North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Richard Moyer <ramoyer@gmail.com>]

Betsy,
Black raspberries are native to much of NC.  "Manual Flora of the
Carolinas" by Ritchie and Bell denotes these counties.  This book
available in many libraries.

Depending on where you live in NC, there are native black raspberries
close by.  These are somewhat smaller fruited than the named cultivars
for sale, but they are adapted to your area.  And as Michael
mentioned, some of these native selections are quite disease
resistant.   Native black raspberries often grow in with blackberries
and naturalized red raspberries.  Once you can recognize the arching
clumps of silver-purple stems, they are easily spotted at highway
speeds.  If you're not use to picking these wild ones, you're in for a
treat.  And they tip-layer profusely, so it's often easy to find young
plants around your favorite patches.

Richard Moyer
While clearing our land in SW VA to access sugar maples; keeping our
native black raspberries and gooseberries, and naturalized
wineberries.


Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2011 08:48:06 -0500
From: Hilborn.E@epamail.epa.gov
To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Raspberries blackberries
Message-ID:
       
<OF6E50CA15.BBB33037-ON8525782B.004B8646-8525782B.004BD0A5@epamail.epa.gov>

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Michael wrote: "Red raspberries and blackberries can carry viruses
asymptomatically that severely affect black raspberries.  The distance
is to help stop spread which can be either by pollen or by aphids
depending on the virus.  For whatever reason, black raspberries seem to
be extra-sensitive to these viruses that are less of a problem for the
other berries.  As a result, black raspberries have become the standard
for graft testing for viruses from red raspberry and blackberry, because
they show the symptoms quickly.  On the flip side of the coin, black
raspberries have shrunk from being a much larger industry in this
country than red raspberries because growers have such problems with
disease."

Thanks Michael. TFB directed me to Nourse (thank you!)where they tout
virus-free brambles.  However, I am sure the naturalized blackberries in
my area are a source of virus.  I will give black raspberries a try
knowing that they may be short lived.

Betsy Hilborn
7a NC