Practical
Plants

Rubus ulmifolius

Elm-Leaved Bramble

a perennial woody deciduous member of the Rubus genus in the family Rosaceae.

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Taxonomy and growth

Family
Rosaceae
Genus
Rubus
Life cycle
perennial
Foliage
deciduous
Woodiness
woody
Growth rate
moderate
Height
3 m
Spread
4 m
Fertility
Self sterile, Insects
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Insects

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Fruit - raw or cooked[2][4]. Aromatic, but with small dryish drupelets[3]. Sweet[5].

Plant part
Fruit

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit[7]. The root yields an orange dye when mixed with salt[5].

Product or use
Dye

Environment

Range
Europe, including Britain, from he Netherlands south and east to N. Africa, Italy and Macaronesia.
Habitat
Very common in many habitats, succeeding on chalk and clay and preferring open sunny habitats[3][8][6].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
permanent shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 7+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay, heavy clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline, very alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

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[9]. Tip layering in July. Plant out in autumn. Division in early spring or just before leaf-fall in the autumn[9].

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil[1][3][9]. Succeeds on chalk or clay soils, preferring open habitats in the wild[8][6]. Tolerates poor soils so long as they are not dry[10]. Succeeds in sun or semi-shade[1][3][9] and also in deep shade though growth is more lax in such a position[10]. Hardy to about -18°c[10]. Plants reproduce sexually and not apomictically like many brambles. Individual plants are self-sterile[8]. 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[9]. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[9].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

    ↩

  3. Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

  4. Singh. Dr. G. and Kachroo. Prof. Dr. P. Forest Flora of Srinagar. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1976-00-00

    ↩

  5. Niebuhr. A. D. Herbs of Greece. Herb Society of America. 1970-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  6. Watson. W. C. R. Handbook of the Rubi of Great Britain and Ireland.

    ↩1↩2

  7. Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974-00-00 ISBN 0-02-544950-8

    ↩

  8. Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3

  9. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6

  10. Davis. B. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-670-82929-3

    ↩1↩2↩3

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