Rubus nepalensis
| Rubus nepalensis | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 8 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 3' |
| Speed: | Moderate |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Mid Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Rubus nepalensis (common name: nepalese raspberry)
Propagation: Seed - requires stratification, is best sown in early autumn in a cold frame. Sow stored seed as early as possible in the year in a cold frame and stratify for a month at 3°c if sowing later than February. 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.
Tip layering in July. Plant out in autumn.
Division in early spring. Very easy, the plants can be divided successfully at almost any time of the year. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.
Cultivation: Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[1][2][3]. Prefers a sheltered semi-shady position[2]. Plants survive considerable neglect, they can grow and spread in long grass though they do not fruit well in such a position[K]. Plants are not very drought tolerant[K].
The Nepalese raspberry is a very ornamental plant, though it loses some of its leaves in a cold winter and can look a little bedraggled at this time[K]. It is also unhappy in exposed maritime situations and in a sunny position in very hot summers.
A report that this species is not hardy in zones colder than 9 is very questionable, the plant has survived quite hard frosts with us in Cornwall and grows happily at Kew Gardens[K]. There is also a clump growing successfully in a sheltered position in the semi-shade of trees at Cambridge Botanical gardens, this fruited quite well in the summer of 1996[K].
Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[3].
Range: E. Asia - Himalayas.
Habitat: Rocks, banks and shrubberies to 3300 metres[4].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[1][5]. A very well flavoured and reasonably sized raspberry with just a little sourness[K]. It generally fruits well in the garden, though there are some forms that produce very little fruit, or poorly shaped fruits[K].
Usage: A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit[6].
An excellent ground-cover plant, forming a quite effective weed-suppressing mulch[K].
Pollinators: Insects
Notes: An excellent ground cover for the bed by the road. You will eventually be able to grow it in the dappled shade of the woodland garden.
We can supply in the spring.
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Mid Summer-Late Summer
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: R. barbatus. R. nutans. non Vest. R. nutantiflorus.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Polunin, Oleg and Adam Stainton. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press, 1984.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.