Raspberry Octavia: variety description and yield from one bush, planting and care

Description of raspberry variety Octavia suggests that it is a non-repairable variety of late ripening. Consider the characteristics of the variety, its advantages and disadvantages, proper cultivation and care, how to plant and propagate plants in the garden. How to protect raspberries from pests and diseases, how to harvest and store the crop.

Description and characteristics

Raspberry Octavia was bred in England in 1992, parental forms were Glen Ample and hybrid EM 5928-114. Plants bear fruit from mid-July to early August, just at the time when the early varieties were already bearing fruit, and there is no second harvest of remontant varieties yet.Productivity from one bush - 3-3.5 kg.

The variety is recommended for growing in the southern and central regions, in garden plots for own use or for selling surplus on the market. Berries can be consumed fresh, canned and frozen. Berries can be harvested within 4-5 weeks.

Raspberry Octavia stems are flexible and powerful, grow up to 2 m in height. Because of this, plants are grown on a trellis. Spikes on the shoots are located at the bottom. Fruiting shoots 15-20 cm long. Ripe fruits are red, without gloss, conical and with a rounded base. The weight of each berry is 5-6 g, the pulp is dense, the seeds are small. Ripe fruits from branches do not crumble, do not rot after rain. Handles short haul transportation well.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Dignity of the Octavia variety:

• large-fruited;
• great fruit taste;
• uniformity and correct shape of berries;
• fruits do not bake in the sun;
• drought tolerance;
• cold resistance.

Variety Faults:

• average yield;
• requires constant care and feeding;
• may get gray and root rot.

Growing and caring for Octavia raspberries

In home gardens and summer cottages, agricultural technology for growing a variety includes proper planting, watering, fertilizing, loosening, pruning, shelters for the winter. If you need to propagate these raspberries, then this can be easily done.

Timing and planting

Like many other varieties, Octavia seedlings can be planted in spring or autumn, as long as the plant is at rest. If the seedlings are already with blossoming leaves, then they will take root worse. In the spring, you can plant after the snow melts and the earth dries out a little, but the winter moisture has not yet evaporated. In autumn, you should have time to plant a month before the cold weather, so that the seedlings have time to take root.

The scheme for planting seedlings for this variety is as follows: 50-70 cm in rows and 1.5-2 m in row spacing. Raspberries are planted in planting holes, which are dug out with a depth of at least 50 cm and the same width. 0.5 buckets of compost and 0.5 kg of ash are placed at the bottom, mixed with soil. Seedlings are planted directly, buried just below the root collar. Compact the soil and water the bushes. After that, the root zone is covered with mulching material.

Cutting

Raspberry pruning is also carried out in autumn or spring. Damaged, fruit-bearing, with signs of disease, broken or simply superfluous are removed. An adult Octavia raspberry bush should consist of 5-7 he althy shoots from last year. All cut shoots must be removed from the raspberries and burned.

Water and fertilize

Octavia loves moisture, in the southern arid areas, plants need to be watered often, both before rooting and after. Raspberries need moisture especially during flowering and berry setting. In a drought for every sq. m. Plantings need to pour out 3-4 buckets of water. The next watering should be done when the topsoil is dry.

Raspberry Octavia is best watered from a drip irrigation system. Water will be consumed less, as it will evaporate more slowly.

Together with watering, you can feed raspberries with liquid mineral fertilizers. Top dressing terms: at the beginning of the season, after flowering and after the formation of ovaries. At the first feeding, nitrogen fertilizers should be used, then phosphorus and potassium fertilizers will be needed to form raspberry fruits.

Wintering

After pruning, the raspberry root zone is covered with winter mulch from fallen tree leaves, straw, sawdust, peat. Its layer should be larger than the one that was in the summer. Usually shoots fall asleep to a height of 15 cm.

Reproduction

Raspberry Octavia produces many shoots that take root well if rooted. Transplanting rooted shoots is the main method of reproduction. The shoots are bent to the ground in the summer, by autumn roots will appear on them. Transplantation is carried out a month before the cold snap.

Protection from diseases and pests

The main diseases of raspberry Octavia - gray and root rot - develop during the rainy season. If the humidity is high, spraying with fungicides should be carried out, even if there are no symptoms of the disease yet. During the ripening period of berries, you need to use biological preparations with minimal toxicity.

Harvest and storage of crops

The fruits do not ripen at the same time, but you need to collect only fully ripe ones. Those intended for storage are collected in plastic containers and placed in a cold place. Chilled raspberries can be stored for more than a week without loss of quality, taste and appearance. Overripe raspberries make excellent homemade preparations and sweet desserts.

The Octavia variety is well adapted to the Russian climate, to the southern and central regions.It is grown according to standard technology, mainly on trellises. The variety does not have a very high yield, but according to its characteristics it is quite suitable for home cultivation. For an average family, a small garden of raspberries will be quite enough, which can provide the owners with berries in the summer and provide raw materials for canning for the winter.

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