Rubus caesius
| Rubus caesius | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Early Fall |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Rubus caesius (common name: dewberry)
Propagation: Seed - requires stratification and is best sown in early autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires one month stratification at about 3°c and is best sown as early as possible in the year. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and grow on in a cold frame. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[1].
Tip layering in July. Plant out in autumn.
Division in early spring or just before leaf-fall in the autumn[1].
Cultivation: Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[2][3][1]. Succeeds on chalky soils[1].
This species is a blackberry with biennial stems, it produces a number of new stems each year from the perennial rootstock, these stems fruit in their second year and then die[1].
Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[1].
Range: Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to Spain, Siberia and W. Asia.
Habitat: Hedgerows, amongst shrubs and in rough dry meadowland, usually on basic soils[2][4].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[2][5][6][7][8]. Succulent but not very tasty[9]. A delicious flavour, it is considered to be superior to blackcurrants though the fruit is rather small and consists of just a few drupes[5]. The fruit can be used for making jellies, preserves etc[8].
The fresh or dried leaves are used as a tea substitute[10][11][8].
Usage: A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit[12].
Pollinators: Bees, flies, beetles, apomictic
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Mid Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Simmons, Alan. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles, 1972.
- ↑ Loewenfeld, Claire and Philippa Back. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Komarov, Vladimir. Flora of the USSR. Gantner Verlag, 1968.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.