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nafex - [NAFEX] Hybrid raspberry found in my backyard

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  • From: "Gene Spears" <Spears@LMC.edu>
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Hybrid raspberry found in my backyard
  • Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:20:45 -0400

We have a number of wild black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) growing in
our yard (zone 6 mts. of NC), and several patches of planted red raspberries.
This year I found what must be a hybrid individual; it has the growth form
and coloration (bluish stems and dark green leaves) of the black raspberry,
but the fruit is intermediate between the two species - matures from a red to
a purple color, lighter than the black, and the head is intermediate in size
and looser than the black raspberry. Flavor is complex, with hints of both
species, but not especially sweet - more along the "tart' end of the
spectrum. Leaves are bigger and stems are taller than the nearby black
individuals - looks like some hybrid vigor at work.

I've read that these hybrids are not uncommon, and that the black raspberries
are propagated by embedding the growing tips. Since this has the black
growth form, I'd guess that tip propagation would work best with this
individual, but I've never done it, and have some questions about the
procedure.

The new canes are too upright to bring into contact with the soil without
breaking them - they're about 4-5 feet tall, but don't seem quite as droopy
as the typical black raspberry. Do you use the new canes for propagation, or
would the bearing canes send out growth if they were potted/buried?

Is it better to bury the tips in the dirt, or set them in pots with some good
potting soil/compost around the parent plant?

Really, any advice about tip propagation would be much appreciated. Maybe
I'll eventually have enough plants to send some around, if folks are
interested. I'm thinking of calling it the "Horsebottom Berry", since we
live on Horsebottom Mt.

Thanks in advance,

Gene Spears

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