"simy1" wrote in message
om...

If you can tell the foliage of one species versus the other (and I
really would not know the difference between himalaya and cascade, but
I do think you should be able to tell the thimbleberries at least), an
efficient method to kill only the canes you don't want is to go around
with a small paint brush and a bottle of roundup. Touching one or two
leaves with the paintbrush, dipped in straight roundup, is usually
enough to kill the cane. I do this mostly with poison ivy,
and after several years my 4 oz bottle of Roundup is still more than
half full.

they're actually quite easy to tell apart. as far as i can tell, the
himalaya have green three leaf clusters and grow in a great bushy mass, the
cascade have reddish multi-lobed leaves (at least they're red later in the
summer), and trail on single vines through the himalaya bushes.
thimbleberries have fuzzy leaves that look like maple leaves, and grow in
tall canes. i may try this selective roundup idea, but i fear it could take
years.

This said, be careful what you wish for. If the blackberries give
plenty of quality berries for four to six weeks, I would be very
motivated to tolerate and even develop them (like, make paths in there
that could allow you to harvest more). After all you are planting
fruit trees, right? And those could go wrong for any reason.

the himalaya have fair tasting berries, probably not worth trying to
harvest. the cascade have extremely sweet berries with way too many seeds
(they'd make wonderful jam). thimbleberries i think are an acquired taste,
and i've never been able to get to any salmonberries before the birds eat
them all.

but yes, they will all attract birds, and birds are good.

-kelly