Due to its taste and healing properties, raspberries are well-known among gardeners. Hercules is valued for its high productivity, resistance to weather conditions and low soil requirements.
History and description of Hercules
Raspberry Hercules was bred at the Kokinsky Institute (Bryansk region). The author of the variety I. V. Kazakov carried out breeding work, crossing specimens of the average ripening period of Ottom Close with seedling No. 14-205-4. The resulting crop is well suited for cultivation in the Central region, but can also be successfully cultivated in Ukraine and the CIS countries.
Hercules belongs to the varieties of the repairing type. This means that during the season you can get 2 crops: in the middle of summer on the stems of last year and in late summer - early autumn on the shoots of the current year.
Raspberry bush Hercules slightly spreading, with strong straight stems, which are covered with sharp thorns
The variety is characterized by a slightly spreading bush form, which reaches a height of 1.5-2 m. Strong straight stems maintain a good vertical position, they can not be tied. The color of the young branches is green, when ripening (autumn) - reddish, with a waxy coating. The shoot formation is weak: the usual number of substitute branches is 3-4. The stems are covered with stiff spikes over the entire height. Bright green leaves of medium size have a serrated edge and a wrinkled surface.
The berries are large, broadly conical in shape and deep red in color. The average fruit mass is 6-10 g, rarely up to 15 g. The flesh is sweet and sour, juicy, with a pronounced aroma, the skin is dense. Tasting score 4 points. Berries are located under the leaves, the bulk of the crop is concentrated to half the height of the bush.
Bright red conical berries of raspberries Hercules have a sweet and sour taste
Before breeding raspberries Hercules, you need to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the variety.
Table: advantages and disadvantages of raspberries Hercules
| Advantages | disadvantages |
| High yield (2.5-4 kg) | Pronounced sour taste |
| Good transportability | A large number of spikes |
| Large size and presentation of berries | Stretched fruiting period: not all berries ripen before frost |
| Disease and pest resistance | Average winter hardiness |
| Good drought tolerance | Weak shoot formation ability |
Video: Hercules Raspberry Growing Tips
Features of planting and growing
In addition to the general rules for planting and caring for raspberries, each variety requires an individual approach to these issues.
Landing
Raspberry is a warm and photophilous plant. Therefore, for the planting of the Heracles cultivar, one should allocate a site that is sheltered from the cold wind and well lit by the sun. With partial shading, this raspberry also bears good fruiting.
It should be planted during the dormant period of plants. The best planting time is spring (before buds) or autumn. When buying seedlings, special attention should be paid to the root system: it should be well developed, without signs of mold or decay.
For successful rooting, raspberry seedlings must have a developed root system
Hercules is unpretentious to soil conditions, successfully grows on almost any soil, except strongly acidified or depleted. If these types of soils are present on the site, their preliminary cultivation will be required: fertilizing and making chalk or dolomite.
Since raspberries begin to “creep” out of their area over time, you can immediately dig around the beds (for example, old slate) to a depth of 0.5 m.
Preparing the soil for planting raspberries, first of all, remove perennial weeds, fertilize and deep dig. Raspberries can be planted in rows or in small groups. The second method is recommended for small garden sizes. Raspberry seedlings are spaced 60-70 cm apart. There should be 1.2-1.5 m between rows.
The procedure for planting raspberries consists of the following steps:
- For an ordinary landing, a trench is prepared with a width of 3 bayonets and a depth of 1 bayonet. The bottom is covered with an 8-10-cm layer of humus, mixed with a pitchfork with soil and covered with a layer of soil.
- Saplings carefully inspect before planting, remove dried or broken roots. They are located in a trench, carefully straightening the roots. Depth of landing should be no more than 8 cm.
The distance between the raspberry seedlings should be 60-70 cm, between the rows - 1.2-1.5 m
- Holding the seedling vertically, fill the roots with soil and compact it with your hands. The stem is cut to a bud 25-30 cm from the ground.
- Seedlings are watered at the rate of 5-6 liters of water for each and mulch the soil. Watering should be repeated after a couple of days.
