My greenhouse tayberries finally survived the winter and fruited. I was not impressed by the taste. Not very sweet at all, quite tart and tangy but kind of aromatic. Not dessert quality imo.
I would say the taste was almost wine-like. Lots of tannins, less sweetness. Letting them go to full ripeness didn’t help. They just taste a little off,not best of both worlds but I hope to cross them with some of my blackberries next year to get something more balanced tastewise.
My Ponca have a similar puzzling growth habit. As plugs from Pense, for the first year they did nothing - stayed at 3"! The second year they grew upright canes but no fruit. This third year there have fruiting canes coming from base (I guess these must be floricanes from last year) and more upright canes with no flowers. The fruit on these ‘floricanes’ will ripen later than my currently-fruitingTriple Crown - so will have to see if they are a viable late blackberry. I was hoping for something earlier than Triple Crown but I guess that’s the difference between Arkansa and my zone.
On Loganberry, Silvanberry and Tayberry…
The OGW catalog does NOT include the key phrase…
“Great for fresh eating”.
No mention of sweet either…
Instead they incluse phrases like…
Delicious flavor - logans… and makes great syrup preserves and pies (good for peocessing).
Great for preserves and icecream toppings – tayberry (again good for processing).
On silvan… the older catalog said excellent flavor, great for processing.
If they dont mention sweetness in a good way or at all… or good or great for for fresh eating…
You can bet you are not getting that.
Unless you just like tart flavorful things… you may have to add some sugar or eat mixed with other sweeter berries.
That is what i do with my logans… eat them fresh often mixed with other sweeter berries or use them in a mix of berries to make jam.
Logans + maple syrup heated makes great french toast or pancake topping.
Mine done the same exact thing…except mine fruited from canes at about 1 foot high in July. Those were very weak little canes.
I dont fault Pense… they get their plugs from a breeder for $3 and sell for $6.
I do kinda fault them for sending the wrong plants… they have done that twice so far and it takes me a year to figure it out. However it could again be the breeder labeling them wrong.
Not sure if the Poncas we have are a virus of some sort or thats just how they are… the pics ive seen of other peoples plants dont look the same though.
I got shipped the wrong plants from Pense… i think the ones he sent me are Prime Ark Horizon…they are growing erect and putting out flowers on the floricanes…
Tayberry taste-
Isons and Burpee list them as sweet…other sites say words like flavorful.
Here is a taste test.
On tayberry I find the comments confusing as they are so low acid here. Not much tartness. Taste like strawberries.
@krismoriah … can you tell where that youtuber (giving the taste test was located).
Think I may have to try some Tay… especially if he is in the south and giving that taste test.
He may not have been in the south… his little bunch of canes looked whimpy to me… not like my logan growth at all.
if you click on ‘about’ on his channel…it says he is in Canada.
The plant was created in Scotland… and grown heavily in Europe… so its obviously cold hardy.
Since you like Loganberry…
“The Tayberry, of course, is essentially an improved Loganberry”
I had my own loganberry moment when I found a natural cross in my garden between a wyeberry or boysenberry and a primocane fruiting black raspberry.
It’s lone primocane is fruiting now
Call the variety,Drewberry.
It looks like some of the purple raspberry hybrids I’ve made. Could it be red raspberry crossed to a primocane flowering black raspberry? If it picks without the core it’s technically a raspberry.
These are Tayberries. I can take photos of the canes if anyone would like. They are wine-dark when they are dead ripe, but often softer than most people would like.
@nil … can you tell when your Tays start and finish ripening for you up there in WA ?
Logans ripen for me down here in TN. Late May to early July.
OGW says they ripen in July… but here in the hot south they are quite early. I am thinking Tays may be about the same.
It does pick without the core. And yes it could be a black and red hybrid.
I believe my Tays started During the last week of June, and finished around the second week of August. There were a few straggler berries that ripened a bit later. It was 6 weeks of decent berry production, with a couple weeks of crappy produce. There are so many more canes this year, I anticipate a good crop next year.
I used a root shield on my brambles right by the property line. My neighbor is obsessed with a green lawn, so the overspray from his yard perfectly waters our brambles on the property line.
I’m having trouble finding an ideal place for my tayberries. I planted some in one sunny location and they just get roasted, especially once it stopped raining as much. I have one location behind a banana plant that might be suitable. The banana plant would shade out evening sun while not affecting morning sun. I just dont want to give too little light and affect fruit production.
@757Will … my logans love morning sun evening shade location… grow and fruit like crazy.
When I do get some Tayberries will try them in same location.
I guess I’ll give it a go! Hoping to at least sample
a few fruit next year.
I finally had these earlier this year and just thinking about them makes my mouth water 
I hope one day someone is able to sneak you a thornless tayberry @krismoriah 
Woe is me on a warm fall/winter night thinking about the summer berries 
I may or may not have drank an entire bottle or few of tayberry sauce and tayberry jam that was supposed to last me until spring…
