Hi MapleGirl- Hey, you're right near me. I'm in RI. Nourse Farms would be a great place for you to order plants from. They too are in MA, have a great reputation (see here.), and I've never seen anyone here online have any complaints about them. No, I'm not affiliated with them... just a fan. I like weedblock, but like oviedo_apples was saying, you need to leave room for new canes to come up. I'd say a good fist size is fine around the blackberries and blueberries, but I wouldn't want weedblock around my raspberries. You want them to spread out and fill in. Once you get a good bed of raspberries going, very few weeds even dare to compete. Raspberries are usually so vigorous, they are the weed! If I were you, I'd give some compost to the blackberry and raspberries. Just spread it on an Inch or two thick around the plants. Both plants keep their roots high and really benefit from it. This coming from a guy who just added compost to his 15 beds of raspberries 2 weeks ago. I give my blueberries MirAcid, but with yours being so fragile right now, it's probably the last thing I'd do. With blackberries, you get berries on last year's canes. So, even if your blackberry were to really take off this year, you wouldn't get berries on those canes until next year. Unfortunately, the same is true if you got Home DepotÂs cartonized "Latham" raspberry: being a "summer bearing" raspberry means that it too produces berries on last years canes which means you get to wait an extra year for your berries. *sniff*. But, it doesnÂt have to be this way. I almost always recommend people go with an "everbearing" or "fall bearing" raspberry, which will give you berries the first year you plant it. Even so, people often still say you wonÂt get many berries the first year. But, I disagree. Yes, youÂll obviously get more berries in subsequent years (once the patch fills in), but itÂs still possible to get a respectable amount of berries the first year. Just to show you whatÂs possible, the pic below was from 5 "Prelude" raspberries ($3 each) from Nourse from last year. By your description, I'm getting the impression that these "sticks" are in pretty rough shape. Any chance you could take a picture for us? You'd need to post it somewhere else online, and just give us a link. IÂm starting to think that your biggest problem was your source. -Glenn New bed of 5 everbearing (Fall bearing) "Prelude" raspberries next to my volleyball court.

Your pictures make it look like it died back and then came up from the roots. Such an experience could delay flowering, plus the shrub did not look very big to begin with. If a seedling (rather than a cutting) it might be some years before it gets old enough to bloom much.

Since Ian Barclay occasionally reads/posts to this forum and runs a nursery in WA that specializes in water-wise gardening in the PNW, I think that his perspective is important. He sells Ribes speciosum (http://desertnorthwest.com/catalog/plants_western.html), and here is his take: "Hardy to about 10 F" "It is one of the few drought-deciduous shrubs we can grow in the Northwest." "Although native to central California, IT DOES FINE IN MILDER NORTHWEST GARDENS, occasional leaf drop notwithstanding." (my emphasis) If you have a problem with me SUGGESTING Ribes speciosum for a relatively mild climate like Portland, I can't image what you think of Ian for SELLING the plant to PNW customers. Be sure to express your displeasure the next time that he posts here.

Don't forget pomegranates, but it's important to pick one of the hardier russian varieties, 'Crimson Sky', or possibly 'Parfianka' may be able to do well through the winter. Quince is another one, generally a fruit for cooking but there are a few less common varieties that are tolerably edible raw. I'm talking about Cydonia oblonga, not your more common ornamental flowering quince. The fruits are pretty fragrant when ripe. Chinese Bayberry may be a rare one for consideration. flavor and color like blackberry but both tree and fruit strongly resemble the Mediterranean strawberry tree (even though there's no relation). There's also Che fruit, which has a flavor reminiscent of watermelon and figs. How about lingonberry? It's related to cranberry but better more subtle flavor without the bitterness. There are some less common citrus that may be able to grow outside where you are, though not as good tasting as supermarket citrus and usually full of seeds. Some of these can be used to make delicious baking recipes, similar to calamondin. Would sour cherry count as exotic? There's also a cherry bush hybrid called "Carmine Jewel" with flavor like sour cherry but as sweet as regular cherry. Very cold tolerant too.