Blackberries, Raspberries and Hybrids

General Fruit Growing
#443

I learn from others mostly… i havent invented or created anything that i know of… Im bad about being a story teller but thats how i learn.

To the person that wants a u-pick or to sell at farmers markets or to make large quantities of jams or jellies…those folks would want maximum production.

Personally i want small trees and compact fruiting things that are for my personal use…and of course i want the best tasting.

I have no doubt that the berries in her pics taste awful…but they look good… she achieved her goal at everyone thinking she is an expert. She is after likes and followers.

My current best berries are growing in darn near drought… i kind of feel sorry for some plants …but i know how tough these plants are… I want my berries to be loaded with flavor at the sacrifice of a picture.

If i wanted pictures i would grow some in wicking tubs and give them all the love and care at my muster…but the berries would taste very boring.

You can see an irrigation line in her pics… also looks like woodchips over plastic… so i have no doubt that these berries are over hydrated.

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#444

For those looking for Allen black rasps.

Isons just added it to their list and will ship in Dec-April

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#445

I have some Meeker Raspberry plants in the grow bags. I bought them sometime in July but never got to put them in the ground. Is it safe to plant them in the ground in October? I am in Portland, OR Zone 8B.

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#446

October is fine for planting in Portland.

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#447

what can cross with occidentalis and what is the best way to grow them

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#448

Lewis Raspberry- available in very few small nurseries in the US but more available overseas. Not very cold hardy… Z5 and above most likely. I think i will pick up some before they are no longer available here in the US.

Seems to be a better berry than Kwanza or Kweli.

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#449

how do I prep rubus for the winter? I have a small thimble berry plant, a small dewberry plant and a small occidentalis plant

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#450

plant them now and they should be ok.

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#452

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I found an occidentalis cane with roots on both ends :slight_smile:

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#453

(replying to @krismoriah about obsidian)
On my obisidian, new leaves look scrunched up, and after a while they turn normal looking. I can post a pic tomorrow

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#454

My Obsidians are about 20 feet long, some canes have broken here and there…the leaves look horrible. No idea if they will survive the winter this year… if not maybe they will clear up next year.

Kotata has the nastiest thorns of ones that i have of the trailing. I have 6 plants that grew about 12 feet of cane this year and im propagating them now.

Siskiyou is also thorny its very agressive and just keeps sending cane after cane after cane. Need to start propagating these.

Wild treasure is a nightmare. Canes everywhere…sideways up, down left and right. Im going to cut most of them out…in its first year the canes are too skinny.

Halls Beauty- canes everywhere…mostly skinny this year.

Newberry- i planted plugs in late May and the new canes came up strong and are 10 feet long… super impressed with this plant. No clue what the berries will taste like… i have heard a better version of Boysen if grown in a warmer climate.

Black Butte- finally tracked it down after getting ripped off by Willis Orchards. These came out of california. Will plant them next week.

Ollalie- seems to be a trooper…

Cascade- had some issues with my plants in the beginning but they came out of it.

Black Diamond- very wimpy year of growth for them… doubt i will have more than a couple of fruiting canes and they are skinny.

Tayberry- going good.

Thorness Logan- weakly first year growth… canes are skinny.

Silvan- Super pumped about these guys… i have 3 of them and trying to propagate every tip. Burnt Ridge says that these are hardy to Z3…and will also tolerate the highest heat… not sure if they are correct or not.

Columbia Star- weak first year canes…kinda skinny.

Marion- good growth and should give me a crop if the winter doesnt get them.

Thorny Logan- its still not acting right. Canes are skinny on year 2 and theres 100s of them. I have to keep an eye on these or they will tip root 100 plants if i dont watch them.

Czech trailing- i have 3 varieties from a friend… they are all totally different than any of the PNW varieties. All are extremely thorny. One is Karaka Black i think… hoping it is.

New to me rasps this year- will plant soon.
Lewis
Chilcoten
Eden
Kiwi Gold
Double Gold
Nova
Tulameen
Honey Queen- I planted this one this year but am going to have to move it.

Crimson Night- 2 lived and are doing well. One sucker so far… so no worries about Stark’s dead plants.

Sweet Giant Blackberry- canes grew slow then took off and are setting a crop at 4 feet. Looks like the pictures so far.

Prime Ark Horizon- i really like this plant. Prime Ark Freedom and Traveller always act funny here and i have alot of winter damage… Horizon does its job well here for me. PA45 is ok… reminds me of ouachita… will probably pull it.

Thorny Logan from Kriegers Nursery- i proved to them that this is not Logan…it cant be. They insist it is. It could be Judge Logans original blackberry if so i guess that counts. Its not the trailing Loganberry for sure…its erect and thorny like a Kiowa. No clue what it will be.

Chickasaw- I pulled 8 plants and am down to 2. Berries taste like wine. Not really my thing but i did enjoy a few handfuls.

Nothing to report on all of the TAMU and old U of Ark thorny varieties yet. Also Darrow belongs in that list… im growing all of the old timey thorny ones in their own block.

