Blackberries, Raspberries and Hybrids

[krismoriah]

@SoCalBackyard

Richard is the expert on california growing.

Arapaho Blackberry

In addition to grapes, I am also training this Arapaho Blackberry on my T trellises. I used to sell this cultivar when I operated a nursery and obtained it in trays of 72 tissue culture from AgriStarts. This particular one was planted out about a year ago. It is evergreen here and has two main crops in late spring and late summer, plus sporadic blooming throughout the year. [image]

[krismoriah]

@SoCalBackyard

I wanted to ask the experienced folks on this thread: What berries/cultivars would you recommend for the following ideal requirements:

1. Maintenance isn’t too complicated.
2. Great flavor/size fruit.
3. Extending the season when I can get ripe berries fresh from the yard.

I’m in Irvine in SoCal if that helps and don’t have a LOT of space for these. I can probably grow 4-6 varieties. Maybe a handful more if there are some that do well in pots too but sunlight will end up being an issue.

Thank you to anyone that replies. Looking forward to the journey of discovery and to getting more berries this year!

I dont like to give recommendations myself…i do like to share what i find or learn from others that arent on this board as well as rehashing old information from this board to give us a broader sense of knowledge so that we can have a better discussion.

Since you said you read all of this thread…this one from about 10 yrs ago has some great information in it as well and some nice pics of trellis and things… which is why i love this forum as it is a great resource of information…new and old.

Best Thornless blackberry?

What is your favorite variety of thornless blackberry?

[PcChip]

i saw some people were making fake strawberries to train the birds not to eat them, and I also hear that lots of people have trouble with birds eating their blackberries, so I thought I’d try making a few fake blackberries to hang up before I get any real ones and see what happens! (two red, one black)

(Never had berries in my back yard before so I don’t know if the birds will be an issue or not yet)

anyone think this will work?

[driftless]

For what it’s worth, I put in a half dozen Chester last year and laid the canes along the ground but never got around to mulching them because I planned on replacing them. We’ve had a remarkably warm winter (5a SW WI), but got 20 inches of snow cover “mulch” for our one cold snap (stayed between maybe -15 and 10 for most of 10 days). All my canes and most looked very much alive when I checked a few days ago.

So as far as zone pushing goes (I’d say z4 is zone pushing for blackberries but not z5?) I think it seems like a decent bet to get some productive blackberry harvests in z4 with the right care, at least for hardier cultivars.

[SoCalBackyard]

Love this … good job! Let us know how this works out.

[SoCalBackyard]

Thank you @krismoriah for both the recommendation to look at Richard’s posts and the other thread. I’ve been reading that one too and taking notes … still not done.

[Audi_o_phile]

@PcChip

I thought I’d try making a few fake blackberries

I don’t know if it will be effective against wildlife but I love both the ingenuity and the end result. Even just as decorations those look sharp!

[krismoriah]

Z3 Wyoming -40f prime ark traveller and triple crown gives crops for this person at a cost of 1 bale of hay.

[RobertH]

It’s worth a shot. I’m going to have to do something this year with my new blackberry patch. Last summer the Orioles found my black raspberries and lost a few.

[steveb4]

i have nelson blackberries from fedco. came through -40 3 winters ago with no damage and they’re growing in a 4’ x 8’ raised bed. i have Chesters and triple crown i put in 2 years ago. i didn’t bury them and they are very much alive but the last 2 winters were more of a z6 winter. not z4. il let you guys know how they fare in the future. got Colombia star put in last spring. got them and 2 yr. old Colombia giant buried under 3 ft. of snow. Colombia giant gave me some berries last summer. 0 damage. we’ll see how they perform im a test year.

[steveb4]

im testing my t.c and chester unprotected to see how cold they really can take. been very warm the last 2 winters so no issues. id be worried about the damned voles setting up a nest in straw then eating the canes. not saying they cant in the thick fleece blankets im covering them with now. plus the blankets dont flatten the canes immediately like straw bales would . erect or semi erect would break if not slowly trained to bend before winter. too much work for me just to get berries.

[Drew51]

@steveb4

erect or semi erect would break

Yes they would. I used to get them as low as possible and cover them with leaves. I would wrap with burlap so they stay. Still too much work. It worked though. All my leaves were cut up too. I collect with lawn mower bag and leaf blower bag. Both shred the leaves.

[steveb4]

seen vids of people that prune them low, put chicken wire around them, then fill with leaves. still too much work.

[krismoriah]

Indian Summer Red Rasps are on Ebay… i picked up 3 for $11.42 with free shipping… $3.59 each. I have no clue how they can sell them and ship them for free so cheap but i guess i will find out.

Not much info out there on it…its a very old variety…but its super cheap so im going to try them. Probably not worth growing for most folks.

INDIAN SUMMER RED RASPBERRY BUSH | LIVE PLANT | eBay

[steveb4]

knock on wood ive had relatively good luck with plants from esty and ebay. as long as you dont have huge expectations, you wont be disappointed. hirts also. all have grown for me. just ordered 4 dwarf mulberries 6-10’’ delivered for 17.

[PcChip]

saw this on my Heritage Raspberry leaves today, should I keep it or kill it?

i just sprayed a light mist of Neem oil on all my container berries to be safe

[rubus_chief]

That is a cucumber beetle (spotted) - do you grow cucurbits (melon,squash, watermelon, cucumbers, etc)

It is a pest

[krismoriah]

I picked up a couple of Coho red rasps today at Rural King… I did a search and one guy said that he was growing them but nothing else has been said about them. They ripen late…like late July/August i think… so probably why not many people grow them… but they sure look nice.

Berries Unlimited gives a pretty good description of them.

Coho Raspberry

Here is the paper on them.

Cohomanuscript.pdf

I also picked up some Latham rasps… they are the opposite and usually one of the firsts to fruit. Its also one of the most hardy and disease resistant ones also. I think they are rated to Z3.

Heres a pic from a guy that grows them in Alaska.

[steveb4]

my father had a patch or lathams. they’re a older variety but still very good. i miss going to visit them and grabbing a couple handfuls.

[TNHunter]

Hey… l was thinking of adding 3 Kiowa to give them a test run here… but someone liked an older post of mine this week that had that image in it.

My older Illini Hardi blackberries suffer from rosette/double blossom. Kiowa is highly succeptable to that too.

In my illini berries… it probably reduces my crop by 1/3 depending on how wet our springs are (normally very wet).

So… guess I should avoid Kiowa or any blackberry that is moderately or highly succeptable.

I prefer blackberries that are vigorous, THORNY, ripen early (finish ripening by first week of July) to miss my SWD peak. Resistent to rosette/double blossom, and those dang red neck cane borers.

I have tried two west coast berries here Loganbery and Obsidian… and red neck cane borers are hard on them.

I have never seen a problem in my illini blackberries with cane borers.

In thornless blackberries… PAF, Caddo, Ponca, should work for me… but thornless blackberries here require bird protection… which i have never had a problem with on my super THORNED illini.

Is there a very vigorous THORNY Blackberry that…

Taste good, produces well
Ripens early (in June mostly)
Is resistent to rosette/double blossom
Resistent to cane borer

Nelsons ? Darrow ?
Other possible?