The blackberry belongs to the Rubus genus and is a member of the pink family.
The plant grows in northern and temperate latitudes, in mixed and coniferous forests. Very often the bushes grow in the floodplains of rivers, forest-steppe zone.
The plant begins to bloom in mid-June and ends in August. On one bush you can find flowers, ripe and green berries. Blackberry is a real record holder in terms of yield; it will easily give odds to even the most fruitful raspberry variety.
The plant will surprise you with a generous harvest of tasty, juicy and fragrant fruits, in the high season you will see how the branches of the plant bend under the weight of huge ripe berries almost to the ground.
Blackberries are an excellent melliferous plant, and therefore if you are going to start breeding this berry on a significant scale, you can put a hive among the bushes, which will allow you to get tasty, healthy and aromatic honey.
One of the best cultivated varieties of blackberry is considered "Black Satin". This variety will charm those who plan to cultivate this berry on an industrial scale.
Characteristics of blackberry "Black Satin"
Besshipny Blackberry Satin variety of blackberry gives dark brown shoots up to 7 meters long. Rigid shaftless shoots have a circular cross section and are characterized by a high degree of fragility.
Scourge bushes to reach a height of about 1.5 meters grow vertically, then they begin to form horizontally, which is especially characteristic of creeping species. And if you believe experienced gardeners, then during active growth, shoots may increase by 6 or 7 cm per day.
After planting, Black Sateen blackberry bushes very quickly become overgrown with stepchildren, which will require the gardener to carry out the bushes in a timely manner. This type of blackberry gives very few shoots, and therefore the culture is propagated by the tops of the branches.
During the growing season, the plants are covered with hard trifoliate bright green leaves. At the flowering stage, pink-purple inflorescences are formed on the bushes, which after 2 to 3 days after the start of flowering become completely white.
Did you know? During the ripening period, the rounded elongated blackberry fruits become almost black in color and can have a weight of 3–4 to 5–7 g. The largest berries can be found at the top of the bush.When the berries are fully ripe, they become very tender, and any mechanical action can damage them. In this regard, if they are planned to be transported, it is better to collect slightly unripe fruits.
The berries will enchant you with a sweet, sweet and sour taste and a divine refreshing aroma, which is especially appreciated by real gourmets.
With the provision of intensive farming with one bush can be collected from 20 to 25 kg. Harvesting is recommended every three days.
The advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Blackberry Shrubs, Black Satin, like any plant, have their own advantages and disadvantages.
The advantages of growing Black Satin blackberries include the following:
- the root system of the bushes does not extend beyond the beds, and therefore they will grow where they are planted, and will not go on a journey around the site;
- the variety is distinguished by record fertility, and if you make some effort, you can collect up to 25 kg of crop from one bush;
- the roots of the plant go deep enough into the ground, which allows it to easily tolerate periods of drought, getting moisture from the deep seams;
- unlike most of their relatives, the branches of "Black Satin" are not covered with spikes, which greatly facilitates the care of the bushes and simplifies the harvest;
- the plant is not subject to pest attacks;
- Blackberries are very healthy and contain much more vitamin C than even oranges.
- berries ripen quite unevenly, and therefore on one branch you can see flowers, ripe and still quite green fruits, and this will make you worry about harvesting all summer;
- branches of the variety are very tough and have insufficient flexibility, as a result of which they are very easy to break while moving around the plantation during harvest;
- harvesting is a big problem: blackberries are stored for no more than two days, they are very gentle, and therefore any inaccurate movement can cause damage to them, which makes them absolutely unsuitable for transportation.
Planting BlackBerry "Black Satin"
Proper blackberry satin planting should begin with choosing a planting site for the crop.
The ideal place for culture should be:
- well lit;
- not be in the shade of trees, buildings or fences;
- should not be too wet;
- the soil on the site should not be sandy.
Important! Bushes are planted in open ground in autumn or spring. Before planting, the site should be thoroughly cleaned of all weeds and other vegetation. The territory intended for planting bushes must be carefully dug to a depth not less than the length of the spade bayonet.The pits for planting the bushes are located 50 cm apart. The distance between the rows should be about 2.5 or even 3 meters. Shrubs have impressive size, and therefore require considerable space for full development.
How to choose seedlings when buying
When selecting Blackberry Sateen blackberry seedlings, one- or two-year planting material should be preferred, which is sold to nurseries and farms in which uterine plantations and planting material are evaluated by specialists such as homologist, virologist and plant pathologist.
Important! Preference should be given to those seedlings that do not have leaves, they are not dried, do not have mechanical damage and visible signs of damage by any diseases or pests.
Seedlings must meet the following criteria:
- have at least three skeletal roots;
- the length of the roots of the plant should reach at least 15 cm;
- the height of the ground part of the seedling should be at least 40 cm.
When is it better to plant seedlings
Seedlings are planted in the soil in early spring, while the buds have not begun to fill with vital juices and have not swelled, or in the last two weeks of September.
Important! If the planting of seedlings is carried out in the autumn, then it is necessary to carefully cover the bushes so that they will not suffer from the winter frosts.
If you decide to simply transplant bushes from one place to another, then this should be done before flowering, in the second half of May, either at the very beginning of June or after the harvest.
When planting, do not forget that the roots of the plants must be deep underground, and therefore the pit for the pet is made deeper than for the rest of the garden vegetation.
How to choose and prepare a place for landing
Plants of the "Black Satin" variety are very tenacious, and therefore will be able to grow successfully in any conditions, only you should not expect to receive generous productivity in this case.
