhemalina is the unique raspberry-blackberry aroma of berries, thanks to which they make unique wines.
Other varieties of ezhemalina are Tayberry, Tummelberry, Marionberry, Darrow, Youngberry.
Landing subtleties
The best place for boysenberries is in a well-lit area, protected from drafts and cold winds.
Site requirements:
- the best type of soil is sandy loam;
- soil acidity - pH 5.8-6.5;
- can not be planted after tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants.
If the seedlings are planted in the fall, this must be done a month before the start of frost. During this time, the plants should take root and take root, this will help them survive the winter safely.
How to plant a boysenberry:
- Dig up the site for planting in the fall. Fertilize with humus or compost. Bring organic matter for digging.
- Dig a planting hole in the spring or fall. Its size should be such that the roots of the seedlings fit freely in it. The dimensions of a standard pit are 40x40 cm.
- Fill the hole with a potting mix made from fertile soil and humus. Add sand or clay as needed, depending on the type of soil.
- Place the seedlings in the hole, spread the roots gently over the soil tubercle.
- Sprinkle the roots with fertile soil obtained from digging the hole and water well.
Boysen's berry is rarely planted in one copy, in order to collect a solid harvest, at least 10-20 bushes must be planted. The intervals between adjacent pits are 1-1.5 m, between rows - 2-3 m.
If the seedlings are planted in the fall, the planting pits are prepared in the fall, if in the spring - a month before planting.
Growing and care
Boysen's berry is undemanding to growing conditions, but it needs care to get good yields. Considering that this is a commercial berry, caring for it is the most important factor in growing it.
Boysen berry care measures:
- Pruning. In the spring, sanitary pruning is carried out, removing branches damaged by frost. Cut the stems to healthy buds, leaving a margin of 2-3 cm.
Pruning can be done in the fall after picking the berries. Cut off lateral and old shoots. 6-9 lashes are left on one bush, and in the spring, if necessary, their number is reduced. - Garter. Bushes with long strands require a garter. Long stems are most conveniently tied to trellises. They are installed even during the planting of bushes. On the supports, placed at a distance of 2-3 m from each other, 2-3 rows of wire are pulled.
- Watering. The hybrid is drought-resistant and easily tolerates water scarcity. But droughts negatively affect the quality and quantity of the crop, so the plant is watered moderately. The soil should be moist all the time, but without stagnant water.
- Top dressing. Farmers feed the fruitful berry with complex mineral fertilizers, and also bring in fish and blood meal.
Reproduction
Boysen's berry, like any hybrid, is propagated by layering and cuttings - green or lignified.
The order of vegetative propagation by cuttings:
- During autumn pruning, cut off the apical shoots with buds - one or two are enough.
- Plant the cuttings in a nutritious soil mixture - in a pot or directly into the ground.
- Cover the cuttings with glass jars to create a greenhouse climate for them. Moisten the soil periodically.
- In the spring, transplant shoots that have taken root to a permanent place.
The order of reproduction by layering:
- In the spring, dig a 20 cm deep groove in the trunk circle and deepen the cuttings into it. Fix it and cover it with soil.
- Water the layers periodically, and in the fall, separate the shoot from the mother plant and plant it in a permanent place.
The culture can also be propagated by dividing the bush or by root layers. In the spring, the plant is dug up and its roots are divided into shoots 10 cm long - they are planted in the ground and grown until a seedling is obtained.
Pest control
Boysen's berry is affected by the same pests and diseases as its parental forms. Under unfavorable conditions and lack of care, it can be affected by powdery mildew, rust and fungal diseases.
To prevent the development of diseases, the bushes are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid 1%. For prevention and treatment, "Topsin" and "Fundazol" are also used (according to the instructions).
Boysen's berry can be attacked by weevils, galitsa and raspberry beetles. Preventive spraying with "Fufanon" or "Karbofos" (according to the instructions) helps to prevent mass destruction.
Despite the fact that the boysenberry is a man-made crop, it is in no way inferior in its characteristics to raspberries, blackberries and even more so to the logan berry. Moreover, it surpasses them in yield and resistance to negative factors.