Perhaps this will only be anecdotal, but between raspberries and blackberries (and blackberry-based hybrids), which is more virus-prone?
I have been growing mostly black and purple raspberries. The blacks seem to die out in about 3-4 years, max (Bristol lasts longer than Jewel in this regard), and my local extension office says it looks like virus issues. The growth just gets weaker and weaker, and while the crowns don’t technically die completely, the primocane growth becomes very weak and never matures to bear fruit the following season. I was sticking to black raspberries (and some purples) to ripen early enough to avoid SWD, but now the viral issues seem to take center stage. Purples do seem to last longer than blacks.
When it comes to blackberry, loganberry, etc, are they less prone to viral infection?
I have logans planted on the east side of my home… morning sun only… and they are very healthy since 2018 best i remember.
No sign of disease.
I did have some cane borer issus one year but only one so far.
They are cold hardy (trellised canes) over winter… to somewhere around 5F ?
We got 3F last winter b4 Christmas… and it killed all of my trellised logan canes. A few years back we had 8F and they had no issues none died or even had tip dieback.
My main bed of logans are not located close to any other cane fruit… not within 50 yards.
I am having issues with long life/vigor of black and yellow raspberries too. They just go down hill after 2-3 years.
My reds are most vigorous and continue to multiply and they produce more fruit too.
I am experimenting with my blacks this year… by reducing the number of canes allowed per crown. I have been allowing them to produce and keep 4-5 canes per crown… and they do that with ease… but then they do not fruit well, few berries. Small berries…
This year… 2-3 canes per crown max. If the dont fruit better next year… may just replace them with what works easily… reds.
Joan J is new for me this year and purple royalty and both are looking very vigorous, healthy.
Good info. Losing the canes at 3 degrees sucks (I had the exact same minimum temp on Christmas Eve) - however - that cold came on FAST and early, so maybe that was part of the issue. However, losing a crop one year in 4 (which is about how often I get below 5F) isn’t the worst thing ever since the crowns survive.
Virus problems are very common on both Raspberries and Blackberries in my area. From what I have seen, Raspberries are impacted more than Blackberries here. I expect some varieties are more impacted by virus problems than others. I know some Blackberry varieties are very susceptible to Orange Rust but other varieties on an adjacent row are not.
Virus testing and tissue culture help reduce the number of infections present on new plants and give them a good start.
I heard a plant breeder suggest that even when starting with clean plants it’s normal for a number of virus problems to arrive over time, especially in a hot/humid climate like mine.
Here is a list of the types that are tested for in a program to help insure clean plants in my state.
Testing for common virus problems is part of the standard testing at the plant lab when the leaf samples indicate a virus problem but some require more expensive testing in order to identify.
cane borers hit just about every primocane of all of my cane fruits this year. the worst ive ever seen them and they showed up while the plants were in flower so i couldnt spray. spent 2 weeks cutting them off below the strikes. they even got some laterals.
I’ve about given up on raspberries. I’ve tried nearly every variety available for my zone, but they have mostly been a flop. I grew them at our previous home with great success. I assume the issue is virus.
Thanks for mentioning the fungi problem. We found Rally very effective too. We normally spray Lime Sulfur just before the plants leaf out which seems to reduce disease problems too. I hate the smell and it sticks around for a long time
Have a red raspberry patch that came with the house we purchased in 2020. No idea when it was planted, but for the last 4 summers has been productive and healthy. But this spring, I started noticing the canes seemed to be slow in developing leaves, and the some people f the canes only put out skinny, yellowish leaves. Is this the viruses this thread mentions? And if so, is it anything I can do, or do I need to get rid of the whole planting?
as cold hardy as heritages are here, i wouldnt have thought them to do as well in the south. they are probably the most adaptable red there is. when it comes for me to renovate my raspberry patch , im going to replant some again now that my seasons about 45 days longer than it was 20 yrs ago. i still consider them the best tasting red raspberry.
Is the morning sun only location to help them? or is that just the space you have available? I’m getting a couple new raspberry plants and I do have morning sun only spots or full sun spots.
@benthegirl .. I learned the value of morning only sun locations when forest farming ginseng.
Crops that are sensitive to sun/heat… will often thrive in morning sun only locations.. but die out in evening sun locations.
Ginseng down here in the south.. on a normal woods slope will only be found growing on hillsides that slope to the north.. and a small tilt to the north east works well too… but if you go too far north east… it will not thrive.
In really steep locations like a river or creek bluff.. that face even due east.. ginseng will thrive and grow to be very large in less time (4 5 years).
Ginseng can take a few hours of very intense morning sun … as long as it stops around noon .. and the plant has shade during the noon to evening hours.
The back of my home faces due east… and a bed there gets very good morning sun until noon.. then it is completely shaded.
I tried Loganberry there years ago and it really thrived and produced gobs of fruit.. and very little of the fruit suffered from sun scald. 2 loganberry crowns completely filled a 16 ft by 50 inch cattle panel with canes and they ran off the ends and hung down to the ground.
My HR raspberries in full sun occasionally get some sun scald. White drups.
A morning sun only location is much cooler.. than an evening sun only location.. or full sun.
I have only tried logans there so far.. but they really thrived there and fruited exceptionally well. I expect most cane fruits will do the same.
PS.. my Logans after 4 years or so.. started being attacked by southern red neck cane borer. They would grow 40, 50 ft of canes… And the RNCB attacks the canes right at the base where they come up from mulch. All that cane would wilt and die.
The same happened with other west coast berries here (Obsidian blackberry). RNCB eventually wiped them out.
For what it’s worth, my raspberries are also in part sun, but most are the afternoon part. The container ones I had in full sun showed signs of stress and improved when moved to part sun.
Thanks @TNHunter and @Eme I am now looking at moving my patch, which were not doing very well. This will definitely simplify some things! I’m a bit overwhelmed at the moment with where stuff belongs.
I have some leftover orchard rows and garden beds from the previous owner - but they’re not always in the locations I wish they were and I have a limited amount of fencing. It’s hard to decide to clear out and put in a whole new planting area and I didn’t even think about some places that are easier to use with only half a day of sun!