Of course, seedlings will be able to grow and bear fruit even in partial shade, however, for faster harvesting one should choose well-lit places.
In addition, the place for disembarking pets should be protected from drafts and strong wind, because otherwise, due to the fact that the branches of the culture have a low degree of flexibility, they can break.
It is desirable that the soil on the site was chernozem and not too wet. Culture has a low immunity against mold and putrid infections, so an excess of moisture will invariably cause infection of the bushes with phytoinfections.
Important! Do not plant seedlings "Black Satin" and in areas with saline or limestone soils, as this will lead to chlorosis in the bushes, which will negatively affect the development and fruiting of plants.It is equally important to thoroughly clean the planting area from the weeds and roots of other plants, since the blackberry is not very hospitable and can react badly to close proximity to other cultures.
Stepwise landing process
Planting material is subject to rigorous selection, as mechanically damaged, diseased and pest-infected shoots are not likely to take root.
Step-by-step instructions for planting Black Sateen varieties:
- first prepare the wells with a depth of about 50 cm;
- the distance between the holes in the rows must be at least a meter;
- the distance between the rows should be from 2.5 to 3 m;
- the wells are well watered;
- Each seedling is carefully lowered into the hole with an earthy clod and covered with soil;
- soil near a sapling is mulched;
- young branches are cut so that each of them reaches a length of 30 to 40 cm and has no more than three buds.
Proper care is the key to a good harvest.
Caring for Blackberry "Black Satin" does not take much of your time and effort. After the seedlings take root, they are recommended to tie.
Did you know? In some gardeners it turns out to create unique compositions from the branches of the blackberry by directing the shoots in the right direction.
In the second year of life, the Black Satin bushes need intensive feeding for intensive growth and development.
Important! To the process of rooting bushes more successfully, it is recommended to remove all the inflorescences on young seedlings.
To improve the aeration of the roots, it is recommended to loosen and weed the soil around the seedlings at least once a month.
Bushes garter
Given that the shoots varieties have a high degree of rigidity, with a strong mechanical effect on the shoots possible their fracture. In order to facilitate the formation of culture, the vine must be taught to the right direction from a young age.
When the shoots reach a maximum of 35 cm in length, a more flexible branch should be bent to the ground with a spear, which will ensure its horizontal development in the future; simply put, they will travel along the ground. When the shoot reaches a height of 1 - 1.2 m, the spear should be removed.
In the spring of such shoots arched tie. As the branch develops, it is very easy to lift the trellis, the height of which can be 2.3 - 2.5 m. In this case, it will be very easy to remove the whip from such a support before hibernation.
Correct watering
Watering Black Sateen blackberries is a crucial moment, the intensity of the development of the bushes and the quality of their fruiting depends on the correctness of this manipulation.
Blackberry is a moisture-loving plant, but at the same time it does not tolerate cultivation in conditions of high humidity. The culture calmly reacts to drought, but it will be possible to achieve record productivity only if the plants do not suffer from a lack of moisture.
How and what to do to feed blackberries
Blackberry Satin fertilizer should be carried out at the right time, only in this case the plant will put all its strength into the formation of tasty and juicy fruits.
Did you know? Do not feed blackberry bushes during planting. Having received an excellent dose of fertilizer, young plants will begin to grow and bear fruit intensively, which will significantly weaken their strength before wintering. In addition, organic fertilizer is an excellent food for pests that can kill bushes.
It is recommended to start fertilizing the culture from the second year of life of the bushes, which will allow achieving their maximum productivity. For these purposes, mineral and organic fertilizers are applied to the soil in the amount of 10 kg of humus per 1 m², 15 g of superphosphates and 20 g of potassium sulphate.
When introducing fertilizers, it is very important not to overdo it, since excessive introduction of top dressing can cause chemical burns in plants.
Blackberry Blackberry Stinging Rules
Trimming BlackBerry "Black Satin" - an important step in the proper formation of the bushes. Through these manipulations of blackberry bushes can create real garden compositions. Bushes of culture consist of long stems growing from the soil.
The life cycle of one branch of the blackberry reaches two years, in this regard, there are distinguished shoots of the first and second year of life. Crop give shoots that are two years old, and therefore pruning and garter lash aimed at obtaining maximum results in a two-year cycle. 
Young shoots are also recommended to constantly thin out, as too thickened plants bear bad fruit. One bush should consist of five, maximum six shoots.
Preparing Blackberries "Black Satin" for the winter
The BlackSatin variety blackberry root system perfectly tolerates the winter cold, but the tops of the branches sometimes freeze slightly. However, do not forget that the bushes that have undergone thermal shock, fruit is much worse than healthy plants.
To keep the plants safe and sound, they are recommended to be well covered for the winter.
Did you know? When preparing plants for winter, blackberry whips are laid on the ground. To avoid damage to plants, they can be laid together with a trellis, to do this, carefully remove the supports and carefully lower the structure flat. The grounds of all bushes are carefully covered with oak leaves or peat, and later covered with snow.
In the spring, the bushes must be opened before the buds swell, then a formative pruning is carried out, shortening the overgrown shoots by a third length. It is equally important to pinch the tops of the shoots, which grow in an undesirable direction.
Blackberries - fragrant, juicy and very useful berry, which deserves to be the queen of your garden. Just a drop of patience and a pinch of effort will allow you to collect an enviable harvest of these wonderful berries.
