North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[lee reich <lreich@hvc.rr.com>]

I'm in Zone 4/5. Darrow is very hardy and very tasty but also very thorny, so much so that I stopped growing thorny blackberries. Chester winterkills somewhat here but usually enough canes survive for some crop. I'm now trying more tender blackberries whose canes I put on the ground in late fall and then cover with straw or leaves. It's a hassle but survival is usually good. I've been successful doing this with Doyle thornless and Marionberry.

Lee Reich, PhD

www.leereich.com

Books by Lee Reich:

Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden

A Northeast Gardener's Year

The Pruning Book

Weedless Gardening

On Dec 15, 2005, at 2:25 PM, Brungardt, Sam wrote:

Michele, I have a row of Illini Hardy in my garden here in St. Paul, Minn. (USDA Hardiness Zone 4b?).  I have had the planting in maybe 6 years, and have had good harvests about 3 of those years.  One year I lost the entire crop because rabbits gnawed the bark off the canes (as well as those of the black and purple raspberries) during a snowy winter.  Last summer I had a poor fruit set and harvest, which I attributed to very widely fluctuating temperatures the winter before as well as to poor hardening-off weather in the fall.  It was a real disappointment since I've come to love blackberry cobblers and  jam.  I don't know whether I'll keep the Illini Hardy; I've spoken for several of John Bunker's plants and may try the new primocane blackberries from the Univ. of Arkansas.  Trouble is, space is very limited and thorny, upright cultivars need considerable room. -- Sam Brungardt

 

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of M Stanton
Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 11:17 AM
To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [NAFEX] blackberry cold tolerance

With regard to blackberry cold tolerance, I would like to hear more about what northern gardeners are experiencing as they attempt to grow blackberries beyond zone 6.

If Jim’s blackberries are frozen out above the snow line, is it the insulating effects of the snow rather than desiccation that is making the difference?

Any thoughts?

My master’s work was with blackberries, and I would like to hear what others have found in this regard, anecdotally or otherwise.

Does anyone else grow Fort Kent King, Illini Hardy, Cancaska, etc.??

 

Michele Stanton

 

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