Thornless blackberries

User avatar
ponyexpress
Reactions:
Posts: 399
Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2020 4:47 am
Location: Mass, 6b

Re: Thornless blackberries

#21

Post: # 31705Unread post ponyexpress
Fri Oct 02, 2020 10:13 am

Is anyone growing these in a raised bed? I have two raised beds with golden & red raspberries. I noticed that they don't seem to stray outside the beds which is nice. Unlike my strawberries which send their runners over the edge.

User avatar
Amateurinawe
Reactions:
Posts: 1484
Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2020 1:11 am
Location: Emsworth UK

Re: Thornless blackberries

#22

Post: # 31712Unread post Amateurinawe
Fri Oct 02, 2020 1:22 pm

I grew a thornless BlackBerry two year ago in a very large terracotta pot I managed to get cheap, I had to fix a crack. It did well first year, then second year it reverted to a thorny one. Really not sure what went on there so stuck with raspberries. It didn't do runners like strawberries but was much like the raspberries shooting up additional canes. Strawberries need to keep doing the runners to keep plants going.
The behaviour of light means you observe me as i was then, and not as I am now.
I cannot change history, so I do hope i gave you a good impression of myself

Paquebot
Reactions:
Posts: 336
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2019 1:24 pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Thornless blackberries

#23

Post: # 32926Unread post Paquebot
Sat Oct 24, 2020 7:39 pm

I decided that there was not going to be another disappointing season. Seven of the 8 plants were cut to the ground. The 8th plant had been being trained so the canes were bent as if sprawling. There were 9 or 10 canes involved and up to 10' long. A 6" cushion of shredded leaves was laid down and the canes laid on that. Then a foot of leaves piled on top of them. The base of the plant is bracketed by two full bags of leaves and any voids filled in. There will be no excuse for them being too cold this winter.

Martin

Clkeiper
Reactions:
Posts: 284
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 1:31 pm

Re: Thornless blackberries

#24

Post: # 32938Unread post Clkeiper
Sun Oct 25, 2020 7:56 am

Cole_Robbie wrote: Sat Jan 11, 2020 2:39 pm
Greenvillian wrote: Sat Jan 11, 2020 2:27 pm
Cole_Robbie wrote: Sat Jan 11, 2020 12:12 pm They seem to be getting some sort of fruit fly that bites the berry and turns them to mush.
I bet it's the spotted wing drosophila. Wreaks havoc on production. It has been found in South Carolina, but I pray it doesn't find my berries.

https://www.clemson.edu/public/regulato ... s/swd.html
I think my research a few years ago came to the same conclusion, that name sounds familiar. Malathion would be the standard chemical solution, I'd guess. I don't know what else would be effective as a less toxic treatment.
ahhh the dreaded Spotted Wing Drosophila..... We grow fruit. strawberries, raspberries, elderberries, black raspberries, blueberries, tomatoes... you name it, if it grows here and I can fit it in I grow it. that also means we have to spray for the dreaded SWD because its here and we get no fruit crop without spraying. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.... if you are spraying rotate your class of spray every time you spray. you do not want to create a resistant insect to a class of spray. that happens when you have a poor spray practice such as repeated one class of spray. we spray spinosad, mustang max and malathion. one every 7 - 10 days all summer long for the raspberries. . otherwise we wouldn't get a crop. mustang max is a 24 hr phi. it is a synthetic stinks to high heaven and is very effective it also is a 6 spray limit for the season. it is a restricted spray though so you need to obtain a spray license to purchase and use it. malathion is a 3 day wait to pick and spinosad is a 24 hr wait. as with every class of spray use your respiratory masks and other PPE. it is essential to keep you safe even with the organic ones. do not use sevin to spray your raspberries. it is too long of a wait to be safe to consume after spraying. also spray the ground under your crop. do not drop the mushy berries on the ground. if you have chickens give them the berries. if not flush them down the drain. you will perpetuate the cycle of the fly with an even heavier pest load. maintain good hygiene all summer long. if you can't do so at least cut off the fruiting part of the plant when you have had enough or can't keep up.

User avatar
Cole_Robbie
Reactions:
Posts: 1431
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 11:58 pm

Re: Thornless blackberries

#25

Post: # 32945Unread post Cole_Robbie
Sun Oct 25, 2020 11:35 am

That is great information, thank you.

Paquebot
Reactions:
Posts: 336
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2019 1:24 pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Thornless blackberries

#26

Post: # 49152Unread post Paquebot
Wed Jun 23, 2021 8:49 pm

Update on my Triple Crowns, I will have berries. With the canes laying on a bed of leaves and covered with at least 4", all canes from that plant survived. Now it is full of blossoms and developing berries. They will be the first since planting them in 2017. Now plan to allow only 4 long canes per plant so they can be easily laid down and covered.

<artin

User avatar
wildcat62
Reactions:
Posts: 296
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 3:51 pm
Location: Northern Kentucky

Re: Thornless blackberries

#27

Post: # 49193Unread post wildcat62
Thu Jun 24, 2021 3:04 pm

Gonna be another good year for our Triple Crowns. They are absolutely loaded. I've found that the cleaner you keep the old canes trimmed out the better crop you will have.

