Allotments 4 All

Me again - with what is probably another daft question.  I have a thornless blackberry on the plot that the previous tenant planted last year.

She's not up against a fence or a trellis - just had a cane pushed in and tied up.  She is flowering, but she's a sad looking thing, and I feel like she would feel better up against some wires.

Can I move her in the autumn? 

We have a Loche Ness on our plot & OH put up posts either end & stretched wires across, we then tied in the blackberry. We planted ours 2 years ago. The posts are about 18' apart. We also planted a couple of Waldo at daughters plot, Waldo is 'ideal for small gardens' plant 4' apart, hers have gone mad too so we are doing the same for her but putting the posts closer together.

Most thornless blackberry varieties had the flavour bred out when the spines were bred out. A few have a different flavour (which I don't like much).

Pointless.

Try them before you dump the plant, but dump it unless they are spectacular - because wild blackberries are always nicer, less work, use up no precious space and are free.

Use the space for something special like a Tayberry - again the thorny (only slightly) version is best but the thornless one is still well worth growing.

Cheers.

Most thornless blackberry varieties had the flavour bred out when the spines were bred out. A few have a different flavour (which I don't like much).

I'm afraid that I have to disagree with you on that point. I don't know the name of our thornless. It was given to me about 7 years ago and it has a really good flavour. We have a fantasia too and we all know how lovely that is but if I had to choose then I would choose the thornless.

I have a thornless blackberry called OREGON. A friend grew it in his garden and recommended it to me. The blackberries that came from his were lovely. Mine was only planted last year so have yet to taste the fruit from it.

Duke

Oregon is the one I tried.

The flavour is different from normal blackberries, but the ones I tasted had no intensity of flavour - half a step up from bland, and though I'm normally keen on unusual tastes this one left me deeply unimpressed.

Picking the wild ones is more fun and more flavour.

Like I said - there are plenty of first-rate alternatives that could use the space (often much less space).

The only one I wouldn't recommend is the loganberry - they are only ripe enough for cooking for about a day, and during that day they are only ripe enough to eat raw for about an hour!

Cheers.

As I said I don't know the name of ours but when its ripe it tastes like wine(hic). I do love tayberries but it is so difficult to catch them at their best.

I have two thornless blackberries, both have just appeared on plot. One I know I was cutting back last year thinking it was another d**n it of balckberry. Only to realise later last year that it had no spines.
The other one has literally just appeared right next to my gooseberry in another part of the plot.

Will be interested to see what they both taste like.

One of them I am training along wires that were already there for my other soft fruit, the other one I have left so that I could see which way she wanted to grow.

Quote from: shirlton on May 20, 2011, 07:33:28
As I said I don't know the name of ours but when its ripe it tastes like wine(hic). I do love tayberries but it is so difficult to catch them at their best.

Tayberries peak at least 3-5 longer than loganberries - but it still makes sense to keep them where you can visit a couple or three times a week in early June. They are much more manageable in a normal garden than any blackberry.

Cheers.