Blackberry and Raspberry Trellis
highbrix
13 years ago
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glenn_russell
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agolarry_gene
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
6 Random Raspberry/blackberry questions!
Comments (9)Hi nguyena1- Good questions! 1.) I've found there really is no stopping blackberries. You can tip them at 3' to encourage lateral growing, but they're still going to go up and up. The top of my trellis is about 8', and I'll probably top them 4 times throughout the season... they're that vigorous. (Though perhaps not quite as much in their first year.) 2.) With the everbearing raspberries... Do not tip them. Just let them grow. You can prune them back at the very end of the fall/early winter when their tops die. (or just do that in the spring). 3.) When you prune off the dead tops is really up to you. You can do it in the beginning or end of the dormant season. For me, I wait until early spring because at that point youâÂÂll see a nice dividing line between the green lower part which is still alive, and the dead top (so I know IâÂÂm not cutting off too much, or leaving some dead cane). DonâÂÂt forget, youâÂÂll also need to prune out the dead 2nd year (floricanes) after the give their fruit on the lower part of the cane in late summer. 4.) As I understand it, youâÂÂre right on the edge of where of the climate where raspberries can grow. IâÂÂve read that the âÂÂBabaâ variety would probably be your best bet for someone in your situation. But, since I donâÂÂt live there, or grow that variety, take my advice with a grain of salt. Others here may be able to give advice on the shade. I do know, even around here in 6b RI, that I do get some raspberry druplet disorder which is caused by excessive sun/UV, etc. 5.) YouâÂÂve got some good varieties there, but IâÂÂm still worried about your climate when it comes to the raspberries. Might you want to start with some test varieties first before you jump all-in? Having grown Heritage, Caroline, and Prelude, I would toss the Heritage and put in Baba as mentioned above. I havenâÂÂt grown Boyne, but according to my Nourse chart, it (and the Caroline unfortunately) might be slightly less tolerant of the heat? You might want to put Anne on the end as for me it doesnâÂÂt grow very tall/vigorously⦠but, it probably has the biggest and best tasting raspberries that I grow. 6.) Yes, containment is extremely important. Without it, all the varieties will grow together and you wonâÂÂt be able to tell where one starts and the next one ends. That may not sound too bad, but if you have one variety that does well, and another one that does poorly, you wonâÂÂt be able to remove the slacker. For me, I get containment by mowing around all my patches. In one area, I have a barrier that goes down 10âÂÂ, and they havenâÂÂt gone under that yet. But, others have talked about raspberries tunneling down 15â or even more. For more on the varieties I grow, you can see my âÂÂMy Pageâ link. Hope this helps! -Glenn Here is a link that might be useful: Nourse Farms raspberry chart...See MoreTrellis' for Raspberry/Blackberry plants
Comments (3)Thanks Paulc for the advice. The posts will be approximately 11-feet apart (just works out that way with the 2 raspberry plants and two blackberry plants.. did not want to disturb their roots). These plants are all in a line-up like for a firing squad next to my stockade fence - two Latham red raspberry plants and then an Ebony King and Navaho blackberry plant. A few weeks ago I shoveled the clay soil I had removed when I made this bed a year ago back into the line-up because the ground was subsiding due to the backfill of only compost and mulch a year ago (yeah, maybe that wasn't such a good idea). I want to cover this clay 'replenishment' soil with deep compost, followed by bark mulch (as you see in the following pictures). I question if doing this will inhibit more primocanes from sprouting. (or did adding the clay on top of last year's compost and mulch already do that?). Last year's primocanes that you see here have not been pruned at all. Do I need to prune them? I have read conflicting posts saying to leave them alone and others that say to mow them to the ground. I want to see berries this year! What's the best way to see that (and to see a great deal of them)? :) Before digging in for the posts... Yes, I have a white pine in my small yard (against popular criticism on this forum). It stays. The tree in the back corner is our Christmas tree... since this picture it has been cut completely apart and is being used around the blueberry plants for a 'free' pine mulch....See MoreRaspberry and Blackberry pruning.
Comments (1)On backberries the reason for tipping is to get new shoots that are fruit bearing, as well as some size control. I start tipping at about 36" tall, although a tipped cane will still grow taller from the ground (on mine anyway). I do tip the off shoots when they get long, probably at 24". I'm less vigilant on those. On 2nd year canes I prune back anything excessively long before they bud out in the spring. I posted my experience on raspberries on another post last night. so you can look for that....See MoreFirst time Berry grower, blackberries with black raspberries?
Comments (3)From what others have told me, the reason for that advice is virus transmission (especially from the older black raspberry varieties to other brambles). I seem to see this same advice over and over again. Yet, I've never run across a case where someone has said "My black raspberries got a disease and it traveled to my other cultivated berries". The problem is, that advice usually isn't practical/possible for the homegrowers. I'm not saying that I advise doing it, I'm just saying that after growing berries for the last 4 years (15 beds of 12 varieties of raspberries, 4 varieties of blackberry, plus wild varieties of both) that I haven't had a problem. And that's pretty much the same story I've seen up reported here in this forum. You've already spent the money, and the worst they can do is die. I'd go ahead and plant them. My guess is that you'll be just fine. Good luck! -Glenn...See Morehighbrix
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agooregonwoodsmoke
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoglenn_russell
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agobackyardener
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agosocalliegal
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agohighbrix
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoathenainwi
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoglenn_russell
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agobrookw_gw
13 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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