Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

nafex - Re: [NAFEX] source for 'Black Pearl' blackberry?

nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Michael Dossett <phainopepla@yahoo.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] source for 'Black Pearl' blackberry?
  • Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2011 16:37:18 -0800 (PST)

Melissa,

That is because the blackberry canes that you've seen have been from erect or
semi-erect varieties. Most of the trailing blackberries have very limber
canes that are really quite prostrate. When they come up in the spring they
start coming straight up and are stiff enough to do so until they reach about
4-5 feet but unless they get support at that stage they fall to the ground
and then trail across it. Growers here like that because they can leave the
canes in the rows growing along the ground and out of the way of harvesting
equipment etc. until later in the season and many don't bother to tie up the
new canes at all until early spring because they are slightly hardier that
way. Obviously that can be a management nightmare for a homeowner where
space is an issue, but I've seen systems where people tie them up to get them
good light and get them off the ground in the growing season and then gently
let them down to the ground for winter.

One other thing worth trying if you have problems with winter hardiness is to
have two plants and do what we call alternate year (AY) production.
Essentially you cut off all the canes every other year so you only get a crop
every other year. Have one plant in an "off" year while the other is in an
"on" year so you get some fruit every year but only from one or the other in
any given year. Yield over the two year period is about 80% of every year
(EY) production but it has been shown that 'Marion' fields in AY production
get about an extra 5-7 degrees of cold hardiness over EY fields.

Michael

Michael Dossett
Corvallis, Oregon
www.Mdossettphoto.com
phainopepla@yahoo.com


--- On Mon, 3/7/11, Melissa Kacalanos <mijwiz@yahoo.com> wrote:

> From: Melissa Kacalanos <mijwiz@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [NAFEX] source for 'Black Pearl' blackberry?
> To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Date: Monday, March 7, 2011, 4:20 PM
> It's this mulching-with-snow idea
> that's tempting me to try a zone 6 blackberry here in zone
> 5. We have very generous snow cover, and my herbs that
> aren't supposed to be hardy here have overwintered fine.
>
> This laying-the-canes-down idea is confusing, though. The
> blackberries I've seen couldn't lie down without breaking,
> any more than a cornstalk could. How are you supposed to lay
> them down without snapping them?
>
> If they were espaliered against the house, would that be
> better (in terms of less absolute cold) or worse (in terms
> of breaking dormancy too early)?
>
> Melissa
>
> --- On Mon, 3/7/11, Michael Dossett <phainopepla@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> > From: Michael Dossett <phainopepla@yahoo.com>
> > Subject: Re: [NAFEX] source for 'Black Pearl'
> blackberry?
> > To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
> > Date: Monday, March 7, 2011, 4:56 PM
> > Scott, have you tried laying the
> > canes on the ground and mulching them? This should
> help
> > tremendously, particularly in areas with reliable snow
> cover
> > in the coldest months to help insulate.
> >
> > Last year both 'Black Pearl' and 'Marion' came through
> 3 or
> > 4 nights in a row of ~6 degrees (colder in some
> spots)
> > without major cold injury issues here in the
> Willamette
> > Valley of Oregon.  Having said that, it was in early
> > December when the plants are in their deepest
> dormancy.
> > Early and late cold snaps seem to be the biggest
> problems as
> > the plants take a while in the fall to reach full
> dormancy
> > and have relatively short chilling requirements
> (can't
> > remember exactly but I think 'Marion' is around 350
> hours?)
> > so they tend to wake up in late winter, particularly
> if
> > there is nice weather, and be susceptible to cold then
> as
> > well.  Often times the buds on 'Marion' start to
> swell
> > in mid-late January here making the plants
> particularly
> > susceptible to late cold snaps like the teens that we
> had a
> > week and a half ago. 
> >
> > 'Black Pearl' is quite a bit less susceptible to
> these
> > issues than 'Marion' but this will probably be the
> biggest
> > problem for trying most of the trailing types in the
> > mid-atlantic and northeast.
> >
> > Michael
> >
> > Michael Dossett
> > Corvallis, Oregon
> > www.Mdossettphoto.com
> > phainopepla@yahoo.com
> >
> >
> > --- On Mon, 3/7/11, Scott Smith <scott@cs.jhu.edu>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > From: Scott Smith <scott@cs.jhu.edu>
> > > Subject: Re: [NAFEX] source for 'Black Pearl'
> > blackberry?
> > > To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
> > > Date: Monday, March 7, 2011, 1:10 PM
> > > Melissa, I had two Black Pearls and
> > > both died to the roots and my low was only about
> 4F
> > that
> > > year which is zone 7.  So, zone 6 is a long ways
> off,
> > I
> > > would put Black Pearl in 7B or 8A.
> > >
> > > I am testing many of the new Oregon releases for
> > hardiness;
> > > thus far the only hardy one for me is Metolius
> but it
> > > produced poor tasting fruit in my climate.  In
> your
> > > zone 5 I expect none of the western trailing
> varieties
> > will
> > > be hardy and I would recommend growing Triple
> Crown
> > > instead.  Its not as good as Marion but it is
> still
> > a
> > > delicious berry both fresh and cooked.
> > >
> > > Scott z7a MD
> > >
> > > On Mar 7, 2011, at 9:20 AM, Melissa Kacalanos
> wrote:
> > >
> > > > After thinking for years that blackberries
> were
> > > pointlessly flavorless, I finally tried some
> 'Marion'
> > > blackberry jam, and now I see the point.
> Delicious!
> > > >
> > > > 'Marion' is zone 7, and I'm not foolish
> enough to
> > try
> > > growing it here in zone 5. However, the new
> cultivar
> > 'Black
> > > Pearl' supposedly tastes almost the same, and is
> > reputed to
> > > be zone 6, and I might be foolish enough to try
> that.
> > > However, the only source I see for it is
> Raintree, and
> > their
> > > minimum shipping is rather a lot for just one
> plant.
> > Is
> > > anyone else selling it, maybe closer to NY
> state?
> > > >
> > > > Or, does anyone have an extra plant to
> spare? I
> > could
> > > trade plants from my small fruit collection, or
> my
> > larger
> > > collection of culinary herbs.
> > > >
> > > > Melissa
> > > > zone 5, central NY, under yet another foot
> of
> > snow as
> > > of last night.
> > > >
> >
>
>
>      
> __________________
> nafex mailing list
> nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
> Subscribe, unsubscribe, change your user configuration or
> find out more about the list here:
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex
> NAFEX web site: http://www.nafex.org/
>







Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page