Raspberry Care
In the first spring after planting, you need to cut off the old stem when young shoots appear. This will improve the conditions for rooting seedlings. Further care consists of watering, fertilizing, pruning and protecting against pests. This raspberry variety does not need to be tied up, since strong stems do not bend under the weight of the berries.
Watering
Raspberry Hercules, unlike most other varieties, is not too hygroscopic. But to ensure high yields, watering should be carried out regularly. It is recommended to fill the raspberry plantation with water so that the soil is saturated to a depth of 30-40 cm. Humidification begins in the second half of May and continues until mid-August. In October, pre-winter watering is carried out. Too often moisturizing raspberries Hercules is not required, it is enough once every 10-12 days (in dry and hot weather, this interval is reduced).
Pruning
Raspberries need regular pruning. There are several methods:
- Autumn pruning. The bush is shortened to a height of 30-35 cm. The following year, the abandoned shoots give young shoots that provide the first summer crop. Its volume is usually 30% of the annual.
- Winter pruning under the root. 12-15 days before the onset of frost, raspberry bushes are cut completely to the soil level. This method makes it possible to get one crop, but it is plentiful.
- May pruning. Before flowering, the stems are pruned. This allows you to repeatedly increase the second crop.
- Autumn shortening. Instead of strong pruning, the upper part of the stems 40-45 cm long is removed. With this method, the volume of the first crop is increased to 55-60% of the annual.
During winter pruning, the seedling shoots are cut off at ground level
A well-sharpened garden pruner should be used for pruning. Before and after use, it must be washed with soap. If any diseases are found on raspberries, then the pruner is disinfected with alcohol. Cropped shoots burn.
Raspberry bushes are prone to thickening, which entails a reduction in the size of the berries. To prevent this from happening, remove all excess (too thin) shoots.
Soil care
One of the keys to successful raspberry cultivation is regular loosening of the soil and weeding. Loosening begins in the spring, then repeat 5-6 times per season after watering to prevent crusting.
Since raspberries Hercules does not have high frost resistance, it needs shelter in winters with little snow. To protect the root system, mulch the earth around the bush with a thick layer of sawdust (or agrofibre) in a radius of 20-25 cm. In spring, you need to rake a layer of sawdust to the side.
Fertilizer application
If raspberries are planted on poor soils, the bushes will develop poorly and hurt, and the berries will not gain sufficient size and taste. Therefore, it is necessary to provide plants with nutrients in a timely manner. Fertilizers are scattered in a dry form with a 0.5-meter strip on both sides of the row, mixed with soil with a pitchfork and watered.
- The first top dressing of raspberries is made in the spring, before the first leaves are opened. To activate the growth of shoots during this period, nitrogen fertilizers are applied (for example, 15 g / m2 ammonium sulfate).
- In autumn, plants are fed with potassium sulfate (30 g / m2) Every three years, it is recommended to add 55-60 g / m to the autumn top dressing.2 superphosphate.
When the norms of nitrogen fertilizers are exceeded, the fruiting of raspberries is delayed and reduced due to increased growth of green mass.
In summer, foliar top dressing can be carried out with a mixture of carbamide (50 g), superphosphate (250 g), potassium sulfate (70 g) and boric acid (10 g) in a bucket of water. In addition to mineral fertilizers, regular application of organic matter is necessary - 5 kg / m2 humus or rotted manure.
Video: care for remont raspberries
Pest and Disease Control
Raspberry Hercules is quite resistant to gray rot and raspberry tick, but can be affected by viral diseases.
Table: characteristic raspberry disease Hercules
| Disease | Symptoms | Prevention and control measures |
| Mosaic | There is deformation and discoloration of the leaves. Affected leaf blades darken in the middle and brighten around the edges. Thinning of the stems occurs, and the berries become tasteless. |
|
| Rust | The upper side of the leaves is covered with dark yellow spots, and gray sores appear on the stems. By autumn, the underside of the leaves is covered with a dark coating. |
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| Anthracnose | You can notice the appearance of purple spots on the stems and berries, then the bark becomes gray. With the further development of the disease, drying of berries and leaves is observed. |
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Photo Gallery: Raspberry Disease
- Mosaic is not treatable and can spoil the crop.
