Triple Crown...not cold hardy
franktank232
14 years ago
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franktank232
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Triple Crown Blackberries - trellising and care
Comments (28)Hi. Not sure if this thread is still active, but it's been very helpful to read all of the advice/comments. We have a few questions that we are still looking for feedback on. We live in central MN and planted Triple Crowns and Arapahos 3 years ago. Last summer was our first big crop and we had a great yield. We cut back all of the floricanes last fall. This summer we had basically no berries (a couple random clusters - maybe 12 berries total). It was a huge disappointment, but mostly we were just confused about what we could have done wrong. We did have a difficult winter, so maybe that contributed? Plants were slow to grow, at one point we thought they had died. Eventually they took off growing again - just no fruit. Now, it is October. We are left with tons of green growth - canes up to 20 ft long. We are hesitant to prune anything and risk another season with little to no fruit. We are also unsure of when/how to prune/head back the primocanes. In the past, we just let them grow and wove them into our trellis system. We would like to try keeping them more under control and encourage more lateral growth. Should we still get some pruning in this fall? Is it ok to cut a 20 ft cane back to 6 ft (or does that "heading off" need to be done throughout the summer)? Any advice is welcome and appreciated! Thanks...See MoreTriple Crown Blackberries Died Back to the Ground
Comments (6)I've grown 2 plants of Chester Thornless in zone 3a -- this year will mark the fifth year that I've had them. The canes get about 10 feet long each summer, then I lay them down and cover them with soil, a deep cover of leaves, or straw and burlap (the various things I've tried) for the winter. I lose almost all of the previous season's growth in our 5-6 month long, -35 degree winters, but enough survives that last year I got over 500 berries, and the year before almost as many. The survival this spring seems about the same as the past two years, maybe a bit better. As for Doyles... I've heard an awful lot of hype. Apart from the hype, I don't know of anyone recommending them. Except maybe the folks who advertise "200 lbs of tomatoes from a single plant!"...See MoreBlackberries: Chester vs Triple Crown vs Prime-Ark
Comments (21)Disclaimer: My experience may differ from other people's experience. Generally, a 2-yr plant from a retailer will have its canes pruned back to make it easier to ship and to help it to better establish when it is planted. If the plant was grown in a pot, its root system may throttle back growth to adjust to the available resources. You may also have root circling in the pot which will need some pruning. While you may have fruit next year with a more mature plant, generally the amount of fruit you will get will be minimal. You are essentially buying the root system. Blackberry Fruiting Schedule Spring Y1 -> Blackberry planted in the Spring and grows until frost. Primocane growth limited by immature root system. Spring Y2 -> Baby fruit crop on immature Y1 primocane growth (now called floricanes) but Y2 Primocane growth doubles (bigger plant) Spring Y3 -> Y2 Primocane growth allows full fruit production and Y3 Primocane growth equals Y2 (biggest plant). Fall Y1 -> More mature potted plant (2 yr) planted but minimal primocane growth due to season length. Fall Y2 -> Limited fruit on Y1 primocane growth (now called floricanes) due to pruning; Y2 primocanes growth increases to allow mature yield in Y3. Fall Y3 -> Full fruit yield from Y2 primocanes and full primocane going into Y4....See MoreTriple Crown Blackberries and winter
Comments (23)Yeah we got down to -14. it was cold last winter! I see the drying as a big problem. Listening to experts it is the drying that kills a lot during the winter. So even if not warm from the ground, protected from the drying winds may help. I still need to cover my trailing so will try it anyway. Our winters are not always that cold, so just a matter I guess of waiting it out till winter temps are more normal, although that could take 10 years, so maybe pull the plant next year if it happens again. The reason I think drying is improtant is because boysenberry, tayberry and wyeberry survived the -14 degrees too. The only cover the boysenberry had was from grass my dog kicked up on it. And that was enough to get some fruit this year from the stubs that survived, the parts covered with grass from the dog. Near the ground it might have been warmer, maybe -12! Point is, it was way beyond it's kill temp, yet it did not die. I think because it did not dry out. We had 2 other days where it hit -10. 13 days were below zero. Most ever in my lifetime. The Loganberry did die. All others made it. Natchez had one cane with no damage. If they do make it this year, next summer I'm going to have hundreds of berries. Growth this year was fantastic!...See Moreglenn_10 zone 4b/5a NewBrunswick,Can.
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