Here are a couple of the plants I bought a few months ago from the Bushel and Berry collection. I’m pretty happy with how productive they are for the size.
Peach Sorbet Blueberry
Baby Cakes Blackberry
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Do they taste ok? Some of the patents from that brand make them sound like they were originally patented for landscape use rather than eating.
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I think the blackberry is really tasty. The blueberry, not so much, but that’s an opinion I share for most varieties of blueberries. Blueberries are one of the fruits that I only marginally like. Bushel and Berry does have several other blueberry varieties besides Peach Sorbet, but I wasn’t able to acquire any of them. The others may have different taste.
But I wouldn’t say that the fruit was a secondary consideration in the development of them, like it is on some plants that are primarily for landscape use.
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babycakes b. berry has been very sparse producer in ground for me. its spread well and flowers profusely but very few set fruit. not far from them is nelson b. berry and it has set hundreds of fruit on 9 canes this year. 2nd year in ground. WTH! the few ive gotten taste good and are big. but a small bowlfull from 5 plants in 4 years isnt acceptable.
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It’s good to have experience from someone who has planted them in the ground. It sounds like they don’t stack up well to the traditional berry varieties.
But if you don’t have room to plant berries in the ground, which is the case for me, they do perform well in containers.
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I have a two baby cakes in a raised bed. 2nd year I’ve had it and I got loads of blackberries. A bowl a day, maybe it does not work in different climates. I did notice that some berries did not like the heat. There was some that did not get pollinated as well so I’m planting some borage near by to attract bees. Seems like I’ll get a fall crop from them too. I haven’t tried other blackberry varieties so don’t know if I should expect more
i am in a much colder zone than you guys but the nelsons im growing are rated for z4 also so shoulnt be any different. i over fertilized the raspberry patch next to them and have gotten big canes with no fruit either so maybe affecting the blackberries as well. ill give them a few more years to see if they start to produce.
I have 2 baby cakes and 1 raspberry shortcake from bushel and berry, both 2nd leaf. Also in raised beds. Highly prolific – I’ve had 6 quarts or so from those 3 plants so far this year. Taste great too!
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They now have Jelly Bean, Berrybux, Silver Dollar, and Buckle blueberries. I’m curious if anyone has tried these.
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I have tried the Peach Sorbet blueberry. My friend thought it was wonderful. I thought it was bland and tasteless. But it could be that I just don’t like blueberries in general that much. I actually got rid of all my blueberries recently.
On the other hand, I am loving the Baby Cakes blackberry. I bought more of them to replace the blueberries I gave away.
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Have you compared Baby Cakes with Ponca or any of the others often discussed on the forum? I’m curious because I don’t have any and have been considering Ponca as it’s supposed to be the best tasting thornless from what I’ve read.
No, I haven’t. I have a space limitation, which is why I’m growing mine in containers. But I do like Baby Cakes more than other blackberries I have tried. I tend to like fruits that are more on the acidic side than sweet/bland.
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I have the perpetua and it’s a nice producer since you get two flushes with it. I got a couple others of theirs last year, might get some fruit to try this year.
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I have seen the patent for that one, I am definitely interested in adding it to the collection.
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That’s a very attractive landscape plant too
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Just saw this thread, thought I would pop in. I’ve had the raspberry for two years, blackberry one. Neither fruited for me last year, and it appears I lost the raspberry this winter 
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Maybe not for the raspberry. They can take a lot of abuse. One year I had mine completely mowed down by deer. It still sprouted and I moved them to pots. Left them out all winter in zone 6b and seem to still be green when i do the scratch test
You may be right! It looks like about 50% are still green. Some I tested snapped right off dead, but not everything. I’ll give it a bit more time to leaf out.
The canes live for almost two years. Then they die and become brittle. Completely normal. New canes grow every year so there is succession.
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