Black Rasps- alot of work this year… aggravating work. These guys need alot of attention. Canes go everywhere and want to tip root. I have every known variety i think. Munger is the most aggressive… Pequot Lakes is the least aggressive. Added Black Delicious this year also…no clue how it will do.

Ebony King Blackberry- i really like this plant and its berries. Canes are thick and strong and erect. Very healthy and happy plants. Berries are old timey flavor. Sweet then a hard kick of sour. The closest to wild blackberry flavor that i have but with large berries. It suckers like crazy though. One plant will give you a dozen. I think this would be super handy on a farm with a nice fence or area where a person would let them be a ‘patch’.

Healthberry- gosh. This plant is a bear. I wish i would not have tried to tame it. I may have to get some Kevlar sleeves and start over with these guys.

Illini Hardy- these guys have some nasty thorns. These do not propagate from root cuttings… and tip rooting is tough due to them being erect. I have stem cuttings going… so far so good.

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#455

Tahi (thornless black raspberry)

Bred at Shekinah Berry in Auckland, New Zealand, Shekinah ‘Tahi’ is the first completely spineless black raspberry variety. “Tahi” means Number One in Māori. It grows vigorously and more upright than typical spiny black raspberry cultivars. It has a harvest season similar to Jewel. Large, medium firm fruit weighs up to 4.5g and has a deep black color. While tightly clustered fruit presentation can make early picking challenging, the lack of spines simplifies picking and pruning compared to traditional black raspberry varieties.

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#456

Not much info on Tahi - will have to email Nourse

Harvey Hall (breeder of Tahi) gave an interview and the comments around continuous blackberry production in pots in warmer climates was interesting (also the Russian raspberry development)

hall

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#457

Kind of coincidence that within a years time that two thornless black rasps are introduced?

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#458

We have Jewel now and the thorns are not an issue

I would rather have more blacks in a staggered harvest (Mac black, Bristol/munger) than a thornless that arrives at the same time as Jewel

I need more information from Nourse

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#459

I recorded a short video of 20 of my blackberry and raspberry plants

I’m very new to this, and just order a ton of plants and planted them in Zone 8A (Dallas, TX) - so not really sure if all of these will survive and bear fruit or not, but hey - I wanted to try and see what happens!

Special note to @krismoriah and @TNHunter - I remember you guys talking about scrunched up leaves on Obsidian - in the video you can see mine look scrunched up too

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#460

I see you have the same passion that i did when i first started. I dont see why they wouldnt all survive and bear fruit… with alot of love and attention.

You can gift those Triple Crowns to a friend or relative… When you get my Victory plants those will be obsolete. :sunglasses: (my victory is still setting fruit now…it doesnt know how to quit).

Is your goal to have them all in ground? Or a mix of in ground and in pots?

The only issue I see a challenge for is diseases… mixing red, black, purple and yellow rasps in with east coast and west coast blackberries in a small area is like a little science project. The more stressed a plant is the more susceptible it is. The happier the root and crown the happier the plants are and healthier. Some of those older cultivars may give you trouble at some point… so if it were me i would get a plan for soil health… to give them their best chance.

If there are any cultivars you are looking for or want just ask… ive mostly done all the leg work on tracking things down.

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#461

I’m still not sure exactly what my goal is. I think my goal is to find out which ones are my favorite tasting and which ones do best, and pull ones that I don’t like the taste of, or ones that don’t bear fruit (if any) - but also everyone keeps warning me about how quickly they spread like weeds, so I’m hesitant to plant them all in-ground at once. Also worried about them spreading under the fence and my neighbors spraying weedkiller on them…

as for disease, I have had several Raspberry plants just start turning brown and shrivel up and die, I never figured out if it was some kind of wilt disease, or what. I did grow tomatoes nearby and had a few dead tomato plants, but the affected raspberry plants were in containers and not in the soil near them. I also have a strange issue where in one part of the yard, any cane that touches the grass turns black at the tip and the tip dies. Still haven’t figured out if it’s some kind of ‘fire blight’ bacteria, or if it’s just because I accidentally over-ironed my yard last year

But all that said, most of the blackberry plants have been extremely vigorous growers. The only issue I’ve had is with Austin Dewberry getting a very slow start (one of them died), and Prime-Ark 45 being nearly impossible to keep alive in the Texas summer heat (2 out of 3 died)

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#462

likely shock.

I think you mentioned you did alot of stuff in the Summer…

When u do stuff in the summer and mess with the roots they will sacrifice their top growth in order to protect their roots.

Dappled shade and good root medium along with heavy watering is the only thing that really helps shock. As long as the roots are alive…u still have a viable plant.

Speading like weeds is mostly a raspberry thing… on blackberries it mostly happens with voles. Each time they munch on a root you will have suckers.

My Austin dewberries are a mess… they send out so many canes in every direction its tough to keep them at bay. Each of my crowns must send up 30 canes and they are relentless.

PA45 should be ok in your heat… i know of several folks that grow them in high tunnels. I dont like this variety at all and pulled mine. Horizon is twice as good i think.

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#463

I know what the Baba Raspberry is, but does anyone have any info on what the Baba Blackberry is?

Can’t find any mention of it anywhere except tytyga’s store

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