User avatar
MissS
Reactions:
Posts: 5598
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2019 4:55 am
Location: SE Wisconsin Zone 5b

Re: Thornless blackberries

#28

Post: # 49211Unread post MissS
Thu Jun 24, 2021 6:39 pm

I inherited some of these at my new community garden plot. The plants have not been tended in 2 years. It appears that they started with one plant and there are now seven and not all within the plot. The plants were a mess with many dead canes and all canes were over 10 ft in length. I removed all the dead canes and pruned those that were alive down to 2-3 feet. The plants are happy and blooming heavily. I am excited to try them.
~ Patti ~

Paquebot
Reactions:
Posts: 336
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2019 1:24 pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Thornless blackberries

#29

Post: # 49220Unread post Paquebot
Thu Jun 24, 2021 8:16 pm

Patti, they are tip-rooter. In one season you can end up with a dozen plants in a 10' diameter circle. I promised some to a friend so will be allowing about 10 to root. When I had canes buried for the winter, some of them developed roots even in the cold. That showed how effective the leaves were to prevent frost loss.

I don't think that I would prune new canes back but one gardener around here says that they can only be grown as a bush. That's true if the entire plant is covered with a tarp or plastic. For next year I am allowing only 4 canes per plant and letting them grow as long as they want. Then I can lay them down and cover them.

Martin

User avatar
MissS
Reactions:
Posts: 5598
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2019 4:55 am
Location: SE Wisconsin Zone 5b

Re: Thornless blackberries

#30

Post: # 49227Unread post MissS
Thu Jun 24, 2021 8:54 pm

[mention]Paquebot[/mention] Maritin if you would like some of these for your friend you are more than welcome to them. Of those that are there, I only intend on keeping 3. The others are just in the way of growing other things. (Well unless when I try them I need them more than I do my veggies). I pruned them down because that is what the person in the plot next to me does. Of course her plants are much better cared for than mine. Both of ours are blooming and look terrific. They appear to be very healthy and not the scraggly mess that if found when I got them. She did not have hers covered but she also does not prune the canes until spring. I suppose that you would get more fruit if you allowed the entire cane to stay its full length but these garden plots are not real big. So it goes...
~ Patti ~

Paquebot
Reactions:
Posts: 336
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2019 1:24 pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Thornless blackberries

#31

Post: # 49243Unread post Paquebot
Thu Jun 24, 2021 10:51 pm

Thanks for offer, Patti, but I'll get it done. You are probably safe for growing them unless you have a few real nasty cold nights. Two winters showed that we can't grow them here in 4b/5a without winter protection.

I'll review what;s going on here. Started with 8 plants. After finding that the canes won't survive, cut all but one back almost to the ground last fall. The 8th had the canes removed from the trellis and laid on a bed of leaves. Then they were covered with more leaves. Thinking ahead to needing ground space, 2 were killed this spring with weed killer. The other 5 plants all sent up as many as a dozen new canes. All but 4 of each plant were pulled. (Yes, pulled, not pruned.) Many of the remaining 4 on each plant are as long as 6' already. They will be trained straight on the wire trellis. When they get out to about 10' I'll let some root The only uncertain part is when to begin "un-training" the canes. They have to be bent near the base so that part can also be covered. For the one plant last year I placed a bag of leaves on each side. I'll probably end up doing that. Lots of work for some berries with my Cheerios!

Martin

User avatar
MissS
Reactions:
Posts: 5598
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2019 4:55 am
Location: SE Wisconsin Zone 5b

Re: Thornless blackberries

#32

Post: # 49264Unread post MissS
Fri Jun 25, 2021 8:28 am

Ah, a trellis. These plants don't have one. They are using the chicken wire fence that surrounds my plot or just running rampant. This sure does sound like a lot of work for a few fresh berries. I will have to taste these to see how much effort I want to give them. I might decide to pull all of them or allow them to multiply. We shall see.

Thank you for all sharing your growing techniques. I do appreciate it!
~ Patti ~

Paquebot
Reactions:
Posts: 336
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2019 1:24 pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Thornless blackberries

#33

Post: # 49351Unread post Paquebot
Fri Jun 25, 2021 10:55 pm

What I have tried to do is figure out how we can enjoy those berries in cooler zones. With many things, only the zones are mentioned in the description. In the case of thornless blackberries, there has not been enough sharing of information about how to grow them in a cooler zone. I am hoping that this thread will help someone else later. Eventually there will be as much information as there is for growing figs. I

had to somewhat laugh about a story told to me by the friend who was my source for plants. He lives in NJ \s Zone 7. His brother-in-law lives in Maine. Some Triple Crown plants went north with great expectations. Special bed made and big trellis erected. After zero berries after two years they were grubbed out and destroyed. That should have been my story but that would not have helped anyone else.

Martin

Post Reply

Return to “Fruits/Berries/Currants”