blackberry cane growing flat not round?

[adrianhumph]

 Hi all,
           Here`s a strange one  ??? click on the attached photo to see a picture of  a blackberry cane that has grown ok for the first 2 foot & now has grown flat :o It is a new cane, growing strongly for next years crop & is now approximately 4 feet long.At the widest part it is approx 1.5 inches across. The variety is Waldo, a very prolific early cropping type that I have had for about 4 years. Any ideas how this has happened & more importantly will it be OK?

                                                 Thanks Adrian.

[adrianhumph]

[Robert_Brenchley]

It's cristate, ie the growing point has developed into a line. It's a bit unusual, but it won't do any harm at all, and you may well find that it never appears again. I had a cristate dandelion a couple of years ago, but it's been perfectly normal since.

[betula]

You made me smile then Robert,not doing a lot of weeding??? ;D ;D ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

I keep trying to turn that section into a lawn, so I don't actually mind dandelions in it. Now we've got a decent strimmer I might actually manage to do it, once the GCSE marking is over.

[betula]

The strimmer is a great thing.My plot has never looked so good since we bought one. ;D

[peasmad]

It's cristate, ie the growing point has developed into a line. It's a bit unusual, but it won't do any harm at all, and you may well find that it never appears again. I had a cristate dandelion a couple of years ago, but it's been perfectly normal since.

I know it as fasciation, and i get it alot on my plot. I have a Lupin, that grows with a flat stem and a flower head about 3" tall and dumpy. It's not the soil as a courgette I had plit into two fruits. I now have a cosmos flower with a split head into 2 flowers. I get it everywhere, I can understand why it's called fasciation as I find it fascinating. Never hurts the plant though.

[manicscousers]

our beef tomatoes do it every year, double, even triple heads, don't know if it's the same thing  ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

I had a couple of cristate toms a couple of years ago, but that was a variety, Black Seaman, which is a bit late for outdoor growing. If I get a greenhouse, I'll grow it again.

[David R]

also called fasciation - does'nt affect the plant at all