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Fruit & Orchards

wild vs domestic blackberries

15 years ago

Hi All,

So, here I am in zone 4 Vermont, grumbling about all the nasty thorns growing in my back field, when lo and behold, they turn out to be covered in blackberries. I mean a serious bumper crop. I assume they are wild- we didn't plant them, but have only been here for 5 years and the previous owners could have planted them. We never noticed the berries before, but it is possible we were just not looking at the right time. Or we always just wacked them down before they fruited- they are covered in blood-drawing thorns.

So, here are my questions. Is it a great year for blackberries and I'll never see this again? Or, could I now think about planting some thornless ones? The thorns are vicious.

Any more info needed?

Thanks,

Nancy

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Comments (5)

allenwrench
15 years ago
Don't know.

But will say I have lived here for 20 years and been walking the same grounds and never saw much to eat on my walks.

But this year got into foraging and have found many fruit trees and blackberries as well. Was not too mindful of my surrounding until I started to look around...then it was a new world!
denninmi
15 years ago
I can't imagine that they won't be back in future years. It is possible that they've gotten started fairly recently, seeds dropped by birds, that sort of thing. Like most brambles, they have an exponential growth pattern. One stalk the first year becomes three or four the second, which becomes 15 to 20 the third, which becomes 60 to 100 the fourth, that sort of thing.

I like your description 'Blood-drawing thorns' -- that sounds about right.

There are a couple of thornless ones which MIGHT do ok in Zone 4, most of them are not so hardy. 'Chester Thornless' to my knowledge is about the most hardy of all. You might check with a couple of local garden centers or the local Cooperative Extension and see what kinds they might carry or recommend.

A good source for you might be Nourse Farms in Massachussets -- fairly close, should have the most "New England hardy" varieties.

www.noursefarms.com
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brian8156
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I have developed an interest in planting some thornless blackberries. Native ones do well so I figure the cultivated ones would as well. I am having trouble deciding what variety to plant. I hear Doyle is a great producer but not very tasty. The SC extention service lists Hull as a good choice for the Southeast Coastal Plains. Any other thoughts on choice? How about where to plant and orientation to the sun?
Thanks
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
15 years ago
Wild blackberries are a scourge of our gardens here. They were started from seeds imported from India around the turn of the century by Luther Burbank. They are naturalized all over northern California and can be knocked down during the spring growing season by brush killer but will usually grow back from the roots. If you want blackberries plant a domestic variety that will not get out of your control. Al
rebecca1984
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I also have the wild blackberries in my flower bed and I have been pulling them out since the beginning of spring.
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