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| After reading reports on blackberry varieties on this forum, I'm interested in the following blackberry / hybrid varieties based on reports of flavor. (I live in zone 5, but they will be grown in pots and overwintered inside.) I'm just a backyard gardener growing for fresh eating, so I'm looking for successive ripening. After researching, I'm guessing that the varieties I'm considering ripen in the following order: Wyeberry Can anyone correct or confirm any portion of the ripening order listed above? I prefer fruit that is delicious fresh with only a little sugar at most. Am I missing a potential variety that is sweet enough on it's own? Any other suggestions regarding the varieties on the list? Any ideas where to get wyeberry? After speaking with them several times, it sounds like edible landscaping has dropped them. Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I was one of the last people to obtain a wyeberry, and it may not survive my winter. If it does I will consider root tipping some in the future. I think you may want to add a primocane blackberry. They produce a fall crop on primocanes. Giving you late season berries. Much like fall bearing raspberries. Btw my raspberries are still fruiting abet slowly with the cold weather. |
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- Posted by larry_gene USDA8b-OregonPDX (My Page) on Wed, Oct 30, 13 at 1:18
| Blackberries as a group are not commonly perceived as sweet fruit when eaten fresh, but rather a complex flavor and usually on the tart side. So either you enjoy the berry flavor, or else add sugar in varying amounts. Consider using stevia powder instead of sugar. The Triple Crown will likely be the sweetest berry of your selected varieties. A month is a long time for any one blackberry varietal to be of prime quality; with the exception of adding the primocane-fruiting variety, you might get a two-month harvest period out of the bunch. Loganberry is quite early, but is more raspberry-like. |
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- Posted by CharlieBoring 7 (My Page) on Wed, Oct 30, 13 at 7:26
| Since your using pots, I assume you are more interested in thornless. If not, a food successive group is as follows: Arapaho - early to mid June; Chicashaw - Mid June; Cherokee - Late June; Navaho - Early July; Black Satin - Mid July; Apache or Triple Crown - Late July to Early Aug; Black Magic - Two times, June and September |
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| Isoh, I have been growing all of the varieties you mentioned except for Wyeberry. I started all of the trailing varieties in pots and overwintered most of them last year. If you want maximum production though, you are going to need a very large pot - 30 gallon to have much production. Triple Crown blackberry plants are huge, so I would maybe think twice about trying to grow that one in a pot. Most of my trailing blackberries ripened around the same time (mid-June), based on my climate and the fact that they were indoors for a couple of weeks during the coldest part of the winter. Osage is new but supposed to ripen in mid-July, earlier in southern climates. Triple Crown and Navaho were in late-July through mid-August. I would second Drew51's suggestion on primocane-fruiting blackberries. My Prime Ark 45's ripen in Late-June/ Early-July and after September 1st to the first freeze, although they seem to be still producing berries after several freezes somehow. Black Magic is another variety worth considering. If you want just the Fall crop, you could keep only a primocane crop and cut them down each season. You wouldn't have to grow them in pots this way. I'm moved most of my trailing blackberries into ground earlier this year and they grew easily twice the size. I'm going to try covering them this winter to see if I can keep them going. |
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| Isoh: Pense Nursery in AR might have wye berry plants. Their webpage has a heading for tayberries, but the description that follows is definitely for wyeberries. Since I'd like to find some, as well, I sent them an e-mail for clarification. I'll be happy to let you know what I find out. Since you're going to grow in pots (I'll be doing the same next year), I'm also curious about how you plan to train the trailing varieties. I recall a photo that fruitnut shared a while back in which he'd wound them in circles. That seemed to work well, but I've also been thinking about putting one of my homemade remesh tomato cages in a pot and winding them around that. |
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| Thanks all, for sharing your ideas. shazaam, I've been growing triple crown blackberries in pots for 2 years and a boysenberry for 1. I've been using a rectangular frame made out of pvc pipe. I'm using 14 gallon rubbermaid rough totes with holes drilled in the bottom. The frame consists of one vertical piece of pvc pipe in each corner, maybe 4' tall?. Then a horizontal square of pvc pipes ties them together at the top. Looks sort of like a box kite. This works. But it's less than ideal with the new canes growing while the old canes are fruiting. I'm thinking that the next one will still be 4 vertical posts, but each post in the MIDDLE of a pot's side. Then create a horizontal cross of pvc pipe to tie them together at the top. Then, similar to fruitnut's approach, wrap one year's canes in a hoop using only 2 opposing verticle pipes. That leaves the other 2 pipes free for the next year's vines. Seems like the issue to address is managing new canes versus old. Please share the ideas you come up with. |
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| Unfortunately, Pense only has tayberries -- no wyeberries. Apparently, demand is so low that the lab (tissue culture, I suppose?) that supplies them no longer provides Wyeberry starts. |
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| shazaam, Thanks Drew51, |