- Rust-stained leaves turn yellow.
- With anthracnose, spots appear on the stems, and then the bark becomes gray
Table: Raspberry Pests and Pest Control
| Pest | Description of the pest and signs of damage | Control measures |
| Aphid | At the ends of the shoots, inflorescences, the back of the leaves, colonies of small insects appear. With a severe defeat, the leaves curl up into a tube and dry. |
|
| Raspberry beetle | Small yellow-brown “hairy” bugs spoil buds, flowers and leaves, then lay eggs at the base of the ovaries. The larva is introduced into the berry, causing its deformation and decay. |
|
| Kidney moth | A butterfly with dark brown wings in golden spots lays eggs in raspberry flowers. Reddish caterpillars eat away the buds and berries, and then penetrate into the shoots and pupate. |
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Photo Gallery: Raspberry Pests
- Raspberry beetle larvae damage berries and cause them to rot
- Kidney moth damages not only the kidneys, but also shoots and berries
- Aphids deprive the plant of vital juices, leading to the drying of stems and leaves
Harvesting
The first harvest of Heracles can be harvested in the first decade of July, and the second fruiting begins in mid-August and can last until the first frost. Raspberries are harvested in dry weather. For long-term storage and transportation, it is recommended to pick berries together with the stem. As containers, it is better to use small flat baskets or plastic containers with holes. Do not lay the collected berries in a thick layer - they are easily choked under their own weight.
Fresh raspberries are stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Berries of the Heracles variety, due to the sour taste, are usually used for making jams and compotes. Raspberries, grated with sugar, are well preserved. For long-term storage, berries can be frozen.
Gardeners reviews on raspberries Hercules
I am quite happy with Hercules. It stands out from other varieties, looks original and prolific, so the collection is far from superfluous.
Donkey Eeyore, Moscow//www.forumhouse.ru/threads/124983/page-19
Heracles planted 2 years ago, in the autumn we constantly cut to 0-year-old fruiting I don’t like to collect, in July and before frosts, but when the heat, watering is desirable, since the berry is greatly reduced, my mother says, “raspberry for diabetics, so it’s not sweet , I send most of the harvest to wine. The wine is great!
Helen, Kiev region//forum.vinograd.info/showthread.php?t=4407
Something everyone writes that Hercules is not tasty, but for me it is so very tasty. I got rid of simple raspberries (mouse, freezes, breaks with snow). Now, only Hercules has remained. This fall we are lucky, there are still no frosts and raspberries there
Svail, Altai Territory//www.forumhouse.ru/threads/124983/page-19
Raspberry Hercules is distinguished by very large berries (up to 8 - 9 g or more). Unpretentious, frost-resistant, grows like ordinary raspberries, only bigger
Goga//greenforum.com.ua/showthread.php?t=2550
The result of observations of 3 bushes of Heracles transplanted last fall. On two extreme (of three) old shoots are left for "see the berry". The middle one is cut off in autumn "under zero" by a stem fly. Today: 1. On the old stems there are a lot of not very large ripe berries. From these same bushes, 2-3 shoots of substitution are 1.5m tall. There are no flowers yet and no prospects are visible. 2. From the middle bush (completely cut off in autumn) we have 1 new shoot. The height of 1.2 m (i.e., lower than the neighbors) has already blossomed, the berry has tied up over the entire height, the top one will ripen in a couple of days (today it has already been eaten). Conclusion - with full pruning in the fall, in the spring we have a lower bush and earlier fruiting. I’ll add - these are the bushes of the second summer of vegetation (i.e. the root of the second year)
Said, Kiev region//forum.vinograd.info/showthread.php?t=4407
Judging by the taste, it is only size that pleases Hercules to be removed from the field. But, as they say:
Limoner, Sumy region//forum.vinograd.info/showthread.php?t=4407
Raspberry Hercules has many advantages, redeeming not very sweet taste: productivity, attractive appearance, resistance to soil and climatic conditions. This variety will delight gardeners growing berries for homemade harvesting.
