Sofia

Season Overview

Description

Profile of the 'Sofia' bog bilberry Growth: low-growing, 10-25 cm high Leaves: light green, pinnate leaves that turn red in autumn (2-3 cm); deciduous Location: sunny to semi-shaded Soil: moderately nutrient-rich, moist soil; slightly acidic soil (bog soil) Ripening period: from June Flowering period: pink flowers from April to May Fruit: yellow-brown-red colored fruit, rich in vitamins Taste: aromatic, sweet-sour Origin: Sweden Use: ground cover, bee pasture, group planting, container planting The Arctic raspberry (Rubus arcticus), also known as (Swedish) field berry, Arctic blackberry, Arctic raspberry, Nordic raspberry, Nordic blackberry, dwarf raspberry, polar raspberry, or mammure, is a species of the genus Rubus. The Arctic raspberry is found in northern Eurasia (Finland, northern Sweden, northern Norway, and northern Russia) as well as in North America, China, Korea, and Mongolia. In North America, it is also known by its Native American name, "nagoonberry." Allackerberries prefer moist locations such as moors, swamps, or streams at the edges of fields and meadows. The cloudberry is sometimes confused with the cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), which occurs in the same habitat. However, the cloudberry can be easily distinguished from the cloudberry by its almost always white flowers, its yellow-orange berries when ripe, and its differently shaped leaves. Growth This thornless, deciduous perennial plant grows to a height of about 10-30 cm. The stems are loose and finely hairy. With its bushy, flat growth and a spread of 25 cm to 30 cm, the bog bilberry tends to grow in width, making it ideal as a ground cover. The optimal location for the Allackerbeere should be sunny to semi-shaded. Leaves The alternate, stalked leaves are trifoliate to almost entire. The sessile to short-stalked, pointed to blunt leaflets or leaves are coarse to fine, partly double, serrated to toothed. The leaflets are ovate to obovate, sometimes slightly lobed, somewhat hairy on the underside and almost glabrous on the upper side. The lobed or almost entire leaves are ovate to heart-shaped. The long petiole is finely hairy. Herbaceous, often deciduous stipules are formed. Flowers The flowers appear in May, terminal and solitary, rarely in pairs or threes. The stalked flowers with double perianth are about 15-25 mm in size, the usually 5 to 8 or more petals are sometimes toothed and nailed. The partly glandular, green-reddish calyx is cup-shaped and hairy to hairless on the outside, with usually 5-8 or more narrow, pointed lobes. The intense pink to bright pink flowers are basically hermaphroditic – they have both male and female reproductive organs. Nevertheless, the fieldberry is self-sterile, meaning that the flowers cannot fertilize themselves. For fertilization, fieldberries always depend on a different gene pool – on a different variety – so that the striking flowers can produce tasty berries. Fruits In June and July, the cloudberry produces very tasty, fleshy, red, egg-shaped to round, bumpy fruits up to about 1 cm in size, aggregate fruits with a persistent calyx. The small, individual drupes are loosely clustered together. It reproduces vegetatively via runners. Subspecies and variants • Rubus arcticus subsp. arcticus: From northwestern Canada, Alaska, through northern Asia to western Russia, northern Europe, Mongolia, northeastern China, and Japan. Here, the petals are not nailed. • Rubus arcticus subsp. stellatus: a subspecies native mainly to Alaska and northwestern Canada to eastern Russia; was previously considered a separate species and designated Rubus stellatus. Here the leaves are lobed to almost entire. • Rubus arcticus subsp. acaulis: a subspecies found in large parts of Canada and Alaska to the northwestern United States and Michigan; formerly also known as Rubus acaulis • Rubus × stellarcticus, also Rubus arcticus var. stellarcticus: a cultivated variant of the Swedish fieldberry that originated in Sweden and was bred from a cross with a North American subspecies (subsp. stellatus). Use In the garden, fieldberries are mainly used as flowering and fruit-bearing ground cover. In the kitchen, cloudberry fruits are very versatile, just like raspberries and blackberries. Everything is possible, from jam, jelly, juice, or syrup to liqueur and fruit wine. Cloudberry fruits enjoy a very special reputation as the European berry with the best flavor. However, the taste is surprisingly difficult to describe and put into words. The fruits are sweet and also have a certain acidity and tanginess. Sometimes the aroma is compared to that of cranberries, sometimes to that of pineapple and other exotic fruits. As is so often the case, the truth probably lies somewhere in between.

Growing tips

🌞 Location & soil - Sunny - semi-shady, cool location - Protected from the wind, but airy - Humus-rich, loose, sandy, slightly acidic soil (pH 4.5-6), lime-free - organic soil, coniferous litter, bark humus, boggy soil - Rather nutrient-poor soil - well-drained, permeable, evenly moist, no waterlogging 🌱 Sowing & planting - Stratify: 4-6 weeks - Sowing depth: 0.2 cm (light germinator) - Germination temperature: 5-15 °C - Germination time: several weeks to months - Planting time: March - May (alternatively September - October) - Planting distance: 30x30 cm - At least two different varieties required for fruiting - Keep evenly moist 💧 Care - Watering: regularly, never dry out, no waterlogging, no tap water - Fertilization: very little / spring acidic special fertilizer - No fresh compost, calcareous fertilizer and strong mineral universal fertilizer - Mulching: Coniferous litter (pine, spruce), bark mulch, leaves (oak, beech) in the fall 🌾 Harvest - Harvest time: June - July - Pick fully ripe berries individually in dry weather ❄️ Winter protection - Light layer of mulch (bark mulch, needle litter, leaves) around the root area - Keep the soil loose, avoid waterlogging - Additionally cover young plants with brushwood - must not dry out, water occasionally 🌿 Good neighbors - Cranberry, lingonberry, blueberry - Currant, gooseberry - Rhododendron, azalea, erica, calluna, ferns - Alders, spruces, pines at a distance - Wood sorrel, marsh violets, mosses, mushrooms, dwarf sedges, cotton grass 🚫 Bad neighbors - Heavy eaters (cabbage, pumpkin, nightshade plants) - Vigorous ground cover plants (ivy, forest stonecrop, periwinkle) - Maple, birch, willow, hazelnut, walnut - Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries - Mediterranean herbs, sedum - Lawns, lime-loving perennials 🍂 Diseases - Gray mold - Fruit rot - Leaf spot diseases - Rust fungi - Root rot Pests - Aphids - snails - Gall mites - Spider mites

Details

Light requirement

Semi-shaded

Water requirement

Moist

Soil

Light (sandy)

Nutrient requirement

Low

Light germinator

Germination temperature

5 - 15 °C (Degrees Celsius)

Plant distance

30 cm

Row spacing

30 cm

Seeding depth

0.2 cm