Content
Blackberry Doyle is a hardy berry bush with long-term fruiting. The plant is well suited for breeding in temperate climates, but the key features should be familiarized before starting to grow.
Origin story
Blackberry Doyle (Doyle's) - American variety, known in the culture relatively recently. Named for Tom Doyle, who first discovered the unusual plant in his own garden in 1970. The blackberry that grew on the American's plot bore a huge amount of fruit - up to 70 kg per bush. Upon further study, it turned out that the plant, when propagated, perfectly retains its characteristics, like ordinary cultivars.
Doyle's blackberry shoots are completely thornless.
For several years, breeders, along with the Doyle family, continued to study blackberries. The bushes of the new variety were presented at agricultural exhibitions and won recognition from visitors and experts. In 1994, Doyle's blackberry received an official patent and went on sale worldwide. Today the variety is grown not only in America, but also in Europe, in the CIS countries and in Russia.
Description of the bush and berries of Doyle blackberry
Blackberry Doyle is a sprawling, half-erect shrub with horizontal shoots up to 4 m. The lower branches are longer than the upper ones, covered with complex, palmate leaves, consisting of five separate plates.
From late July to mid-autumn, the plant bears fruit - rich black berries of medium size and slightly elongated shape. The variety has a pleasant aroma. Doyle's blackberry has a specific taste - sweetish with pronounced sourness. Berries refresh well, but they cannot be called dessert.
Doyle blackberries reach 5-8 g by weight
Blackberry Doyle traits
Before planting varietal blackberries on the site, it is necessary to study its main features. This will help determine if the plant is meeting your specific needs.
Ripening period and yield
Doyle's blackberry variety ripens on average from the last days of July. Fruiting in the bush is very long, lasts until the second decade of October and the first frost.
With good care, one adult plant can produce 50 kg of berries or more. Up to 100 fruits are formed on an individual blackberry bush, and a well-developed bush can have up to 300 such brushes. The berries do not fall off the branches for a long time, have good keeping quality and, after harvest, retain their presentation for about a week. They can be grown not only for personal use, but also for sale.
Frost resistance
Doyle's blackberry demonstrates average frost resistance and tolerates cold snaps down to -30 ° C. Thanks to this, it can be grown in the suburbs, in the middle lane and in the Urals. In Siberia, the culture is also developing well, but it requires winter shelter and insulation of the root system.
Disease and pest resistance
Doyle's blackberry has a strong immune system and rarely suffers from fungal ailments and garden parasites. But some diseases still pose a threat to her:
- Powdery mildew. A whitish bloom appears on the leaves and fruits, the berries are deformed.
If affected by powdery mildew, the blackberry crop becomes unusable
- Anthracnose. Gray spots with a purple border appear on the plates of the plant.
Anthracnose reduces the yield of blackberries and leads to the death of the plant
- Purple spotting. In blackberries, buds and leaves dry out, necrotic areas appear on the plates and trunk.
With purple spotting, blackberries may not form ovaries at all.
- Spider mite. The insect feeds on the sap of the plant and entangles the shoots with a thin web.
The presence of a tick is indicated by yellow spots and brown dots on the leaves.
- Blackberry aphid. The pest draws juice from young stems and leaves, settles on the undersides of the plates.
When infected with blackberry aphids, the leaves of the culture curl and deform
- Raspberry stem fly. When infected by insects, the stems of the plant often turn black and rot at the tops.
Raspberry fly larvae gnaw holes in blackberry shoots
For symptoms of fungal diseases, Doyle's blackberry is treated with fungicides and a Bordeaux mixture of 2%. Spraying is carried out from early spring three times per season. Infusion of onion peels and a solution of laundry soap help well against pests; treatments are also performed several times at short intervals.
Advantages and disadvantages
The popular blackberry variety has positive qualities, but it also has weaknesses.
