I know this topic has come up plenty before, but has anyone successfully grown any of the “western” trailing blackberries on the East Coast or possibly Midwest/upper south?
Zone 7, MD. I’ve seen some anecdotal suggestions that the “Columbia” series do OK, but I’m not really sure.
i have Columbia giant and star here. so far have done well protected under the snow in winter. others south of here say they often get targeted by cane borer.
Down here in southern middle TN z7b…
I have grown 1 hybrid and 1 blackberry… Loganberry (hybrid) and Obsidian (blackberry).
They both produce some long canes… Obsidian had some thorns but not nearly enough to really protect from deer or to keep birds from getting your berries.
My Logan from OGW was thornless. I had it planted on the east side of my home with a trellis right up against a brick wall. It was so close to the house that deer never bothered it… and very few birds did either.
Both were very popular targets for our southern red neck cane borer.
I planted Obsidian 2 crowns in the fall… the next year they filled my trellis with some nice looking pcanes… the next spring… i found that out of 6 nice long canes… 4 had huge swells in the cane just about the mulch level. RNCB… ruined them. 1 other had a smaller swell… and I tried leaving it in place… it initally leafed out and bloomes some… but bedore setting fruit… it shrivvled and died.
1 cane survived and produced fruit… nice large very good berries… but with whimpy thorns… many got pecked badly by birds.
What I did get to ripen well tasted very good.
Obsidian are similar to logans in that you have to let them turn ripe color… but then hang for a few more days to reach peak ripe.
With few thorns this makes them verry succeptable to bird munching, pecking, etc.
After that one cane fruited… the 2 crowns sent up a few very weak pcanes… 2-3 ft tall and skimpy.
I had seen enough… and yanked them.
I still have my Logan… it is verry succeptable to RNCB… and is only cold hardy (trellised canes) to around 4-5 F.
We had a 3F one winter a few years back and 50 ft or more of Logan canes that were trellised… died.
I have lost all or most Logan canes 3 times to RNCB and once to 3F cold.
They are still going though. No canes survived RNCB last year… all died… but this year my 2 crowns have produced 40 ft or more of pcane and so far no sign of RNCB.
Looks like I might get a good crop of Logans next year… IF the canes dont die of cold this winter.
They have survived 8F and 11F in the past with no die back.
But 2-3F will very likely kill any canes on a trellis over winter.
Steve sent me a Columbia Giant this spring… great roots… it grew very well initially… but it is thornless… and i planted it in a new bed out in my orchard (which is not protected from deer).
I has 3-4 thornless caddo out there too.
Every time they would grow a few leaves… my deer mowed them down. Columbia Giant and Caddo… and any thornless blackberry… are just not going to make it here without deer protection.
I had 2 Kiowa in the same bed and they did well… deer nipped them some mostly just the tips. They did produce enough pcanes this year that I am keeping them.
Hope this helps.
TNHunter
I’m assuming I probably have redneck cane borer here in Maryland, but I don’t know for sure.
I might try one Logan or Columbia giant just for sh&s and giggles, but stick with the tried and true otherwise.
Which ones are most likely to ripen ahead of SWD? Even of the erect varieties I’ve heard Arapho and Natchez can avoid it in some areas.
@BG1977 … there is a northern and southern cane borer… they look similar (both red color in neck area)… one has longer antenna…
The northern cane borer enters the cane near the tip and wrecks the canes working its way down.
The southern RNCB lays eggs near the base of the cane… sometimes just above your mulch… they hatch out, bore in and travel up.
When you notice the SRNCB swells just above mulch line… the whole cane is a goner.
With the NCB if you notice the tip damage quick enough… you may be able to prune it off.
TNHunter.
ncb makes a brown ring around the cane tip before laying its egg so it noticeably wilts above that. just snap a few in. below that removes the grub.
I grew maybe a dozen varieties and none of them worked out. You name it I probably tried it. They just don’t like heat. If you have a cooler and somewhat shadier spot they may work. I had the best results in areas with shade after 1PM or so.
The only western bred berries that work for me are the newer ORUS ones which are 3/4 eastern in their genes. ORUS 2816-3, ORUS 2816-4 and ORUS 2711-1 for example.
Do those ORUS varieties have trade names? Where would I get them?
Or is it easier just to buy some Araphos and call it a day?
I grow my loganberry on a trellis on the east wall of my home… it gets morning sun only and loves it.
Loganberries…
TNHunter
Two got named… Galaxy and Eclipse.
Scott, when do these ripen for you?
Also, in terms of a true trailing western berry I believe you had found Siskiyou to be the best on the east coast, but maybe I’m remembering that wrong. Is it still surviving and a tasty or did you just drop in favor of these new ones?
Just curious. I’ll probably be sticking with my Ponca and Caddo for a while, but I have a Siskiyou in a pot that has survived outdoors for several winters here in Arlington. Unfortunately it has never sized up much in the pot so the few berries I get usually disappear before I get to them.
I had various periods when I thought some of the western ones would work, but then after a few years they would fade. I got a few years of productivity from some of them but no more than three or so. If I liked Siskiyou it was probably because it had produced for a few years before I wrote that. They just don’t have the vigor long term, which sounds like your sizing up issue. The cane borers don’t help with that either.
I don’t remember exactly when things ripen but it should be out there somewhere on the Internet.
I had too many other projects so stopped growing blackberries, but I don’t think there is much of a difference between the top thornless erect or semi-erect ones. So Ponca and Caddo is probably a good call, only add more to spread out the harvest.
I have a couple cheap solar motion activated lights from Temu. A couple even have sirens with flashing lights. They seem to keep the animals away.