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| If I sold them, it would take all the fun out of it. As long as it makes it through this winter (it is a small plant, I begged edible landscapes for it anyway, they didn't want to send such a small plant), I'll offer some plants for others for sure next year, if another nursery doesn't offer them. Ironic as nobody has Kiwi Gold raspberry either, and I got one of the last one of those too! Great raspberry! Wyeberry, not sure how great it is really? But just not to let it disappear, I will propagate it. |
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| After reading a little on black magic, it does sound interesting. But I'm not seeing it on the on-line nurseries I usually check. Does anyone know a reputable source for black magic blackberries? Thanks. |
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| Gurneys and Henry Fields (same company) have them for sale and they may be the only ones. Even with the usual 50% off coupons, the plants run a bit expensive at around $13 each. Shipping tends to be reasonable though. |
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| Someone once told me that some companies use old non copyrighted cultivars and rename them. Nothing illegal about that. Gurneys and Henry Fields may be doing this? I have heard they did it with a raspberry plant. Although they do seem to come up with some interesting plants like the Nectacot. Obviously not an old cultivar, but something they developed. Some companies just trademark the name with no copyright. So one can sell these exact same plants under another name legally. In any event they are good at marketing! Which to me is a good thing as it makes other companies stay competitive and try to produce desirable plants. No doubt the nectacot is a response to what Zaiger has been doing. It works both ways. |
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| Drew51, I too am a skeptic given that it appears that only Gurneys and Henry Fields carry them. Neither of those nurseries have a top reputation either. However, 1) Black Magic are primocane fruiting blackberries. If "black magic" is a renamed, remarketed variety, as far as I know there are only a handful of other existing primocane varieties. The other primocane varieties that I'm aware of are Prime Jim, Prime Jan, and Prime-Ark 45. Those are pretty new and I would expect those varieties would still be patented. Maybe they could still rebrand them? 2) I only found independent information on black magic at these 2 links. But still, very little info available. Sounds interesting. But I'm a bit of a skeptic too. |
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| Isoh, Excellent info, it certainly is worth trying. I'm adding two or three more cultivars this spring. Yet to decide which? |
This post was edited by Drew51 on Thu, Dec 5, 13 at 2:06
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| Is anyone growing black magic? Is so, can you comment on flavor or fall yield? Or any other thoughts? Thanks. |
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| Here's what I came up with: APF-77 (now marketed as Black Magic) • In June 2006, six selections of primocane-fruiting blackberries from the UA breeding program (APF-27, APF-40, APF-41, APF-42, APF-46, and APF-77). Black Magic The ripening time for Black Magic appears to be the same as Prime Ark-45. In 6B, Prime Ark-45 starts to ripen in early July and again in early Sept. until it gets too cold in November. |
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| Thanks. You guys have given me some great information. I am interested in Black Magic. But I'm reluctant to buy from Gurney's or Henry Field's (Doesn't mean I won't.) There reputation isn't very good. Is Black Magic difficult to find because it looks great for home growers but not that good commercially? Or maybe it has just been released? (I couldn't find a release date.) If it's just been released, maybe another nursery will offer it this spring? What do you guys think? |
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| It's hard to say? Many cultivars disappear fast. I'm not waiting for The everbearing black raspberry to be picked up by other nurseries, I'm ordering it from Henry Fields. Well waiting for a sale, it is outrageously expensive. They got us, as they know many of us will buy it anyway, and they're right! These nurseries are willing to pay more to breeders for exclusive distribution rights. Bet that is true for Black Magic. And Sweet Repeat black raspberry. I think Garden's Alive owns them? If I developed a cultivar, you bet I would wave it under their nose first! |
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- Posted by gator_rider2 z8 Ga. (My Page) on Wed, Dec 11, 13 at 6:01
| Black Magic turns back Red after pick not good for commercial market. I may get some for trap crop for insects. Deer like big food plot of black magic. |
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| "Black Magic turns back Red after pick " They should have called it red magic! If I saw red berries the size of blackberries at a market, i would have to buy them! |
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| Drew51, Here's a good article on the "everbearing black raspberry" I mentioned: http://www.growingproduce.com/fruits-nuts/commentary-a-new-double-cropping-black-raspberry/ I'm tempted to pick up a couple of plants to try as well. |
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| Good article! OK, now I really want one! I wonder if the sweet repeat is Niwot? |
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| You guys are a terrible influence. Thank you. Drew51, |
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| Good catch awesome! It had to be Niwot! Now where to put it.. It's cool the trait comes from a black raspberry, so it's probably all black raspberry in it's lineage. Sorry to get off subject, but Rubus plants are very cool. So many others besides raspberries and blackberries look desirable. I'm growing from seed the giant Chinese raspberry |
Here is a link that might be useful: The Giant Raspberries of Jilin
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| Drew51, Don't apologize for "off subject". Others may feel differently, but I like ideas. If one thought leads to another, great. Let us know what you think about those giant raspberries. |
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