Pros: · High drought resistance; · Very plentiful harvests; · Unpretentiousness to growing conditions; · Resistance to fungi and pests; · Long-term fruiting until late autumn; · Lack of thorns; · Bushes do not give root growth; · Large and juicy fruits; · Good frost resistance; · Fruits are stored for a long time. | Minuses: · Berries are distinctly sour; · Seedlings are quite expensive; · Blackberries can suffer from powdery mildew, anthracnose and mottling; · The variety remains young and has not been fully studied. |
Overall, the benefits of Doyle's Blackberry outweigh the disadvantages. But when planting a plant, it must be borne in mind that the berries do not have dessert qualities and are poorly suited for fresh consumption.
Landing rules
It is recommended to plant Doyle's blackberry in open ground in the spring at the beginning of April after the soil has thawed. In warm regions and the middle lane, the procedure is also allowed in the fall. But in this case, planting is carried out no later than the beginning of October, otherwise the plant will not take root until the cold weather.
The rooting algorithm looks like this:
- In the selected area, two weeks before planting, they dig up the soil and prepare holes about 40 cm deep.
- Garden soil is mixed with river sand and peat and complex minerals are added.
- The wells are half covered with a substrate, and then a blackberry seedling is placed in the depression and its roots are straightened.
- The hole is filled with soil to the end and the plant is abundantly watered with 10-15 liters of water.
When planting several seedlings, 1.5 m of free space is left between them. It is recommended to immediately dig in support pegs next to each plant to tie the branches.
Doyle's blackberry bud should be buried up to 8 cm
Blackberry Doyle soil requires loamy and well-drained soil. The shrub grows best in sunny, but sheltered areas from the wind.
Care features
Doyle's blackberry does not have any special requirements for growing conditions. In the process of caring for a crop, you need to pay attention to several points:
- Watering. You need to moisten the plant as the soil dries. Usually, 15-20 liters of water are added weekly under the root. On rainy days, additional hydration is not carried out.
- Top dressing. For abundant fruiting, Doyle's blackberries are recommended to be supplied with nitrogenous fertilizers in early spring, phosphorus in mid-July and potassium in the fall.
- Loosening. Blackberry Doyle loves breathable light soils.After each watering, the soil at the roots of the plant must be loosened to a shallow depth, while removing the weeds.
- Pruning. Doyle's Blackberry is trimmed twice a season. In the spring, remove all frozen and dried branches, and in the fall, cut off diseased, weak and too old shoots that no longer participate in fruiting.
Reproduction methods
There are several ways to propagate Doyle's blackberry in the garden:
- Seeds. Dry plant grains are stratified in the refrigerator for two months. In the spring, the seeds are sown in a shallow box and germinated at a low temperature until 3-4 leaves appear, after which they are transferred into the ground.
- Cuttings. A green shoot about 20 cm long is cut off along with two leaves, half is left from the top, and only a part of the petiole from the bottom. The stalk is treated with a talker, which is prepared from earth and a growth stimulant, taken in equal shares. After that, the shoot is planted in a box filled with peat and perlite, and kept in a warm, humid place until fresh leaves appear. Then the blackberries begin to ventilate and after a week they are transferred to the open ground.
- Layers. The flexible lower shoot of the plant is laid on the ground and covered with soil, leaving the top on the surface. To prevent the layering from straightening, it is fixed with a bracket or wire, mulched and watered for 1-2 months. In the fall, the shoot can be separated from the bush, and in the spring it can be transplanted to a new place.
Most often, Doyle's blackberries use vegetative propagation methods. The seeds of the plant do not germinate well, besides, the varietal characteristics of new seedlings deteriorate.
The Doyle variety does not give root growth, therefore, the plant cannot be propagated by offspring.
Conclusion
Blackberry Doyle is one of the most productive and unpretentious varieties. It is easy to grow a culture, but its significant disadvantage is sour berries, which are suitable mainly for preparations and desserts.
Reviews of gardeners about Doyle's blackberry
