Getting some blackberries and raspberries

General Fruit Growing
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I’m looking into getting some brambles. I posted a bit about the Prime-Ark Freedom and Traveler.

So it seems like no one place carries all the varieties I want to try. What are some good sources?

Indiana Berry and Baker Creek have FAR better prices than Berries Unlimited and Nourse.

So I’ve been reading about SWD being a HUGE problem since I last grew brqmbles in the ‘90s.

Is it? Do the primocane crops (of varieties that produce them) have lesser or greater issues? What controls it (I don’t have to stay organic).

I’d like to try the Prime-Ark Freedom, Niwot (primocane black raspberry).

I’m also intrigued by Glencoe for being a thornless purple raspberry…

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Niwot primocane berries are not very good. the Floricane berries are decent and big too… My plant just up and died. I’m not sure why? But the birds deposited a few volunteers that are also primocane fruiting. Possible crosses with Jewel. or self fertile throwbacks. Ohio Treasure is an old heirloom primocane fruiting type now available again. It might be worth trying?

SWD could be a problem, depends where you’re at? Nothing I have tried has worked very well. And yes the fall berries are the most attacked here. Summer bearing types usually fruit before they come out. I got rid of most of my late fruiting blackberries.

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Yes, Indiana Berry has a very good selection of berry plants, I’m planning on making a sizeable order from them this year. One reason I like them is that you can just order one plant if you want, as opposed to a place like Nourse which require 5 minimum of black and rasps.

I got four blueberry plants from IB last year, and they have done well. I also ordered some rasps, but planted them too late (June) and one of five sprouted. The plants had good roots on them, I will say.

I did though, order strawberries (50 plants total) from Nourse last year. When I initially planted them we had a flash flood, so I had to pull them up and wait for the soil to dry out. Well, when I replanted them, they never sprouted. I contacted them and they said they’re prob dead, but would send me replacements free of charge. I got them and replanted those, and they did well. So, good customer service.

Anyways, Pense nurseries out of Arkansas have a good variety of rasps and blackberries to pick from. Their prices are very reasonable, about $3 per plant, but the shipping can be high ($20), but if your order is more than $45, shipping is free. I haven’t ordered anything from them, but @clarkinks got a big shipment of PrimeArk 45 blackberries from them recently. Maybe he could comment on them.

http://www.penseberryfarm.com/category-s/1914.htm

Regarding SWD, I don’t know that much about it, but I’ve heard they tend to come on more in late summer and fall, so floricane types, or summer bearers should be a better choice. Like Drew said, it depends where you’re at. Also, primocanes berries may not have time to ripen if you’re in a colder area, but you’re in Z7, so they should be OK.

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I’m a coldish 7, though. Last freeze usually early April, first freeze mid-late October.

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Perhaps the lack of local commercial bramble production may mean SWD isn’t established near me?

There are wild black raspberries everywhere around here, though. Howard County, MD.

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Well, then @scottfsmith and @Matt_in_Maryland are close to you, so they could maybe chime in on the SWD issue, they grow brambles. I think Matt actually planted a PAF last year.

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I planted PAF in z6b in 2017. This will be a test winter… low of 5 F forecast there for this wkd.

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Has anyone grown Glencoe Raspberry?

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I’ll be able to better say in the spring how the plants from Pense did. Some plants were large and nice but others were somewhat small. Once the plants from pense begin to grow I can compare them with nourse 45 and freedom plants which did great last year.

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Glencoe Purple Thornless is popular in my household. If I can beat the birds to the berries, the kids devour everything I pick.

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Does it taste more like a red or a black?

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To my taste buds, they don’t really taste like a black raspberry. You can pick them when they are red, and they taste similar to a tart red. If you let them ripen to purple, the tart notes mellow out and they get significantly sweeter.

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