Same here. All my blackberries keep getting burnt lol. Thinking about planting a mulberry tree for afternoon shade or something to give them dapple sun
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Meanwhile me, in zone 8b: 
This is a good explanation of what alot of folks are experiencing.
Some things not mentioned that i havent seen proven or talked about much if at all other than my own observations-
- Folks that do not prune or only prune weaker canes and laterals too low… may experience less sunscald due to more leaf cover… The leaves move with the sun (heliotropism).
2)Shorter pruned or lower wires may experience less sunscald in the later months due to the primocanes shading the floricanes. This is self explanitory… as primocanes want as much sun as possible… Not to mention primocanes have more leaves and longer internodes…
I could go on but just use your own judgement on what you think will lessen the severity…
Brambles that ripen after the Summer Equinox etc are probably going to have more issues than earlier fruiting ones… or late fall ripening ones… so probably best to avoid those ‘late ripening’ or ‘mid summer’ ones for various reasons not to mention SWD.
YMMV… but this is a brutal summer again… and there is always next year… or next decade… it may get worse before it gets better who knows.
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This looks exactly like both pictures I have. Im so happy it’s not a bug or a fungus. This can be solved much more easily than I originally thought. Thank you!
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SWD damaged fruit becomes soft with some collapsed drupelets; the fly larva do not change the fruit color. Damage occurs only during the final color phase (red for red raspberries and black for blackberries).
One major SWD indicator is to sneak up on fallen fruit and tap it; the SWDs will fly away.
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Does anyone currently grow Kiwi Gold?
I’ve tried Anne here, not very vigorous compared to my other brambles. Same with Double Gold.
Kiwi’s flavor profile and vigor sound like a good match for my area (middle TN). I just cannot seem to find it for sale anywhere.
If you have it, do you like it? How does it compare?
It fits the ‘gold’ whereas Anne is more a yellow. I like it and Honeyqueen.
Not sure its worth chasing…
Cascade Gold would probably be a wiser choice.
Here is the info on Kiwi Gold… which seems to have been abandoned for the most part by the market.
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I am really liking my Osage blackberries. I planted them late last spring 2024, two plants from Tractor Supply. They have really grown great and have made lots of pretty large berries with good flavor. There are lots of berries left on the plants still to ripen.
Meanwhile, my Prime Ark Freedom berries put on lots of berries, but over half of them have shriveled and browned on the canes or have sunscald. The Osage are in the same row about 10 feet away from the PAF, but no shriveled or sun scalded berries. The Osage are often described as a smaller berry with good flavor, but my Osage berries are pretty large, close to PAF size.
This year I noted some leaf issues with PAF, but the Osage foliage is perfect. We have had a very rainy spring and summer thus far. We had a very mild winter this year so I couldn’t determine if Osage will have partial die back of primocanes as PAF often does in harsher winters.
At any rate, if Osage keeps shining, it will overtake PAF in my opinion.
I planted Navaho last spring, but no berries this year, although it did send up lots of primocanes. Also planted a Caddo last summer which has sent up healthy primocanes, but no berries this year. My Gurney’s Sweet Giant blackberry planted fairly early in spring of 2024 has finally made a few berries but none have ripened yet. I am waiting to see if they are truly sweet and giant or if Gurneys has fooled me again. Photo below of Osage blackberries next to some Sunsugar cherry tomatoes for comparison.
Sandra
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For those still considering mid/late season blackberries, Thornless Evergreen is a great alternative to Triple Crown. We have both, and while I am not planning to pull the TC, Thornless Evergreen has some advantages.
-Tastes significantly better, as rated by 6/6 tasters. Fruit quality is also less sensitive to harvesting at the perfect time.
-Hardier (though TC still seems ok for my location)
-Similar vigor and heat tolerance
-Leaves look cool (see photo)
-Makes fruit about half the size, but 2-3x as many fruit.
-Thornless, though you need to watch out for cutting the roots on Thornless Evergreen, since that can lead to new plants that are thorny.
-Thornless Evergreen is nearly impossible to find at a nursery.
(Note zone tolerance is suspect if you ask me)
(Note brix measure)
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I am aware of several Blackberry cultivars that have Raspberry in their backgrounds but I do not know of any Raspberry cultivars with Blackberry in their background. Does anybody know of any ?
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Bassettberry- a hybrid of Boysen and wild mountain blackberry.
A diligent fruit hunter could probably locate these in Oregon.
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Maybe this is a dumb question, but the channel is rather dead at the moment, so why not. My Bristol black raspberry has numerous long branches that look like primocanes growing off of the floricane. They are at least a foot long. And yet, I had been planning on removing the floricane at the end of the season. Would these long primocane looking branches produce fruit next year? Are they just wasted energy? Should I remove them/have removed them earlier in the season to force the plant to focus on new primocanes that grow from the root ball? Thanks!
In the picture, I am pointing at where three long branches are growing from the floricane. One of the branches is like two feet long.
Edit: I didnt realize that the forum would keep this post after I tried to delete it, so I guess I will restore it. I tried googling this and from what I could find, ir’s pretty unequivacle - the floricane dies. So, I guess the primocane looking new growth dies too.
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3 of my Herritage Reds have started ripening fall crop already.
We picked several nice ripe berries today and my 2 year old granddaughter ate them all.
It has been hot and dry the past month… and they are extra delicious.
TNHunter
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Hi, Maybe not. In Black Raspberry part of the Floricane can last for 3 years or more. The growth looks healthy, so I would leave it. It should produce fruit next year. Occasionally shoots from the base of a floricane can fruit in that season.
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