North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Jim Fruth <jfruth@uslink.net>]

Heron Breen asked:

Hi Jim, May I inquire as to which cultivar of Boysenberry you are growing in
your 
zone 3? I have always had the now obviously mistaken impression that
Boysenberries 
did not survive "our" cold winters.
Thanks,
Heron Breen
zone 4, Maine

   I'm ashamed to admit that I don't know what cultivar I have.  It was just
intended to be an experiment.  I bought it from one of those rip-off nursery
catalogs that I usually throw away without reading; I don't remember which
company.  Anyway, Boysenberry is my wife's favorite fruit so I decided to
figure out how to grow some.
   Initially, I planted them in a raised bed atop my septic tank but the (up
to) 20' long vines don't stay there.  I trellis them for the growing season
and they only get 2-3± hours of sunlight per day around noon.  For winter, I
arrange the vines parallel to each other and cover them with 4" of leaves.
The vines don't always grow where I expect them and last year one got away
from me and sprouted so I planted him near my blackberry patch to see if it
is really necessary to give them winter-protection.  I'll keep you posted.
   Speaking of blackberries, I found a wild cultivar that, though the
berries are smaller, is every bit as productive as some of the commercial
varieties I've seen with 50 to 100 berries per branch, and many branches.  I
found the specimen so far back in the woods that it is very unlikely to have
been a garden escape.
-- 

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN
www.bberryfarm.com