North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["S & E Hills" <ehills7408@wowway.com>]

You might want to consider a more marketable name...  A bowl full of
"horsebottom berries" just doesn't sound appealing.

 

Scott Hills

 

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From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Gene Spears
Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 3:21 PM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: [NAFEX] Hybrid raspberry found in my backyard

 

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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